Hurt - Johnny Cash

In 2003 Johnny Cash covered the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt” after hooking up with legendary producer Rick Rubin. The original was industrial rock but Cash gave it a country and western twist, giving a more emotional feel. Cash gives hindsight into his life and the mistakes he made in his life through the music video - his declining health was also highlighted. The video was seen as iconic in Cash’s career as he died only 5 months after the video was made.

To really understand the full emotional pain in the video, it’s important to look at events in Cash’s personal life. His older brother, Jack, was killed after being pulled into a saw mill, in 1944, and Cash was emotionally scarred by the incident, being only 12 at the time. His divorce from his first wife, Vivian Liberto, is the incident that most relates to the lyrics in the song as it began the downward spiral into an addiction of drugs, alcohol and affairs with other women. The video portrays this by showing clips of Cash in his youth followed by his present state. His wife also features in the video, although that wasn’t the original plan. We also see images of the Johnny Cash museum – once in its heyday and later when it’s rundown and ruined. This represents how Cash’s health and career have fallen from the top to the bottom.

The lyrics in the Cash’s version are identical except he changes the lyric “I wear this crown of shit” to “I wear this crown of thorns”, to compare himself to Jesus’ crucifixion in terms of his illness. The religious references don’t stop there – an image of a crucifix is shown many times and we see fruit and wine on Cash’s table – a reference to the last supper. The constant references to religion and Jesus in particular are there to highlight how Cash’s life has gone from one where he is idolised to near-death.

The editing of the video is important as the slow, long takes create a mellow atmosphere that, combined with the old pictures of Cash’s career, really emphasise the sadness and pain of Cash. Also the slow pace lets you follow the story and understand Cash’s pain even more.

The video was successful as it played on the heartstrings of the audience as Cash’s ill-health gained huge sympathy as he was such a popular figure in his prime. The contrast between Cash’s hugely successful career and younger life to his declining health in the video made the video iconic, especially with his death coming only 5 months later.