Isaac Winter

Prof. Flores

English 1201

13 February 2022

Trent Reznor and Johnny Cash

“And you could have it all, my empire of dirt, I will let you down, I will make you hurt”.

This chorus of the song ‘Hurt’ sung by both Nine Inch Nails, (1994, Alternative/Industrial Rock)

and Johnny Cash (2002, Country/ Acoustic Rock) expresses a common caution of familiarity

between both artists who struggle with fame, money, drugs, etc. Although this song was recorded

by 2 different artists 8 years apart, it carries a similar message delivered through a different lens.

"Hurt" by Johnny Cash and "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails (NIN) reference a similar claim in both of

their versions of the song. Johnny Cash's cover of “Hurt” appeals to an audience that has

experienced drug addiction or has had a rough history, and Nine Inch Nail's song “Hurt” appeals

to a younger audience who is maybe starting to get into drugs or depression and struggling to

find a reason to stay alive.

The original author of the song, Trent Reznor, is the lead singer of the band Nine Inch

Nails. He wrote the song called “Hurt” in 1996. At the time that this song was written, Reznor

was at an all-time low in his life. Quoted from Reznor’s song, “I focus on the pain, the only thing

that's real”(NIN) illustrates that he was at a low time in his life and could significantly relate to

the pain and nothing else, hinting towards the spiral of drugs. Now, Johnny Cash’s version of

‘Hurt’ was recorded after Cash got permission from his friend and author, Trent Reznor. Reznor

was interested in the project but didn't want the Cash connection to appear too “gimmicky”. As

time went on, Reznor finally agreed to do the song. The lyrics in the recordings of both versions
are identical, except for one verse in the Cash version that says, “I wear this crown of thorns”

(Cash) replacing “I wear this crown of sh*t”(NIN). I believe that this lyrical change was in

reference to Cash’s religious transformation and the repentance he experienced in his final stages

of life. NIN’s song is more of a caution of his current state while Johnny Cash’s song is more

about the regret of the past. Furthermore, another stanza in the song that both parties have

recorded talks about includes the following lyrics, ”My empire of dirt”(Cash). This references

Johnny Cash’s museum which was shown in the video as broken down and abandoned is worth

nothing now. In Johnny Cash’s music video, it shows all of Johnny Cash’s accolades were

broken or were collecting dust. NIN’s empire is what they were living like at the time, hopeless,

and lost.

When considering the underlying message of each recorded version, there are similarities

as well as differences. Nine Inch Nail’s version of ‘Hurt’ shows us that drug addiction and

loneliness are a serious matter, and Johnny Cash’s version of ‘Hurt’ appeals to regret of having

lived that way in the past. Both of their appeals are extremely emotional, appealing to the sense

of pathos.

There are stark differences in each musician’s video that accompanies their individual

recordings. Johnny Cash’s music video was very saddening and was foreshadowing his death.

Cash, at the age of 70, had rotten fruit appear in the video, hinting that he’s becoming of bad

health and slowly dying as an old man. He also shows the Johnny Cash Museum which is located

in Nashville, TN. In the video, it was shown as abandoned and unattended for many years.

Broken plaques, rusted records, and pictures. It was not a pretty scene to see. Nine Inch Nails

lead singer, Trent Reznor, who also wrote the song ‘Hurt’ is emotional due to the fact that he was

in his late 20’s at the time and was experiencing loneliness. The images shown in the music
video were all over the place, showing pictures of a serpent, gecko, injured people, and

explosions. Reznor was trying to tell us that he was not in a good place at the time, and wanted

people to know that and if they are experiencing a similar thing, that they aren’t alone. After

listening and watching each video multiple times, Johnny Cash has a voice that fits this song

well, as long as his music video images. Reznor, on the other hand, has a nice voice that fits the

song well. Although, in the music video the images don’t make a lot of sense. The images felt

like they were all over the place and had no correlation with each other, unlike Cash’s music

video.

The song ‘Hurt’ was written by Trent Reznor, but remixed by Johnny Cash, have similar

claims in their songs. Reznor's song appeals to an audience by showing images in the music

video such as a serpent, referencing evil. NIN’s audience is young and/ or struggling with

loneliness and any sort of drugs, while Cash’s song appeals to an audience, also using powerful

images, that has a lot of regret in their lives because of the things that they have done and in

some cases, has found repentance spiritually. With Johnny Cash having a big fan base, and his

song on youtube hitting over 140+ million views, it has hit his target audience well. Reznor’s fan

base not being so big, and his song reaching 1.2+ million views on youtube, have equally hit

their target audience with Cash. Both songs have a powerful message that has been seen by the

world.
 Works Cited

Cash, Johnny. “Johnny Cash - Hurt (Official Music Video) - Youtube.” Johnny Cash - Hurt

(Official Music Video), Youtube, 13 Sept. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=8AHCfZTRGiI.

Garate, Cesar. “Nine Inch Nails Hurt Official Video - Youtube.” Nine Inch Nails Hurt Official

Video, Youtube, 12 Sept. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbHz9p7Z4OU.