The Johnny Cash Hurt song was his cover of the Nine Inch Nail’s song and was released in 2002 to critical acclaim. The Cash anthem strips the original song down to little more than an acoustic guitar and the trembling voice of a dying man. After hearing the Cash version, Trent Reznor’s verdict was “That song isn’t mine anymore”.
Johnny Cash was 71 years of age at the time of filming this video. Cash had serious health problems at the time and he passed away seven months later (September 12, 2003).. The video features footage and images from Johnny’s career and his wife (June) also appears in the music video for “Hurt”. The music video was shot in the house where Cash lived for nearly 30 years and the home was later destroyed in a fire on April 10, 2007. On June 17, 2011 Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” song landed at #15 among Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Songs of the 2000’s.
Johnny Cash Hurt
The music video for “Hurt” features images from Cash’s life and was directed by Mark Romanek. The video was named the best video of the year by both the Grammy Awards and the CMA Awards. This music video became the most popular of Johnny’s career with over 222 million views as of October of 2023. Watch Johnny Cash perform the song Hurt and check out the lyrics and details for this song below.
Johnny Cash Hurt Music Video
The original “Hurt” song was written by Trent Reznor and first performed by the Nine Inch Nails on their 1994 album “The Downward Spiral”.
Johnny Cash Hurt Lyrics
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that’s real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
[Chorus:]
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
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar’s chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
[Chorus:]
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
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
The Johnny Cash recording of this song was released on his album “American IV: The Man Comes Around”
Remember to “share” this with other Country Music fans.
