Nathan Wright Wright 1

ENG 1102

Professor Kretzer

31 October 2021

The quote, which is in both songs, “What have I become? My sweetest friend,

everyone I know goes away in the end”, has 2 pretty different meanings. In the Nine

Inch Nails version, the quote is referencing how he is pushing people away in his life

due to his frequent drug use and self-harm tendencies. On the other hand, the Johnny

Cash cover of “Hurt” uses this quote to talk about how an old man has lost all of the

people in his life, likely due to old age. This simple, yet effective, quote helps paint the

picture of the differences between the two versions. "Hurt", originally by Nine Inch Nails,

and covered by Johnny Cash, have very similar lyrics, but the Nine Inch Nails version

talks about a young person's life spiraling out of control, while Cash's version is about

an old man reflecting on his life.

The Nine Inch Nail version of “Hurt”, which was the original song, is widely

forgotten about and why it was written. The person who wrote it, Trent Reznor, wrote it

because he was in a deep-state of depression and wanted to let his emotions out. With

the band singing this version, the lyrics can be taken as a young man singing about how

his life is falling out of control. There is not an official music video, but there is a video of

a live performance, which actually does have scenes on a screen. It is also noteworthy

how the video is black and white, which also adds to the pain and sorrow of the song.

The song is also much quieter and even slower paced than Cash’s version. The target

audience for this song is mainly for people who are into 80’s rock, but more importantly

it is more for people who are sad/depressed and possible drug addicts. Statistically
Nathan Wright Wright 2

ENG 1102

Professor Kretzer

31 October 2021

speaking, lower class people tend to have more depression, so this song could be

targeted for them as well. This version mainly invokes pathos, as the song is trying to

get to your emotions on how someone is trying to deal with depression and sadness.

When the music video was being filmed for Johnny Cash, his health was in a

rapid decline. It was a race of time in order to film the video, since many believed Cash

was very close to passing away. The whole idea to cover “Hurt” was actually Rick

Rubin's idea, as a last final hit for Cash. The lyrics mostly stayed the same, except for

Cash changing a few curse words since he was a very religious man. Throughout the

video, multiple scenes are shown. One of the exemples are of Jesus Christ and him

being crucified, helping further show how religious Cash was. There were also scenes

of himself when he was younger and a picture of his wife, who had passed away by the

time the film was made. It was interesting to see clips of his wife before she passed

were still included in the song. Cash’s wife is most likely the main person who is

referenced with the lyric “Everyone I know goes away in the end”. The most impactful

scene in the entire video is when Cash, for the final time, closes the case to the piano.

This signals an end not only to the song, but also the end of a legendary career for

Johnny Cash. This version definitely invokes pathos, as every symbol and lyric touches

the listener emotionally. While the target audience is mainly for older people who are on

the verge of passing away, I feel this version of the song brings everybody into the

song. The lessons from this song are so passionate that everyone can use them. It is
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Professor Kretzer

31 October 2021

also a great motivator for people, who one day will have to reflect on the life they lived,

just like Johnny Cash did.

While the two versions seem so different, it is crazy to think that the lyrics are

almost identical. The lyrics are designed, either intentionally or unintentionally, in a way

that can be interpreted differently just based on who is singing the song. The two

versions almost feel like they are completely different, except for the fact that both

songs provide an emotional sadness about them.

Howlett, Alex. “Hurt — Trent Reznor’s ‘Valentine to the Sufferer’ Was Deepened by Johnny

Cash.” Financial Times, 29 July 2019,

www.ft.com/products?location=https%3A%2F%2F%2Flife-of-a-song%2Fhurt.html.

“Johnny Cash - Hurt (Official Music Video).” YouTube, uploaded by Johnny Cash, 13 Sept.

2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI.

McGuire, Dave. “The Story Behind Cash’s Version of ‘Hurt.’” Clarksvillian, 6 Oct. 2021,

www.clarksvillian.com/post/johnnycash-nashville-rock-nin.

“Nine Inch Nails - Hurt.” YouTube, uploaded by Nine Inch Nails, 15 Mar. 2009,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhh21crSohs.