Gracie Shrout

Mr. Leonard

ENG 1201

12 February 2020

Hurt Essay.

Songs like “Hurt” are few and far between, there are not many songs that have the heart

capturing lyrics and cultural influence that “Hurt” did in particular. The heart wrenching songs

have a certain way of capturing true emotion and really letting you interpret it in many different

ways throughout both of them. While both of the versions of these songs have a different tone,

and you can interpret them very differently they still carry the same sorrow tone and meaning

throughout. These sorrow tones really capture one's attention and one's heartfelt emotions in a

way that not many other songs have the ability to. Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" gives a new

feeling throughout the song and gives the song a new feeling as he covered the Nine Inch Nails

version of the song. It is more of a reflection on life instead of talking about the struggles one

might face throughout life.

Let's start with Nine Inch Nails rendition of the song “Hurt” as theirs came out first. The

Nine Inch Nails version I believe has a more sorrowful and empty feeling showing the

difficulties and hardships one may face in his or her life. There was no music video but they did

do a live performance with a video playing in the background, in this video a clip was shown of

people suffering in a concentration camp during World War 2. This helps carry their message

that life can be so bad and people could have nothing going for them, this really carries their

sorrow feeling of the hardships of life. This really can get emotions flowing and peoples minds

thinking
about how different one’s life could be such a contrast to one another's and how different they

can be when compared at a different perspective.

Johnny Cash’s rendition of the song “Hurt” had a different feeling and meaning to it as

you watch the video. Johnny Cash’s visuals throughout the video really focused on his life and

his memories, the good memories, the bad memories, and just memories in general that stick in

one's mind after living their life. Cash’s version had a more positive tone while still carrying that

feeling of sadness or remorse as it could make you feel like you took life for granted. The video

really zoned in hard on ones past though, this can get people thinking about so much, they could

think about how much they have been through, what they have got through, what they have

accomplished, what they have taken for granted, the list goes on and on and that is what really

makes this song as special as it is. This song gets memories and thought flowing through one's

head that don't necessarily have to be sad but can have more of a nostalgic feeling which can be

passed off as sad as those good, or sad times have went by in an instant and all of a sudden your

almost at the end of your run throughout the journey of life.

Although these two songs have very different tones and interpretations that may be put to

them by the average listener they do both have some similarities throughout. The biggest

similarity between these two is that they both keep this somber, sort of sorrowful tone throughout

both of them, and this is so important because this feeling, the way these songs sound are a big

reason for what makes them so special. After all they are both called “Hurt” you don't exactly

expect a song with this title to be a happy, upbeat, song with a positive message or tone. Another

similarity is how heart wrenching their voices are while singing it, both Nine Inch Nails, and

Johnny Cash have this sound in their voice that just expels their sad tone to every listener of the

song. Cash being old gives his version more raspiness, and gives it this old man reflection on life
all while keeping that sound of pain and real emotion in his voice. The Nine Inch Nails singer

has this softer tone throughout his song, this really gives off the sound of real emotion as the

wispiness of his voice is slow and soft and sounds really emotional. The tones of their voices

both carry the sorrow feeling of both of the songs while being different at the same time and to

me that is amazing.

Both of these songs really cater to any audience. These songs have such an empathetic

meaning behind both of them that it would be a shame for them not to be put into the world for

everyone to hear. The emotions these songs have caused to listeners throughout the world is

astonishing as not many songs can really capture someone emotionally like these songs did. Both

of these songs have an excellent way of carrying their sad sounds and sorrow tones throughout

all while being different, one emphasizing the struggles and hardships of one's life. The other

reflecting on the past and what a roller coaster life can be. The way of words and tones they use

are so good it's almost a mystery and that is why these two songs are so influential and are going

to go down in history and be remembered forever.

 Works Cited:

Nine Inch Nails. Hurt. Youtube, 1 Jan. 1994, https://youtu.be/OvoTktdpIiI. Accessed 14 Feb.

2021.

Johnny, Cash. Hurt. Youtube, 2002, https://youtu.be/8AHCfZTRGiI. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022.