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Claudia Witter

Marcia Hughes

English Composition 1201

17 February 2022

“Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash”

The Grammy-worthy song “Hurt,” and its music video, released in 1995 by Nine Inch

Nails and then recreated by Johnny Cash in 2002, conveys several ideas about life and pain. This

intimate song was originally written by Trent Reznor, the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, in 1994

but continued to stay unnoticed by many until 2002 when Johnny Cash covered the song.

Although the song renditions of “Hurt,” by Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash, use the same

lyrical art and persuasive appeal, each of the music videos offers a completely different purpose

and meaning. While the original version by Nine Inch Nails was presented to spread awareness

of society and call the viewer to action, the cover by Johnny Cash is used to warn young adults

who dream of becoming famous.

The lyrics of both songs are nearly the same as there is only a one-line difference

between them, but these songs have a completely different meaning. Trent Reznor’s original

lyrics, stemming from his own experiences, serves the viewer a story of a man who struggles

with alcoholism, drug addiction, and depression. In the end of the song, this man decides to end

his life after reaching the non-exciting high of his life. This is represented by the sounds of the

song becoming more unsettling and louder as he sings the last words of the song:

What have I become,

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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.

These lyrics hint at the idea of reincarnation and the man is hoping to die so he can turn over a

new leaf in a different life hence why the man decides to end it all. This grim song also comes

with a dark music video as well. In the music video, there are many images of dead or hurt

animals and people. The reason for such imaging is to give the viewer the idea that they are also

singing the song as it relates to them. These animals and people are tired and just want to start

over in a new life because of how hurt they are from their current life.

Johnny Cash’s meaning of the song is not nearly as sad. He uses the same lyrics to share

the story of his life through fame. As the song goes on, it becomes louder and more aggressive

and then quickly calms down in the end. The seemingly tired beginning of the music video has

short clips of Johnny Cash when he was younger and hoping to become famous. As time goes

on, Cash becomes more saddened and tired in the old clips although he had reached his dream.

The very end of the song truly shows how as Cash feels as he looks back on his life:

And you could have it all,

My empire of dirt.
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I will let you down.

I will make you hurt.

These lyrics, being the same ones from the Nine Inch Nails version above, show how he regrets

trying so hard to become a celebrity as it does not matter to him anymore since he is older and

approaching his end.

The two approaches of the song also use pathos in their videos; however, they do not use

them for the same purpose. The Nine Inch Nails made the song to be a kind of awareness while

the Johnny Cash version was made to become a warning. The music video of the Nine Inch Nails

interpretation, like said before, has short clips and photos of death and pain that have occurred in

the past due to war or other violence. These people shown in the video can be seen as the one

singing the song or that the song is speaking for them. This can cause the emotions of the

audience to stir up and make them want to do something about people always getting hurt or

dying. These emotions push a call to action to the viewers to help people like the ones in the

video. On the other hand, Johnny Cash utilizes the song to warn people through an anecdote. The

anecdote shows the struggles that Cash still deals with all because he wanted fame. People may

see his self struggles and pity him then realize that becoming famous is not everything. Cash

uses his life as an example that fame, and legacy do not matter in the end and that it will not

make you happy.

Another detail that differs between the two interpretations is the intended audience.

Because of the graphic imaging of death and injuries in the nine Inch Nails version, the music

video is fore a more mature audience. Also, it discusses topics like hurting oneself and ending it

all which should not be listened to by children. The intended audience for the version by Johnny
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Cash is less mature as there is only a small amount of graphic imaging but still mentions hurting

oneself at the beginning of the song. Cash’s intended audience may also be religious as the video

shows a man acting as Jesus whose hands were being nailed into the cross. The lyrics of Cash’s

version also says, “I wear this crown of thorns” which also relates to Jesus’s crucifixion.

Overall, these two renditions of the song, “Hurt,” both share completely different ideas.

The version by Nine Inch Nails is intended for mature adults and is meant to tell the viewers to

end the violence and hate that goes around the world. On the other hand, the version by Cash can

be watched and listened to by a much broader audience and is a warning to anyone who wants to

become famous as they may regret it in the future. The meanings, purposes, and intended

audience of the two versions are vastly different although they use almost the same lyrics.

Work Cited:

Nine Inch Nails. “Nine Inch Nails: Hurt (live)” YouTube, uploaded by Nine Inch Nails, 15 Mar.

2009, Nine Inch Nails: Hurt (live) (1995) - YouTube

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

Cash, 13 Sep. 2019, Johnny Cash - Hurt (Official Music Video) - YouTube