Johnny Cash, Hurt | COVERS

In the 45^th edition of COVERS (2024), Johnny Cash delivers a compelling rendition of “Hurt” originally performed by Nine Inch Nails.

Ah, it’s time to get cozy and cover up! In COVERS, we highlight a musician or band covering songs by another musician (likely a popular musician). COVERS focuses solely on the musician who covers.  It is open to established musicians and musicians who may not be as well-known. In the 45^th edition of COVERS (2024), Johnny Cash delivers a compelling rendition of “Hurt” originally performed by Nine Inch Nails.

“I will let you down / I will make you hurt.” Ask yourself, did it ever seem likely that Johnny Cash (1932 – 2003) would cover a Nine Inch Nails song? N-O. Cash was a legendary country musician – one of the greatest.  Nine Inch Nails, led by Trent Reznor, is an industrial rock band. Two completely different worlds. On his 2002, platinum album, American IV: The Man Comes Around, Cash covered Reznor’s “Hurt”, which originally appeared on the 1994 Nine Inch Nails album, The Downward Spiral.  Cash made “Hurt” his own, earning a legitimate late-career classic.  Notably, “Hurt” was certified gold by the RIAA in 2005. Also, at the 46^th Annual GRAMMY Awards, Cash won the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video for “Hurt” posthumously.

Trent Reznor composed a marvelous song. Cash made this marvelous song even more marvelous – trumping the original (subjective, of course). Acoustic guitars and piano play a crucial role within the accompaniment – the perfect backdrop for the country music legend. “I hurt myself today / To see if I still feel / I focus on the pain / the only thing that’s real,” Cash sings expressively in a gravelly baritone.  With Cash at the helm, it feels and sounds different than Reznor, who was 29 when the original was released.  Cash was 70 when “Hurt” was released as a single.  The Silent Generation (Cash) versus Gen-X (Reznor).  The second verse is equally chilling and moving where a slight lyrical modification is made from the original: “I wear this crown of thorns / Upon my liar’s chair / Full of broken thoughts / I cannot repair.” Of course, the chorus is the section to beat – the centerpiece:

“What have I become

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.”

The final chorus is the most powerful.  The accompaniment grows more and more intense, with Cash sounding his most authentic and commanding. “Hurt” covered by Johnny Cash is a once-in-a-lifetime song.

Johnny Cash // American IV: The Man Comes Around // American Recording Company, LLC // 2002

Johnny Cash, Hurt: Covers No. 45 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner /The Musical Hype; American Recording Company, LLC; Alan Cordero, Ba Tik, Kampus Production, Matteo Milan, SHVETS production from Pexels; OpenClipart-Vectors, StockSnap, Vicki Hamilton from Pixabay]