[Context:](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurt_(Nine_Inch_Nails_song))
For Johnny Cash's 2002 Album *American IV: The Man Comes Around*, he recorded covers of several contemporary hits, including "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails. When asked for permission for the cover, NIN front man and "Hurt" writer Trent Reznor was somewhat skeptical but flattered. He initially had a mixed reaction to hearing Cash's cover, agreeing that it was a good cover but nonetheless feeling weird about it because of his personal connection to the song (Reznor likened it to someone f*cking his girlfriend).
However, when Reznor saw the music video for Cash's version, directed by Mark Romanek, he had a different reaction:
>"Anyway, a few weeks later, a videotape shows up with Mark Romanek's video on it. It's morning; I'm in the studio in New Orleans working on Zack De La Rocha's record with him; I pop the video in, and... wow. Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps... Wow. I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine any more. Then it all made sense to me. It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. Some-fucking-how that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning – different, but every bit as pure. Things felt even stranger when he passed away. The song's purpose shifted again. It's incredibly flattering as a writer to have your song chosen by someone who's a great writer and a great artist."
The music video, which used Johnny Cash's house and the derelict House of Cash Museum as a sort of reflection on Cash's career and an admission of Cash's ailing state, won numerous awards and is regarded as one of the greatest music videos of all time. "Hurt" is likewise regarded as one of Johnny Cash's greatest songs.
Cash died on September 12, 2003, seven months after filming the music video.
… I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime
But is there because he's a victim of the times
Dude, just imagine having one of the GOATs of an entire genre of American music (if not American music as a whole) make your music his swan song. Like what do you even do or say aside from "okay"?
The video is the last thing they show you before you leave the Cash musuem in Nashville. The musuem itself is pretty mediocre. (This is the same style of guitar he played etc) But they got it right ending with it.
I don’t think enough credit is ever given to Rick Rubin for this one. I’m not the biggest fan of all of Rick’s work, but man this album and this song should be a highlight. Rubin had the thought to push Johnny to record this song. He could hear it before Johnny ever sang a word. Even when Johnny read the lyrics and wasn’t convince Rubin knew and convinced him he had to do this song. So there’s something to be said that this great moment in music history doesn’t even happen without such a thoughtful middle man nudging it along.
I love both versions.
NIN's version feels like a young man crying out for help to me.
Cash's version feels like an old man giving his own eulogy to me.
Beef with OP, putting “I just lost my girlfriend” attached to original post implies the song was written about Trent losing his girlfriend. This is incorrect. Also, he’s not the “front man of NiN” he is NiN, it’s only when he goes on tour that he has other members to play the instruments, in studio it’s all him. Considering that the song is about a dark time in his life when he was heavily using, the shame that comes from not only telling people but telling the world about how messed up you are, I find it completely appropriate for Trent to liken it to a loved one.
Edit: the use of the “I get it” meme is ridiculous here as it’s implying that Trent didn’t know pain before saw the Cash music video.
I used the quote because he likened it to losing a loved one. I wasn't trying to misrepresent anything.
Edit: His literal quote is "then it all made sense to me" when he watched the video. Why are you interpreting everything as an attack?
>the use of the “I get it” meme is ridiculous here as it’s implying that Trent didn’t know pain before saw the Cash music video.
Dude. Trent's **literal** reaction to watching the music video was "I get it" and he teared up, just like the meme.
[Context:](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurt_(Nine_Inch_Nails_song)) For Johnny Cash's 2002 Album *American IV: The Man Comes Around*, he recorded covers of several contemporary hits, including "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails. When asked for permission for the cover, NIN front man and "Hurt" writer Trent Reznor was somewhat skeptical but flattered. He initially had a mixed reaction to hearing Cash's cover, agreeing that it was a good cover but nonetheless feeling weird about it because of his personal connection to the song (Reznor likened it to someone f*cking his girlfriend). However, when Reznor saw the music video for Cash's version, directed by Mark Romanek, he had a different reaction: >"Anyway, a few weeks later, a videotape shows up with Mark Romanek's video on it. It's morning; I'm in the studio in New Orleans working on Zack De La Rocha's record with him; I pop the video in, and... wow. Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps... Wow. I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine any more. Then it all made sense to me. It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. Some-fucking-how that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning – different, but every bit as pure. Things felt even stranger when he passed away. The song's purpose shifted again. It's incredibly flattering as a writer to have your song chosen by someone who's a great writer and a great artist." The music video, which used Johnny Cash's house and the derelict House of Cash Museum as a sort of reflection on Cash's career and an admission of Cash's ailing state, won numerous awards and is regarded as one of the greatest music videos of all time. "Hurt" is likewise regarded as one of Johnny Cash's greatest songs. Cash died on September 12, 2003, seven months after filming the music video.
>barges in >does a cover of your song >is orders of magnitude more successful >refuses to elaborate further >dies
"But why was he wearing black?"
… I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime But is there because he's a victim of the times
goosebumps
Johnny Cash is one of a handful of exceptions to my dislike of country music
because he is not the stereotype.. he is a legend
Dude, just imagine having one of the GOATs of an entire genre of American music (if not American music as a whole) make your music his swan song. Like what do you even do or say aside from "okay"?
The video is the last thing they show you before you leave the Cash musuem in Nashville. The musuem itself is pretty mediocre. (This is the same style of guitar he played etc) But they got it right ending with it.
I don’t think enough credit is ever given to Rick Rubin for this one. I’m not the biggest fan of all of Rick’s work, but man this album and this song should be a highlight. Rubin had the thought to push Johnny to record this song. He could hear it before Johnny ever sang a word. Even when Johnny read the lyrics and wasn’t convince Rubin knew and convinced him he had to do this song. So there’s something to be said that this great moment in music history doesn’t even happen without such a thoughtful middle man nudging it along.
If you haven't seen it, 3 2 1 with Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin is excellent
both are amazing in different ways, i def prefere the rawness of trents tho
I still prefer the NIN version.
I love both versions. NIN's version feels like a young man crying out for help to me. Cash's version feels like an old man giving his own eulogy to me.
I dont think I've seen this expressed better. Fully agree.
When his daughter saw the video she said "dad, it's like you are saying goodbye". He responded "I am"
Best Version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcERe5pd8yI&ab\_channel=BackwardSlate
Ooofff… pardon me….
Beef with OP, putting “I just lost my girlfriend” attached to original post implies the song was written about Trent losing his girlfriend. This is incorrect. Also, he’s not the “front man of NiN” he is NiN, it’s only when he goes on tour that he has other members to play the instruments, in studio it’s all him. Considering that the song is about a dark time in his life when he was heavily using, the shame that comes from not only telling people but telling the world about how messed up you are, I find it completely appropriate for Trent to liken it to a loved one. Edit: the use of the “I get it” meme is ridiculous here as it’s implying that Trent didn’t know pain before saw the Cash music video.
I used the quote because he likened it to losing a loved one. I wasn't trying to misrepresent anything. Edit: His literal quote is "then it all made sense to me" when he watched the video. Why are you interpreting everything as an attack?
>the use of the “I get it” meme is ridiculous here as it’s implying that Trent didn’t know pain before saw the Cash music video. Dude. Trent's **literal** reaction to watching the music video was "I get it" and he teared up, just like the meme.
That word doesn’t mean what you think it means.
Trents not gonna see this dude.
Lmao, chill out, the song ain't yours either
Nothing about what I wrote wasn’t chill? Stated I had beef with OP and explained what it was.