Here's the story of Johnny Cash's iconic cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails.
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Music: Riffs Two by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)
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#JohnnyCash #Hurt #Loudwire #NineInchNails #TrentReznor #Cover #Rock #Metal #Country #Music
Reznor wrote a suicide note. Cash wrote a eulogy. They're both beautiful in their own way.
Your comment is tragically under-liked!
That is a great way of putting it
@@corntrollio854doesn’t matter, he made it a masterpiece
@@corntrollio854What are you talking about lol
i agree to a certain extent i never liked Trent until the Johnny Cash cover. Trent was very kind to recognize Johnny's talent. Thank you Trent.
Two voices answering each other across the void of pain. Trent in his suburban youth asking “is this all there is?” and Johnny at his end answering “is this all there was?”
This is a painfully underrated comment. Your phrasing is perfect.
Very deep and insightful. Well done, my friend.
Very well put friend .
As these two song versions perfectly and harmoniously complement each other, I would like to complement this comment with a similar way. The emotion of each shows the experience and power each of them have. Frail and inexperienced youth of Reznor being cautious, soft... tender. While the seasoned power and unquestionable experience of Cash lays down as heavy as it gets. This is a song from the first tick of the midnight clock... given closure by its last tick.
@@priitmolder6475 My god, that was beautiful as well! You responded to a Beautiful comment with even more heart-wrenching beauty. The 2 of you should get together and write poetry, or song lyrics, or Something!
The NIN version is a young man going through addiction and suicidal thoughts. The Cash version is an old man looking back on his life, coming to terms with his regrets, and knowing he’s about to die. Both versions are beautiful, and I’m honored to have been alive to hear them both.
Well said... I loved them both myself.. The 1st in also my depression and fear once my Father passed and I fell into a dark place and reading the Occult didnt help. Then after with Cash version.. realizing what it all meant as I myself was getting older.. I fought back and found myself. finally.
Very well said.
Works better since Cssh also suffered from addiction
jonny didnt want to do it because he knew his time was coming to an end
And Cash's version hits even deeper knowing he died not too long after the song released
Johnny's long, sometimes dark career has the credentials it takes to give a song like this a life of it's own.
Exactly.
A lot of songs tell a story. This one works because you feel that story is true.
@@renerpho A lot of stories tell a song. Like Johnny Cash's.
Beautifully put.
Yes, Johnny felt the song, and it showed. One of my faves. My Dad, who would not have liked the original, liked this! And Johnny NEVER faded as an icon. Only argument I had with the video.
I like the fact that Reznor recognized Johnny now owns it. What a gracious tribute from one artist to another. Much respect.
I know very little about NIN and Reznor. But he has mad respect from me for saying that. We all know Reznor wrote it, but Cash made it EPIC. And honestly, it isn't a bad thing to be known for writing a song that Cash made into a legend.
I’ve told the story of Trent giving the song away for years to all of my friends. Now I have proof!
When he first heard it, he described it as feeling like your girlfriend just got stolen in front of you. Reznor was both deeply honored and deeply jealous of what Cash brought to the song. (I've yet to watch the video. Just started reading the comments first because I LOVE the story of Hurt and have watched and read few thing on it.)
Take me hat off to the man
Agreed. Weirdly, both of these songs came out during some independently turbulent times in my life. Both versions will be forever part of the sound track of those times in my life. I love music in general so so much. IMHO, Music is truly the greatest performance art ever created by man for man. Nothing else reigns Supreme. Movies, books, tik tok.... Throw them all in the back seat. Music drives the world. Think about it. What else can make you wanna..... dance, laugh, cry and scream, wanna go out and catch and catch a dream? Love is the only other thing that can do all those things that music can make us do.
The man sang his own eulogy he found the perfect song to capture his life and sang it to us.
Perfectly stated
Rick Rubin found Cash the perfect song and guided him to recording it. A brilliant producer is invaluable. Without Rubin, we wouldn't have this gift.
Couldn't of said it better , the regret in his voice just made this song that much heavier...
You said it best. The cover overshadowed the original I would give this video a million likes if I could
I thought the same thing
I can’t watch “Hurt” without fighting back the tears. Jonny may you RIP.
E uma das musicas extremamente sensiveis, que transmitem a dor de se perder parte da vida com cada perda do que foi intensamente vivido e tambem a perda de entes queridos ao longo dos dias, anos e decadas.
It took me a long time to stop the tears after hearing this song. I knew because of my daughter the NIN did this first, Johnny has been a staple in my life! My father loved him and Buddy Holly. My momma loved Elvis. So who do you think I love?
I was never really a fan of Cash, nor Country in general. But uh... yeah. You're right.
It's hard to just listen to it without that fight. Johnny's voice was amazing. I'm not a fan of country but damn, Cash was great.
I know exactly what you mean
It's amazing how a hip hop producer, an "emo" industrial metal singer songwriter, and an old country music legend on his last legs came together and made the ultimate song of regret, sorrow, and the inevitable feeling of the end.
Did you just call a grudge/90s singer emo…? Ugh gen Z. Grudge and goth is not emo… emo is late millennial and gen Z tardation.
@@zerotodona1495 ur annoying
@@zerotodona1495 Mate to normal people its the same. Depressed or affectly depressed teens in black rags.
@@zerotodona1495you know goth more modern than emo right?
@@cormey8772 That's completely wrong. I won't get into the argument about what NIN/Reznor can sound like, but Goth is absolutely an older subculture than Emo. Goth dates all the way back to the early 80s, while Emo was only born in the mid-90s and achieved popularity even later than that.
The way he closed the lid of the piano, then caressed it. Like it was the coffin of a loved one. Gets me every time.
WOW. I love this analogy.
To me it always came across as saying goodbye to an old friend and thanking them for being there.
@@Dracossaint I feel the same way, almost as if he was communicating something to the music he loved all his life: "looks like it's the end of the road for us."
Closing the lid on his life, he gave us his story in all the years he had. Ended it off with a bang and showed us that he’s ready
lol ok
There's a longer quote from Trent that is just perfect. "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."
Hadn't come across that quote while looking up the history of the connections on this song. Thanks for sharing it ❤️
that's beautiful, man...
Trent's quote encapsulates everything brilliantly.
Sincerely appreciate knowing that quote in the entirety. The world is in such a hurry we are given little pieces. Was a blessing to take the time to slow down to read this
I love how Trent is humble enough to be able to say "It really then was not my song anymore" . Heartwarming
As much as I love that statement, I hate how misinterpreted it is. So many people hear it and think “oh, well that must mean it’s Cash’s song now” when realistically, it meant that Cash’s version is it’s own independent song. They’re the same melody, but have such unique meanings that they’re both different songs belonging to different people.
People like to ask which is better. Obviously the answer is both. Personally, as a 70's kid that was severely depressed throughout the 90's, Trent's version resonates. Now at the age of 50, Johnny's version hits home. I still get teary and goosebumps whenever I hear either version. We miss you Johnny; and we love you Trent.
Powerful stuff dude
In other words it depends on your point or view, both songs are for different people and are meant for different view points
What's interesting Is that Trent Is no longer a young lad, he's not as old as Cash was but he Will get there one day. Will he ever revisit It? Who knows
It’s like it’s the same vocalist in both versions, one early in life and the other at the end. Just 2 different perspectives.
Johnny's interpretation of "Hurt" tore my heart out, but it was Trent's version that forced me to re-examine my life, my choices, and paths not taken. I'm 72, and 6 years clean now, but these two guys are one of the reasons I can write these words today, Thank you, Johnny and Trent.
Thank you for sharing this.
Glad you're still with us :) ❤️
I am 41 I have been clean for almost 15 years now. Man, where has the time gone?
I'm a friend of Bill W.
Trent’s music saved me as a kid. Pulled me away from the self destruction i sought. Love johnny’s version but Trent’s saved me.
Nine Inch Nails version scares me, the Johnny Cash version makes me cry. One of the best songs ever written.
Concur 100%
Absolutely agree
Yes, exactly.
@Hunter Vonnegut no no no, Trent's of version is a different song, Cash's is a new interpretation of a dark, brooding, NIN song. Neither are better, was a classic in it's day, now it's got a new meaning...can't be a miserable teenager for ever....
@Hunter Vonnegut Impact on the listener is extremely subjective and personal to the nTH degree.
Simon & Garfunkel's sound of silence covered by Disturbed is another iconic cover that affected my soul
There's something so very touching about such a legendary artist seeing his own experiences in the pain and doubt of a much younger musician and choosing to create his own rendition of his work. It feels not only like an elder sharing his regrets with the young, but like like a respected mentor telling you, "kid, you're not alone. I feel this too." These two songs complete each other.
When I first heard Cash's Hurt, man... it ripped my heart out. I just sat there, staring at nothing, frozen. I still get teary when I hear it so many years later. I love music.
Couldn’t have said it better
I had the same as a kid in music class. Crazy how breathtaking one song can be
Seriously. I feel like someone needs to prepare you for it. I've watched so many countless hours of entertainment and this song (with video) is the most cutting and raw I've seen.
I cried when I first heard Johhny's version thinking of my father. Now I cry thinking of myself.
Johnny lived it. Have you ever listened to Pink's Just Beam Me Up? My son knew he was going to die early, and asked me to play that at his wake.
Johnny Cash was the living definition of rock and roll. Struggle, anger, outcast, but most of all a sense of passion that cannot be faked. He is a legend and the embodiment of a real rock star that could say his goodbyes at a high level. May the man in black rest forever in power.
At the end of the day he may have been a Country star, but aye, him and the attitude behind is music was edgy and rock and roll! Something the modern "Country" scene could really learn something off of, sonically, lyrically and attitude... 👀
@@gargudon8720 something I learned so long ago and I hope you don't mind my sharing, every genre of music has its rules that it must fallow, and this I believe is definitely more evident than ever today, because music today is a mess, that being said the music needs to be true to its rules in order for it to be correct to is genre, but rock in roll is the black leather jacket, it's the rebel, the black sheep, the rule breaker, rock and roll can take what it wants from what ever genre it wants, this is why rock and roll will never die, it can't because everyone has a little rebel inside.
He surrendered to the King of Kings so yes he is in glory
@@andersonsprairieviewfarm2552 - Isn't "being true to the genre" much more a concern of fans and record labels attempting to mass market familiarity than it is actual musicians? Most great musicians of any genre aren't trying to fit in the "rules" - they just make music and other people try to fit their style into a neat little box (which is why there are now probably 50+ subgenres of rock). Black Sabbath for example was more blues than anything, but they changed their sound and someone started calling it "heavy metal." On the flip side had early rock musicians stuck to a genre, rock music wouldn't exist to begin with. If anything, it's more important that musicians don't stick to the "rules of their genre."
@@kingetzel2755 I think there is a lot of truth in your statement and value, let's switch over to art as in painting sculpture and even quilts, there is a ton of talented individuals I see that live around me and our state, but there style, witch is culturally based is very good but not popular, so it doesn't sell well and has unfortunately low value, even though it's excellent work, problem they can't pay the bills, so think what was also being impressed upon me long ago, is that if you can pay the bills then that allows you more freedom, it's kinda like in a interview with John Fogerty , his struggle was with his manager the label and the fans, because it was his music, but he said he finally realized that the music wasn't his, that it actually belongs to the fans, there the ones that pay for it, not him, and inturn that allows him to pay the bills and have the freedom to create, so I guess first you have to be true to your fans or your market, and then some day maybe you can be more adventurous with your craft, like Rodger Waters going on tour with a full orchestra, he said that was the most fun he had ever had, but he lost his ass doing it. But being loyal to their fans afforded him that freedom.
I got sober in 1993. I'm 30 years sober now. I remember the way I felt listening to this song on The Downward Spiral(one of the most influential albums of it's time)and Knowing exactly how Trent felt. Now I'm in my 60's and now I Know exactly How Johnny felt. Pain may feel like a lifetime. But Music like this transcends all time. Thank you Trent for a masterpiece written in a time in your life when nothing seemed to make any sense. And thank you Johnny for reminding all of us that in the end,we try to make sense of it all,before our time is near.
I could listen to Cash's 'Hurt' 100 times in a row and get goosebumps all 100 times. I was a Johnny fan already but 'Hurt' made me an even bigger fan for all new reasons.
It’s incredible how Johnny encapsulated his life using another person’s song. It speaks to the power of his musicianship and depth of emotion he was able to convey. And it also represents the spirit of a person on the cusp of death speaking out for the last time: I existed and it mattered.
Kudos to Rubin for recognizing what the song could be.
Johnny's cover of U2s "ONE" is a beautiful piece.
it's actually not incredible at all. I think the reason Reznor wrote it in the first place is because it's something that alot of people feel... with Johnny not being very unique in feeling that way.
Music IS an universal language
Well said!
Hurt by Johnny Cash is amazing. His version is so hauntingly beautiful.
Agreed
The NIN version is tortured, the cash version heart wrenching. Both are awesome.
With the ascendant and Mercury in Pisces, he is a philosopher who stands above the mental injuries. Others convey helplessness when they sing this song.
Great comment...it really stops time n makes you think
Absolutely!
This is the *one* song I can't listen to. Even thinking of it makes me tear up and cry uncontrollably. I can absolutely understand Reznor stating "it's not my song anymore..." What Johnny Cash managed to do was emotionally packaging all of humanity's pain, despair and sadness into a single song. It's just more than I can bear.
I understand from where you’re coming. It’s one of the songs I love but can’t listen to much. When I listen to it my mind goes to seeing it being played at my memorial service.
I listened to it one time but never could again. I lost my daughter when she was 33 and doing my life over has been my greatest wish.
As a man almost 60 y.o.The HURT song by Johnny Cash makes me cry like a baby. There is no other song that hits me emotional so hard. I can HEAR the suffering, pain and even DEATH in Johnny's voice.
I as well have a ton of emotion well up when I listen to Cash's version.
me too at 63
Johnny’s version is the soundtrack of watching your hero die slowly. That’s why they use it for movies like Logan and why the song never fails to send a chill down my spine
Johnny lost the will to live after June died suddenly. He had been battling poor health for some time, but when he lost his life mate, a part of himself was lost too.
Hurt isn’t just about a hero die slowly, it’s about a man whose lived a full life and built up the world around him and watching it as the fun and joy leaves it and watching, knowing that his own time is near.
@@sharonjensen3016 I agree 😔 💔
Johnny Cash's version of Hurt - combined most especially with the video, is the most powerful video I have ever seen. If it does not make you cry, - especially if you have lots of years under your belt - then your own pride has consumed you.
Sim... ele traduziu sentimentos dificeis de explicar, o fato de ver a vida passando inevitavelmente e levando definitivamente consigo fatos e pessoas que construiram e sustentavam sua trajetoria de vida em que constavam emocoes e sentimentos intensos.
So because I didn't cry because of the music video then my pride has consumed me? Maybe I'm not old enough for the music video to hit me.
That may very well be true. Not all, but I imagine most people, when they are in their rapidly declining years, see the limitation to life. They may see all they have missed/done wrong, and can't go back & get a "do over". It's also the heartbreak over loved ones now gone - a piece of one's life that can not be replaced. They may also see that nothing in this temporal world can truly bring full, complete satisfaction, without that eternal longing for more, or perfection. That's what points us to hope in Jesus, who will one day restore a perfect world/eternity. Many young people, I dare say, simply can't see this yet, as they have their lives ahead of them, with no time perspective. @@mrdabrow
Haha whoa there bud, calm down.
Johnny Cash’s version blew me away. It was extremely painful and beautiful and just very vulnerable. What a legend!
I am 71. Johnny has wandered in and out of my life for most of that time. As I too reach for the end, I find my past influences falling before me in a never ending wave that can only have one crescendo. His rendition of hurt was more than just meaningful to me, it was his final breath. I can only hope to be as graceful in my time.
71 is still young! Don’t plan on checking out anytime soon! God Bless.
Man you got me choked up, this was beautiful
Hey brother, 71 is not old! Don't look back on your life yet all of us here who live music and use it as a tool to help ourselves I think can collectively say, we hope you aren't ready to go yoy have much more living left and we love you neighbor! There are still billions of good loving people in the world!
Listen to the last few albums he did, with that producer. The song hurt itself, and the rendition, was indeed tragic and moving. But towards the end of his life, Johnny found hope and redemption in Jesus Christ, which is evident in more than a few of the songs among those albums. He knew where he would be spending eternity, and he is actually in a better place now... not in the trite sense people might say about anyone at a funeral or after someone dies, even when it doesn't really apply... but literally and truly. You too have that opportunity. Cash's later works themselves contain something akin to a testimony of this, and his own unique musical sharing of the gospel. We all have some regrets if we're honest or perceptive of the effects of our choices, that doesn't go away, as I'm sure it didn't for Johnny, until the end. It's not about the elimination of regret, but rather the addition of something else. That regret, or whatever it is we personally face, or question, or fear, as regret is not necessarily a primary experience for us all, can become overshadowed to the point of relative insignificance with the infusion of a far more powerful hope, and a new spirit.
Do yourself a favor and write something, if you haven't already. You're good at it.
I took my grandma to see Johnny Cash in concert the summer of 1991. I was 16 and I was a NIN fan and definitely not a Cash fan. But I did it for grandma. As a 47 year old man., I can look back and see how lucky I was to see him live in concert. When I heard him do Hurt, it was like two worlds of mine collided and I was a Johnny fan for life.
Similar to me -- but in 86 and 15. Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Zep, Bowie, (and I am publicly admitting my 15 year old self loved Wham!) and I was dragged! DRAGGED, I say, to a concert against my will. Opened with Nitty Gritty Dirt band and then came Johnny and June Cash. It was right then I realized that though I didn't really listen to country music in my day to day life, Johnny Cash was amazing and I loved live music. Fast forward oh, so many years to the release of the album with Hurt and I was freaking blown away. That song has made me go back and listen to his entire collection. Life fan for sure.
One of my biggest regrets in life is buying my mom a ticket to see Johnny Cash and not going with her. I grew up on a steady diet of country and I hated it. My music was rock and roll. Guess I can blame it on my immaturity because as I grew older I gained a whole new appreciation for country, both the new stuff and the old. Boy was I an idiot for not only not seeing Cash but also not seeing my mom enjoy the experience. Mom died when I was 29 and I never got the opportunity to correct that mistake. It haunts me.
That is the thing about music - it tends to transcend language, borders, cultures and unites everyone. In the end it doesn't matter what the genre is, all that matters is does it have a decent beat and can we sing a long with it?
@@m.l.tankesly2665 Listening is enough. Can you sing along not feeling emberassed CHILD IN TIME by DEEP PURPLE? A decent beat, whats that? That you can move to it like sheep?
Amazing story thanks for sharing
RIP Johnny Cash, you bloody legend. We'll miss you and all your beautiful music
Johnny’s version of hurt was the first version I heard, I wouldn’t hear the original till much later and I’m glad that reznor agrees that Johnny not only did the song justice but made it his own. The line “everyone I know goes away, in the end” manages to make me cry every time, good chunk of the time it reminds me of those I’ve lost already in my life (I’m in my 30s) and how much I’m still going to lose.
I don't think there is a higher compliment that could be given than what Rezner said about Johnny now owning the song.
For real. Trent's contribution to this epic is getting a bit forgotten. It was a collaboration between two musical greats, sharing their pain, decades apart.
Like Bob Dylan said Hendrix owns All Along the Watchtower, the other greatest cover ever made.
That was the best little movie . From one end to another .
@@endthisnonsense7202 Blinded By the Light is my pick for the other greatest cover of all time.
@@mid2170 I forgot about that cover. Wasn’t it Son House?
I actually cried the first time hearing Johnny doing Hurt... and I have to admit; didn't know it was a cover. Respect to 9inch nails but damn Johnny did a good job. 🙏🏻❤️
I knew the original well, and was still floored and in bits when I heard Johnny's version. It still gets me to this day.
I Also didn't know it was a cover song. As it came out of the blue I was perplexed. So many years without new songs from Johnny... and now this one? Not much sense, but possible. Now I know, and it doesn't matter. It's also a JC song.
Actually me too. I had a phase where i listened to it on loop night and day.
I remember seeing the video for the first time and being completely overwhelmed, I don't cry easily - and I'd even accept the criticism that I don't cry easily enough as fair - but I was in floods of tears by the end of the video. Trent gets so much respect from me for both writing the song and for recognising how much was added to it by Johnny Cash and that video
Nonsense
I sobbed the first time I heard Cash's hurt. Still brings a tear to my eye it's so powerful.
this, and I Will Always Love You, are two times in which the cover was so overwhelmingly astounding that the original artist rightfully and graciously ceded the song to the cover artist. much respect to Trent Reznor and Dolly Parton for having the grace to recognize greatness in another, and in doing so, reaffirm their own.
I'd love to hear Trent revisit the song as an old man to hear the contrast, just as Johnny had.
he was butthurt he covered it but Johnny Cash gave it some meaning.
@@MrHarco77 No he wasn't.
@@MrHarco77 No, he gave his song to Johnny.
@@MrHarco77 why are you making things up?🤣🤣 so weird
@@MrHarco77 Absolutely untrue, and you really shouldn't just make crap up.
The older I get the harder it is to listen to this song.
Same the more you live life the worse it gets
Well, do something about it. You do have control of yourself. Don't give up
@@vc1396 Sadly, you don't always have control of everything.
@@xenogear88 but you do always have control of your own autonomy of action. All it takes is a little change in attitude
@@sharonpaterson1281 Well sure, life gets more stressful and its harder to manage the many responibilities that stack as we age, but to say that it gets "worse" is just a matter of perspective. Life sucks but there are always ways in which you can make it better.
The NIN version should not be diminished or dismissed. It is a stunningly beautiful piece of art. The Cash version is a great musical performance by a legendary performer but the NIN version is unforgettable and transcendent.
They have different appointments and both have emotional tones
Johnny's hurt always makes me feel something. The first time I heard it was after his passing and I was just a kid 13 maybe 14 and I remember I seen the video and I remember crying and then I started to listen to more of his music and have grown to really love his unique sound.
I’m 35, 10 years “clean”. I grew up blasting Johnny on vinyl through house speakers that would rock the lands Lol the day Hurt was released along with the music video, well that was a day I can never truly forget. The tears that poured from my beady eyes as I wept for a man that you could see was ready to go! Ready to follow his love into the dark abyss. Thanks for this man!!! Very well done!! Brought out emotions I’ve kept down for years now. It’s good to shed a tear on occasion…. Reminds you, your still alive!!
Really well put mate 👏 👍
Beatuifully written. Thank you for your candor. The thing about the future is that it is still to be had, an opportunity to change versus the past which cannot be undone. This version brings a new level of despair to an already emotionally wrenching song.
Praise the Lord and Congratulations on your sobriety. I myself gave up drinking close to 5 years now and havent looked back. God bless my brother.
Get in mate. Proud of you 👏👏
I’ve got eight years in April, same thing happened to me. I’m proud of you, keep walking the line.
That whole album is haunting. Johnny knows he is dying and made a beautiful album that was his last gift to the world.
/
Damn I know how Trent feels that stuff about feeling like an outsider really hits home hard for me.
Cash’s ‘Hurt’ ripped out my heart, destroyed my soul and laid everything bare. I die every time I hear it. It’s is beautiful. It is magnificent. It is perfect.
the production Genius of Rick Rubin.
Same here...😭
I'm not sure what you're getting at here. Do you like the song or not?
@@mikedennehy2454 I FUCKIN LOVE IT, but it makes me sad all the time... i am very ill, and it reminds me of our limited time here...
first time i heard it all i could do was lean against a wall and try not to cry. i liked the nin original but johnny took my breath away
Johnny Cash's version literally brings me to tears every single time.
I feel like it’s a man taking his dignity back before he left this world. Proving how amazing he always was even if none of us saw it, including himself.
We couldn't be friend's if it didn't.
Same. Evert time.
The music video brought me to tears the first time is saw it. It intrigued me to learn about his life and listen to all his music… I was 14.
Hits me like a bus every time I hear it, even if I go years between each listen. It's like that box of childhood mementos in the back of your closet. You only go to it when the time is appropriate. But just knowing it's there brings you comfort.
What a wonderful gift Trent gave to Johnny and Johnny gave back to Trent. A timeless classic. Haunting.
I never heard Hurt until I heard Cash; it leaves a mark.
Johnny Cash's version is dark and powerful, filled with true and sincere emotions. I actually cry every time I listen to this song.
My dads funeral song, he requested Cash's version
Lol
@@brizzle711 ??
Same, every time
Me too, my wife asked why I tear up. It’s a beautiful interpretation
Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" is just gut wrenching, you can feel the pain, sorrow and loss so profoundly. And he is correct....it's ALL an empire of dirt.
Johnny Cash wasn’t just country. His genre-spanning music embraced country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal earned him the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.
He along with Elvis are the only two with that distinction.
Occasionally you come by a song that was written for someone else. When the right song meets the right artist,it is epic
Yeah, the video was just as powerful, and drove home the emotion behind Johnny's performance. I never realized Rick Rubin was the catalyst. Genius all around.
I remember being a teenager when NIN released that song. It was a good representation for the fear and uneasiness young GenX and older Millennials had moving into adulthood. By the time Mr Cash released his version the same generations that felt uneasy in the late 90s had fully grown into adulthood and dealt with a decade of war. It had a whole new meaning and we actually had regrets of our own. That's how Mr Cash connected with a whole new audience.
Spot on sir, spot on.
I respect your opinion and all but how did you come to that interpretation of NINs version? Maybe it's because I relate to Trents addiction struggles so I can only see it one way (actually two, addiction or depression and isolation), but I would never consider it could represent teenage anxiousness
Well said well said
To date, the only artist to ever be inducted into the Rock and Roll HoF, Country Music HoF, and the Songwriters' HoF. A true legend.
While I love Johnny that’s not totally true. Dolly Pardon is also in Rock, country and Nashville Song writers hall of fame. However, Dolly is also in the National Songwriters Hall of fame. Johnny is a couple other hall of fames too
He is also in the gospel hall of fame
Chet Atkins, cash, Ray Charles, Floyd Cramer, Brenda Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Monroe, dolly Parton, elvis, Jimmy Rodgers, hank Williams. Are all individual artists in both the r&r hof and cm hof
@@brienwilliams4315 Linda Ronstadt
Duke Ellington summed it up, "There are only two kinds of musicm good music and the other kind!"
Johnny's version is my favorite. As someone who has fewer days ahead of me then behind me, JC really laid it down.
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
The emotion that came outta Cash covering this song touched and moved millions. Trent should feel absolutely graced by it!
Trent saying he didn’t fit anywhere, yet his song covered by cash has taken him into the hearts of millions. Like it or not Trent, you fit everywhere now.thank you.
Like he said, it's not rational, it's a feeling that plagues him.
Not only this, but now he's making soundtracks for mainstream movies (Disney's Soul, I watched with my GF, and about 5 minutes in, I had to pull up IMDB to see who did the soundtrack, because it just had that NiN feel to it, and the fact that such an uplifting soundtrack to an uplifting movie about how life is worth living when you pursue your passion could come from an artist that was so troubled throughout the 1990s made it that much more uplifting to me.
@@ajplays-gamesandmusic4568 now?! LOL. Reznor has been doing movies, in no small way, for a WHILE!
You understand that Trent and NIN were extremely famous well before this cover right?
All I knew is it was a cover I had no clue it was a nine inch nails cover. Got to give them respect for giving the go ahead for the cover. Also mad respect to Rubin. He brought back a legend and made sure he didn't go out with a whimper.
To me, Johnny's video of Hurt is by far one of the most compelling, powerful resonant videos I have ever seen in my whole life, and I am 63
Same here and I can't watch it again.
I love Trent's version of Hurt. When I was young and going through the Hell that was my young adult life it really resonated with me. I was angry, depressed and in pain. It helped give those emotions a voice for me. But as I get older it's Johnny Cash's version that brings me to tears every time I hear it. Looking back on life and seeing the things that could have been or should have been. The regrets and mistakes. The friends I've lost, and the guilt I feel for still being alive. That song brings everything back into one emotional gut punch.
Trent wrote that song for Johnny............. he just didn't know yet.
This could never have happened without Rick Rubin... logistically or emotionally. Trent and Johnny are Magicians, but so is Rick. This miraculous piece is the most profound revelation in popular music in decades. It absolutely stunned me.
RR is one of the greatest producers of his era. He is a production genius.
Could not agree more, Trent and Johnny are magicians but Rick is the Wizard!
@@elreyabeja4539 his era? Any
I gotta say Rick Rubin looks like a homeless person. No shoes and all but he has an ear for music.
@@ratm524 Or do homeless people look like Rick Rubin?
The Nine Inch Nails version has helped me through some pretty rough times; it may have even saved my life, but the Johnny Cash version always turns me into a giant blubbering baby.
Me too ❤️
Ah. Same.
Both are incredible pieces of music with a lot of emotion in them.
I never heard the original NIN version, and when I saw the thumbnail for this video I was shocked by the vision of an old Johnny Cash who was clearly 'on his way out', it intrigued me... I myself am an old man coming to the end of my days and having been a Cash fan for several decades I had to see and hear what he had to say. To say the least, it 'blew me away'... I literally felt all his pain and regret of a life not always 'well lived'... Sometimes I wish I could go back and do it all over again, but do it right.... It seems we never see our own faults so clearly until we see them on the face or hear the words coming out of someone who sounds like he's been living in your mind and knows all your dark secrets and regrets.
Two magnificent artists - one writing, both performing, and each creating renditions that blend completely different genres and eras of music through a single song. Magic. It's a tribute to Reznor's accomplishment as a writer and performer, and to Cash for transcending musical assumptions to re-create it. I can't wait for the duet in the afterlife.
Cash cut straight to the bone with this cover. Chilling.
I'll never forget the first time I heard Johnny do Hurt. I was like 13 and practicing with my crappy punk band at my friend's house. His dad came down to the basement and he asked us to come upstairs and watch something. I was absolutely blown away. Up until that point, most of the music I was interested in was stuff like Black Flag, Krupted Peasant Farmerz, Crimpshrine, Screeching Weasel..... When I went home that night I told my Grandmother (who raised me) about how much I liked the song. That Christmas she gave me the box set Unearthed. My life was never the same. I miss you so much Nannie.
Nothing wrong with some Black Flag either! The best musicians love all kinds of music. Disturbed’s version of Sound of Silence is another example.
Now I'm in tears. Music can be so powerful, and those that allow us to follow our dreams are true gifts.
If a cover can be better this is the one! Absolutely beautiful!
This is such a beautiful cover. I also will completely admit, I cry every time I hear this version.
Wuss.
@@CB-xr1eg Such an inarticulate one word response and yet it says a great deal... about you.
@@jeffreyratliff4685 Simp.
Personally I prefer Cash’s cover, but what makes Hurt as iconic of a song as it is was the fact that it could be covered in another genre and it’s just as popular and impactful as the original
It was covered in metal by Hundredth and it was just as amazing. Look that version up it will strike you in the heart
@@vin_fm2354 I LOVE that version!
@@vin_fm2354 I'm an old guy. trust me, Johnny's will get you, eventually, when it starts being you.
Idiotic. Any song can be made jnto any genre.
We can't know where we're going without knowing where we came from bruv
Johnny Cash wrote a great many classic songs, but this song is probably the greatest one he ever performed - and he didn't even write it! No matter - the song indeed belongs to him now. Probably one of the most powerful performances ever, by any artist. A fitting legacy to a great, creative life.
I don't think he wrote most of his songs. Back in the day, there were singers and song writers, and they stayed in their lanes. Elvis didn't write any of his songs either. Artists didn't start wrighting everything until Bob Dylan and the Beatles made it cool.
Nine inch nails wrote this song.
@@theantknowsbest367 yep
Sisters of mercy covering Emma is the greatest cover.
@@theantknowsbest367 yes, Trent reznor originally wrote it. Johnny liked it and wanted to cover it... But both versions are different
I love this cover, it’s perfect. The voice is exactly what makes this song so powerful, and I can imagine a lot of young people heard his name for the first time after this song.
The double meanings Johnny Cash manages to tease out are just mindblowing. "You are someone else; I am still right here" -- at his age, we (the world, the listener) have turned over like a Ship of Theseus from the beginning of his career. Many of us never even knew of him before his wife died. It must have been such an isolating feeling.
Hurt is the best late stage song in any career i can think of, a direct line to the soul, that was pure magic.
Armatrong's version of What a Wonderful World was published when he was 66 - quite a good late stage song. ;) Innuendo by Queen is not bad either. Springsteen and Dylan have published - and might continue to publish - very beauriful songs in their 50s and 60s. And then there is Bowie, who wrote, performed and published Black Star while he was basically dying. That said, I get you; there is a sense of deliberatedness, acceptance, hopelessnessa and inexorability in Cash's voice that is hard to match
@@gaetanomartire7605 all good late stage songs but dont affect me as much as hurt.
My dad wanted "hurt" played at his funeral since he was a true Cash fan. He got his wish, and now tears everytime i hear his amazing version.
Sorry for your loss. This is a powerful & emotional song to begin with, then add a personal relation, even moreso. I feel that way with Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd - my mom loved that song, and no word of a lie, it played in the chapel just after her cremation - can't keep a dry eye whenever I hear it. Peace be to our mom & dad!
Sorry for your loss, man....
Thank you for honoring your Dad's wishes.
That is the song I want as well.. I am an old man now. Saw military and all over the world and tons of adventures... But this will be as your Dad.. The one of the songs..
Cykyn I am sorry for your loss
Truly a great thing Trent Reznor did for Johnny Cash. He really did make that song his own for eternity. R.I.P Johnny
Easily one of the most haunting yet beautiful songs ever performed by Cash. Every time I listen to it I feel Johnny's anguish, but it's cathartic in the fact that, whenever I feel down about myself, I realize I'm not alone in my regrets. Thank you, Trent, for letting Johnny take a song about your pain and make it his own.
So glad Trent allowed Cash to sing his song, Cash is a legend and honors Trent's song. What an incredible song, feelings come through that few can put forth like Cash did. Amazing song.
Cash didn’t need Reznor’s permission. Anybody can record anyone else’s song without permission.
i never would of cared about it had he not. So yeah thankfully he passed it on to someone who brought it the real meaning it deserved.
@@unprofound Record yes, release no. Some bands and companies that own the songs are very protective of them. If you do it without their permission you can end up loosing a fortune. Try releasing an album with a Beatles or Rolling Stones song on it. Financially, you'd be better off taking every dollar you spent making it and burning it in a pile. Even if you wrote and originally recorded songs, if you don't own the rights, you will be fined for playing them live. This happened to John Fogerty. He wrote, produced, and sang almost every Credence Clearwater Revival song. But when they broke up he was hit with a fine (I believe $5,000) for every one of their songs he did live because his old record company owned the rights to them.
Trent seems like a pretty cool guy
@@unprofound not quite
The first time I saw johnny's hurt video I cried so hard. I had already been a NIN fan for many years, so I knew the song well. But Cash just took it to another place and that video is just so powerful. It's only 4 minutes and we are all in tears over it. Some movies need a few hours to do the same. Incredible
What an honor to have the man in black sing your song
Johnny Cash and his golden throat will stay in the hearths of millions of people throughout the globe, may his soul rest in peace with God.
Someone mentioned this before, Johnny Cash’s version sounds like a man singing at his own funeral, add to the fact that the music video is like a tribute video.
well he did know he didn't have long when he did the song so perhaps it was.
I met June and Johnny in 1990 when they came into a shop I worked in. I was 19 and instantly recognised them because my dad was a massive fan. I never told them I knew who they were, but we chatted for about 10 minutes about Australian sites to visit and where the best chocolate is to buy 😂❤ and finished my shift after they left. I went to catch my bus home from the city and they happened to see me in my seat, as they walked past the bus, obviously headed to the Hyatt across the road and waved at me. The whole bus looked gobsmacked and turned to look at me and I laughed and shrugged. Johnny, dressed up like a cowboy and June adorned with Native American jewellery and raven hair, they stood out in Adelaide, Australia. I was thrilled and called my dad when I got home to tell him and he was as excited as I was. Anyway, they were humble and sweet and clearly soulmates. RIP ❤
Thank you so much for sharing, absolutely LOVE your story.
That's a cool story man! It also shows that not everybody that makes it to the big time and fame with fortune has to sell their soul to the Devil. I believe their together now singing a song. I just hope I'm able to get tickets to one of their shows one day Thanks again for the story mate and Happy New Year!
You telling that story is akin to adding a longer wick to the candle of his memory, thank you.
Wow what an amazing story!🙏
Great story.
I think at this point Trent finally released all that pain... Wonderful story! 💙
Every once in a while, you stumble across a piece of music that reaches into you and grabs a fistful of your insides. "Hurt" is one of the very best such songs, maybe because it speaks to something universal; maybe that's why it's so powerful in both Trent's and Johnny's versions, the same story told two shockingly different ways. It is heartbreaking, beautiful, savage. This is as close to a perfect song as it gets.
My father was a successful and influential country and folk musician in communist Czechoslovakia. He loved Johnny Cash, When this song was released, I showed him and we both cried. Now I hope that they have met somewhere in the afterlife and jammed. I had no idea that this was Trent Reznor's song, I love all good music, I have always loved nine inch nails. The beautiful pain that this song brings from so many angles is truly something to behold. Thank you for sharing this story with me.
What is name of your father?
What an honor to have Johnny Cash to do you song so beautifully. Thank uou Trent for writing such beautiful words.
As much as i love the song i cant help but be amazed at how this video articulates this. Very well done!
Johnny Cash completely crushed this song. The music video is a work of art we should be sending to the stars.
Didn’t expect to watch a loudwire video only to have to hold back the emotion. Both versions will prove to be timeless. But bloody hell, that Johnny Cash rendition is powerful. Rick’s thoughts on the cover are spot on.
He said, "It wasm't my song anymore", and he was right, but he was smiling when he said that. It is an important song now, and that must be heartwarming, one would think..
I remember hearing NIN's Hurt when it debuted, and I thought, "WOW! I understand the pain and suffering in this man, and it's how I feel too." But when Johnny's version came out, I literally broke down in tears. That version absolutely broke me. It's one of the most powerful covers I have ever heard. Only comparable to Chris Cornell's cover of Imagine, and Disturbed's version of The Sound Of Silence.
When I bought that album, it was because I loved Johnny Cash (though not much of a Country fan). When I listened to it, I was blown away, especially by this track. Trent is to be commended for handing over the baton - what he wrote out of despair, Johnny made into an anthem of universal proportions. RIP to the old man, he lives with the all-time greats.
There will never be another Johnny Cash
Hurt is a song I can never listen to without crying. It's the most emotional song I think there is.
More emotional than My heart Will go on?
Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. Makes me cry . I was in a darkness and about to end it and that song stopped me.
What about Nutshell by AIC
beach house- space song
Nutshell for me
Cash's interpretation shows just how great the song is. In retrospect, those three men created one of the greatest collaborations anyone could ever imagine.
Well said
Yes! Exactly what I felt too!! Love ❤️ your comment!
I could do it better
After hearing Mr. Cash do his rendition, I did a search for the original. Never having listened to 9 Inch Nails genre, I was astounded at the different impression I got from both singers. Saying the exact same words, but having a different effect on me. I'm 67, listen to a multitude of genres, and this is one of few, that has had this effect on me. R. I. P. Mr. And Mrs Cash
My dad's favorite artist was Johnny Cash, bar none. My dad passed in 1981. I truly wish I could play Hurt for my dad. It would have resonated and he would have loved it. The incredible gift of this song came not from the man who wrote it and sang it first, nor the man who covered it-but simply that this song speaks to all. I am still speechless when I listen to both versions.
Johnny never "faded" from the country scene. A whole bunch of famous country artists and other artists were very influenced by him and his works. He is a legend! Their impact doesn't die.
Well said! I am in Nashville as I watch this video and it's all really real when you take in the sights and sounds of a city that inspires and shapes ones thoughts here and Mr. Cash certainly inspired nearly every genre of music. I feel honored to have lived in the same point in time as such a great person.
Johnny Cash lit the torch🔥 It's the job of fans to carry the torch; either through appreciation OR creation🙏
He faded in the eyes of marketing jackasses and business administration retards (aka people too stupid to get a real college degree) but he never faded to people with good taste in music.
Pretty sure the Highway Men had success in 80's and 90's, Johnny never faded.
Ask many a punk rocker to show their album collection. Johnny Cash will be found there. Especially if they are into roots rock as well.
Johnny Cash is the GOAT. We could use a man like that at a time like now.
Just to be clear- GOAT all capitals is Greatest Of All Time. Goat lower case is a fool or fall guy. You might want to edit that.
We need someone as genuine as him instead of all the imposters running around
Damned straight.
He’d be cancelled
I remember the first day this single was released as a video. I watched it on youtube at work and was crying at my desk. Cash wasnt a perfect man but he did deserve better than fading away. Im glad he went out on a high note in his career.
Great description of this song as it transformed from Trent to Johnny. This is akin to All Along the Watchtower. Dylan wrote it....Jimmy owns it. The emotional weight of the way Johnny sang Trent's song and that video....this might be the most weighty tune ever performed...from the penning of the song, the performance by Johnny...the intimacy and vulnerability of Johnny at that moment...coupled with the backdrop of his life and achievement summarized in that video. This might be the greatest and most emotional song/performance/video/metaphor encapsulated in a music video. This is art on all levels that we as people can absorb. I am touched that Trent surrenders his song to greatness of this performance. God Bless Johnny.