Brittany Miller

Dr. Cassel

English 1201

3 April 2022

Hurt

In 1995, Nine Inch Nails penned "Hurt", a ballad that implored listeners to save

themselves as the subject slowly self-destructs. In 2002, Johnny Cash recorded his own

version of the song as his health waned, apologizing for the sacrifices his loved ones made in

his quest for fame and fortune. Both versions of the melancholy ballad told the painful story

of years of regret as isolation descended upon their subjects, ultimately leaving them alone in

a world full of people. The neutral tones and painful images of both videos leave the listeners

feeling downcast as the music videos work to incite physical and emotional feelings of pain

and sadness.

The original video, filmed in black and white aside from a few clips of the lead singer

during a live show, uses graphics of sick and dying animals, war, solemn faces and destitute

areas to convey his own feelings of pain. “Hurt” tells the story of someone who is virtually

self-destructing and in doing so, is taking the people who care about him down with him. The

lyrics, sung softly at first but building in speed and volume as the song progresses, chronicle

the journey of a young man whose pain overcomes him, leaving him feeling isolated which is

clear in the line “What have I become? My sweetest friend, everyone I know, goes away in

the end” (Hurt, 1995). The chorus also makes it apparent that the main character views
himself as a disappointment, and that he will be responsible for hurting and letting others

down if they give him the chance.

Johnny Cash’s rendition of “Hurt”, although using slightly more colorful imagery, was

filmed in a similarly somber-toned neutral color scheme. While the original video was a journey

through the pain of a young man, Cash’s version documented the pain of a man who was nearing

the end of his life and this was his way of apologizing for the sacrifices his loved ones made to

help him rise to the top. The feelings elicited by this music video were less painful, but sadder

overall; almost allowing the listener to empathize with a broken old man. The original was

played in front of a live audience and you could see the adoration from the onlookers as the

camera flashed out to the crowd, but this remade version was recorded with Johnny Cash alone,

which was incredibly important in helping the listener feel the isolation that Cash felt as his

health deteriorated. He had all of the material things that he had prioritized his entire life—

symbolized in the music video by the feast and throne fit for a king—but none of it mattered

because he had to enjoy them alone. Several times, Cash flashed to an image of the crucifixion of

Jesus Christ and to images of the “Museum of Cash” as it became more and more broken down;

a metaphor for the decline in the singer’s health.

Both songs appealed to Pathos and were meant to incite an emotional reaction from the

listener. Although there were no scientific statistics or evidence to back up the claims that the

main characters were isolated and depressed, the delivery in each case stood out as someone who

was not proud of how their life had turned out or what they had become. The color scheme in

both was intentionally somber, to keep the overall mood solemn and depressing. The audience

for both was a mature teen and adult audience, as the content was potentially too dark and too

deep for a younger group. It is also possible that both versions of the song were meant as an
apology to those they had wronged in the process, but this was more evident in Cash’s later

version of the song.

The songs both made the same claim; that each main character was held hostage by a life

they chose to live. Nine Inch Nails’ version almost begged the listener to free themselves of the

main character, as if he was an anchor holding us down from having a better life. The version

done by Johnny Cash highlighted his isolation as he took advantage of the people who cared

about him the most and appears to ask for their forgiveness. The videos are done in different

stages of life, one about the pain of a young man desperate for a better life, the other about a

dying man desperate for those who came after him to understand his actions before it is too late.
 Works Cited

Johnny Cash - Hurt (Official Music Video) - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=8AHCfZTRGiI.

Nine Inch Nails Hurt Official Video - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=PbHz9p7Z4OU.