Philip Rybarczyk

Professor Kathy Sandy-Smith

English 1101

10/3/2020

Hurt
Johnny Cash

I hurt myself today

To see if I still feel

I focus on the pain

The only thing that’s real

The needle tears a hole

The old familiar sting

Try to kill it all away

But I remember everything

What have I become

My sweetest friend?

Everyone I know

Goes away in the end

And you could have it all

My empire of dirt

I will let you down

I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns

Upon my liar’s chair

Full of broken thoughts

I cannot repair

Beneath the stains of time

The feelings disappear

 You are someone else

I am still right here

What have I become

My sweetest friend?

Everyone I know

Goes away in the end

And you could have it all

My empire of dirt

I will let you down

I will make you hurt

If I could start again

A million miles away

I will keep myself

I would find a way

 Johnny Cash uses many literary devices in the song Hurt, one of the most noticeable is, rhyme

schemes that, are not in a traditional ABAB or AABB style, but do appear in his lyrics. The pattern for his

rhyme scheme seems to skip a line in each occurrence, of course there are a few exceptions to this

pattern, for instance, in the first eight lines of the song only two rhymes can be found. He also makes

use of symbolism in multiple ways. These include “needle tears a hole” symbolic of drugs, the “liar’s

chair” alludes to his past deceitful ways, and “empire of dirt” could be symbolic of the mortality of life

which is reflected in the line “everyone I know goes away in the end.” One can also see the use of

metaphors in this song, in the line “my empire of dirt” and “million miles away” being among them.

Lastly the most predominant literary device Mr. Cash uses is allusions, which are arguably his most

effective and meaningful ways of communicating his true meaning for this song. The line “crown of

thorns” in reference to the crucifixion of Christ, and “my sweetest friend” in relation to an old friend or

perhaps his younger more innocent self.

The crown of thorns line shows how he is continually tortured by his past mistakes, and the liar’s

chair seems to me to mean he has broken trust and promises in his life. Many of the other symbols show

how he looks back on his mistakes with regret and it bothers him to go on living knowing he has hurt so

many people, and he sees how they will ultimately go away in the end.

In my interpretation of this song, it means that he is looking back on his life and it depresses him

to realize the mortality of life, how everyone goes away in the end, how he lets people down, how his

empire means nothing and is basically dirt, and how he would do it all differently if he could start again.