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Becca Kurtz

Professor Waggoner

English 1201

6 July 2020

One Message, Two Stories

There are many songs written from one artist’s heart that can touch another artist’s heart

in incredible ways. “Hurt”, written by Nine Inch Nails, demonstrates one of these songs. As the

audience is taken through a story of lead singer Trent Reznor’s battle with addiction and

depression, a great amount of emotion is drawn; so much emotion that eight years following the

release of this song, famous singer/songwriter Johnny Cash released his cover of “Hurt”. Both

versions fueled the same message but the artists differed greatly in their reasoning for singing

this song. They both created the same main claim which said that one can get so caught up in

some things to where in the end it feels as if parts of their lives were taken away from the true

meaning and greatness they could have been filled with before. Trent Reznor’s reasoning behind

his version of the song was because of the effects of his addiction and depression while Johnny

Cash’s reasoning behind his cover of the song revolved around the effects of his choices and

fame throughout his lifetime. Furthermore, Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash

both convey the same message through the song “Hurt” but differ greatly in their stories behind

the song.

In Nine Inch Nails’s original music video of “Hurt” the viewers are seated before a

concert as if they were actually in the physical audience. Cheers thunder the stadium as the first

chord sounds. Leaning on the mic stand is the main character of the music video: Trent Reznor.

Behind him stands a giant white sheet. Pictures and videos of death, explosions, terror, nature
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and more are shown on the white screen in black and white all while Reznor stands in front

crying out the lyrics to his song. All of these visual elements play a dynamic role in conveying

the main claim of the song, but that isn’t to do so without mentioning the back story of Reznor.

Before the release of “Hurt”, Trent Reznor went through an addiction which had a strong effect

on his life which then led him into depression. From here he experienced regret. This regret led

him to have a great impact on himself and his audience when writing this song. Throughout the

lyrics one can find references to his past experiences and the pain he was left in. Not only do the

lyrics of “Hurt” indicate this evidence, but the visual elements of the music video do as well. A

great example of Reznor’s main claim is shown through the beginning verse stating, “I hurt

myself today, To see if I still feel, I focus on the pain, The only thing that’s real” (Reznor) and “I

try to kill it all away, But I remember everything” (Reznor). These lines demonstrate Reznor’s

current position through a constant cycle he went through. It also shows a dehumanized person

who has gone through a great amount of pain to where the only thing that is felt anymore is pain

itself. In addition to this, Reznor mentions that he tries to rid all of the pain from his mind, but in

the end it never works. This shows significance to Reznor’s position by explaining the effects of

addiction and depression through the feelings that he has anymore. This same example is

demonstrated through the visual elements as well. At the beginning of the song an image of a fox

is cast upon the screen. This fox is shown taking his last breath as he begins to die and

deteriorate. Following this, images and videos of pain, suffering, violence, destruction and death

appear on the screen one right after another. Some of these images consist of explosions, nature

dying, animals eating other animals, etc. In the very last slide the fox shows up again and this

time it is returning back to life. As the fox begins to breath again, the last chord rings and the

song is finished. The visual elements here demonstrate what Reznor experienced through a
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constant cycle. For instance, he would begin to die and deteriorate to a point where only pain and

suffering could be found. At the end of this he would return back to the same person who he was

before. This correlates directly to a provoking verse which states “You are someone else, I am

still right here” (Reznor). This lyric connected to the overall visual element describes a piece of

Reznor’s life which led to regret. This regret is presented through Reznor knowing he had the

opportunity to avoid his circumstances rather than fill them with more potential. Instead, Reznor

experienced a constant cycle which only led him to be the same he was before. His line

demonstrates this by saying after all this time you are someone different and you have changed,

but I am still the same and have not grown. Moreover, Trent Reznor demonstrates the

consequences of his choices through lyrical and visual elements.

As Nine Inch Nails’s original take on “Hurt” had an impact on many who dealt with the

same or similar situation as Reznor, there was an inferred large number who took this song to

heart for more reasons than one. Johnny Cash is one who fits this group. Cash is well known for

his cover of “Hurt” and the meaningful message he added to his take on the song. His main claim

revolved around the effects of his fame and lifetime choices. From the beginning to end of

Cash’s music video, the audience is taken through more of a wide arrangement of his life

moments rather than a storyline. Clips such as Cash’s past, relationships, achievements, awards,

framed pictures, house, museum and much more are there to convey his message to his audience.

All of these visual elements have a great impact on the reasoning of Cash’s main claim along

with the lyrics. One verse that sticks out to explain the main claim of this version of “Hurt” states

“Everyone I know, Goes away in the end” (Cash). This can be seen as especially relevant for

Johnny Cash. One can infer that Cash’s earlier life choices caused him to take moments, time

and people for granted through the visual elements given in the music video. The audience is
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shown this idea through his mother’s framed picture on the wall as this line is sung. This goes to

show how Cash’s choices early on caused him to feel the pain and remorse of them during this

song. Another verse that correlates with this same theme is introduced at a climax in the music.

Videos of Christ’s death and Johnny Cash’s early life with his family are casted on the screen as

Cash sings “If I could start again, A million miles away, I would keep myself, I would find a

way” (Cash). Not only does this create a climax through the intensified music and flash of

images across the screen, but it resembles Cash’s regret towards how he spent his life. Like

mentioned above with the picture of his mother, Cash relates the same way through the way he

wished he would’ve spent his life. The clips during this point in the music video tell the audience

that if Cash could go back and relive his life all over again, he would find a way to make it

different and more meaningful; he would spend more time with his family, enjoy the moments he

had and devote more of himself to his belief system. All of these examples go forth to

demonstrate Johnny Cash’s remorse of the way he lived his life. In addition to this, these

examples provide the audience with Cash’s effects of fame in his life. It can be inferred that his

fame had much to do with these circumstances and was the cause of most of his regret. One

example in the music video is when Cash opens his arms and pours his drink across his grand

table of fake food and high expense. During this moment Cash sings, “You can have it all, My

empire of dirt” (Cash). This explains the fact that he doesn’t care about all of the fortune he has

made, all it is to him is a pile of dirt that he wishes would go away. He symbolizes this through

pouring his drink all over his fortunes proving he could care less if they were ruined. This is also

displayed through the visual elements of his museum. The House of Cash is shown several times

throughout the music video. Every award, achievement, picture, etc. in this museum is dusty,

shattered, run down or neglected. This piece of evidence demonstrates the lack of engagement
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Cash had with these items; further explaining how he felt about his fame. Overall, these

examples go to show how focusing on things that wouldn’t matter in the end left Cash to become

the person he wished he wasn’t. He left himself in remorse for his choices and how he dealt with

his fame.

After analyzing the two different versions of “Hurt”, it can be concluded that they both

have very different yet similar meanings. Nine Inch Nails conveys the message of how situations

such as addiction or depression can take the cherished and high potential moments out of one’s

hands. Trent Reznor demonstrates this message through his powerful, heartful lyrics as well as

the story being told through the images and videos casted upon the screen. Johnny Cash uses the

song “Hurt” to convey the message that choosing things that won’t matter in the end and chasing

the race of fame does not end without remorse. He demonstrates this through Reznor’s lyrics as

well as his powerful and emotional visual elements in the music video. Although both versions

differ in the reasons for their causes, they both share the same effects of these causes. Both of the

versions share the same story of wishing to go back and start again a million miles away from

where they did. Another theme they shared is that there is a fixation that one can get so caught up

in somethings to where parts of their lives can be taken away from what true meaning and

greatness they could be filled with.

As the audience is taken through the stories and memories of each main character’s life

experiences, they are also exposed to a great amount of emotion. Whether it be from a share of

experience or an understanding of experience, the appeal of pathos in both music videos is

strong. When focusing on Nine Inch Nails’s version of “Hurt”, the audience is able to sense the

emotion through many different sources. The way the main character stands represents one of

these sources. Instead of standing to the mic stand, Reznor is found leaning and crouching on the
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mic stand throughout the performance as if he is weak. This demonstrates just how much

emotion Reznor has put into this song and how much emotionally it ties to him. This factor alone

causes much emotion to hear and witness the main character in as much emotion as they are.

Another factor is the lyrics themselves. They have much power in them especially when attached

to the visual elements. While the audience knows that Reznor wrote these songs directly to his

circumstances and feelings, tying them to the visuals at the time brings out more emotion

because it demonstrates what Reznor actually felt. In comparison to Nine Inch Nails, Johnny

Cash evokes a lot of emotion through pathos as well. While Cash did not write the lyrics himself,

the lyrics still deeply described the situation he associated with. A few visual examples from the

music videos help the understanding of how much emotion is conveyed. To begin, throughout

the music video Johnny Cash is pictured singing into the air instead of to the camera or a

designated place. His eyes wander and there is no emotion to his face. Watching someone sing

about their entire life’s work through choices and fame is difficult when they show a blank face.

This demonstrates Cash’s lack of love for the story he is telling because of the amount of

remorse he has. In addition to this, there are several actions Cash partakes in which enhance the

amount of emotion. One of these is when Cash sings the chorus and opens his arms and pours his

drink over the table of fake food and high expense as described earlier. This action brings

emotion because it is here when the audience realizes that all the work that Cash has done for

himself to this moment in time he could care less about. It’s a hard fact to accept especially for

someone so well known. Furthermore, pathos makes a bold impact on both versions of “Hurt”

through the main character’s reasoning behind singing it. Moving on, the audience of both

versions should be mentioned. Between the two versions there are different audiences who are

targeted. There could be two different audiences mentioned for Nine Inch Nails’s version of
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“Hurt”. First, there could be an audience who coincides through life experience. Having a similar

life experience as Reznor would engage those people through pathos to associate with Reznor’s

version of “Hurt”. On the other hand, it can be inferred that there was no intended audience for

this specific song because of the reason it was written. With deeper research, Reznor most likely

wasn’t looking for an audience over the ability to express himself through song. The lyrics and

visual elements focus on his personal experience and how he felt through the battle of his

addiction. With this being said, it could attract the same audience even if there was no intended

audience for the song and it was merely a way to express Reznor through his personal situation.

Johnny Cash also attracted an audience with his cover of “Hurt”. However, Johnny Cash’s

audience is much more broad. Cash’s main message to the audience is relatable to everyone

rather than Reznor's. Cash focuses on life itself and tells his audience to really enjoy every

moment instead of wasting it all away. Therefore, it doesn’t really matter the gender, age,

culture, religion, etc. of the audience, except the fact they live life.

In conclusion, “Hurt” written by Nine Inch Nails and covered by Johnny Cash

demonstrates a very emotional and meaningful song. Trent Reznor brought his message from a

low place in his life of addiction and depression and how much dehumanization it brought to him

afterwards while Johnny Cash brought his message from a low place of realization of his past

choices and remorse of fame. Both versions were able to speak to their separate audiences about

using the moment to be filled with true meaning and greatness rather than something that will be

regretted later. From conveying meaning through heart written lyrics to conveying a story

through visual elements, both music videos brought the same message from very different

places.
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Work Cited

Cash, Johnny. “Johnny Cash - Hurt (Official Music Video).” YouTube, 13 September

2019, accessed 1 July 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI

Gerate, Cesar. “Nine Inch Nail Hurt official video.” YouTube, 12 September 2009,

accessed 1 July 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbHz9p7Z4OU