Rick Rubin now sees the video as a historical document. I like this song very much but i dont understand one line of this song and that at the end. I assume the last lines "I would keep myself, I would find a way" means he would still make the same choices even if given another chance. Six month later, his beloved wife of 35 years, June Carter Cash passed in May 2003. That idea would blossom into a heart-wrenching music video, that spoke about the transience of life, the gracelessness of death, the Ozymandian crumbling of an oeuvre and the decline of a genre, an era and an attitude. In Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt,” he describes the life that he has lived and the regrets that he has from it. In any case: GREAT LYRICS! After years of deluding himself he realizes his thoughts, his entire way of seeing the world is "broken", and his brain has lost the ability to fix it. Time running out on his remaining earthly days, his strength disipated and spent. Former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna discussed Trent Reznor’s reaction to Johnny Cash covering “Hurt” in a new AL interview. By the looks of these comments no one has the slightest idea that johnny cash was a drug addict/IV drug user. You are not me, I am me. The caviar and lobster banquet with no diners. He is you and this song was a thought you had in another life. But now they've stopped fussing over him and he sees how little he has without their adulation. Away from the importance. Johnny passed in September 2003. It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form." Seems like a strange choice but also a very appropriate song given that time in his life. Our whole life is but an illusion, an experiment of thought. If I could start over, I wouldn't lose myself. Likely, he was so caught up in receiving external validation and escaping from his pain ("I focus on the pain") that he couldn't get in touch with his inner self and build a life he valued. Cash's cover of "hurt" is about his fame, his family, and his drug abuse. The chorus is always the voice of the "other". Jonny's version was more relatable. But he still wasn't happy because in the end its still materials. Explaining the self-loathing nature of the songs on. Over time they all disappear and all he is left with is himself. I would find a way" Johnny cash wants desperately to live a different life. “The place was in such a state of dereliction. He hade fame, he had money he had everything anyone could ever want. Our development can be broken into different stages, starting when we are born and ending when we die. I was wondering what that specific line means in Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt? The recording went ahead, produced by super producer Rick Rubin, and was released as a single in 2003, catching the ear of respected One Hour Photo director Mark Romanek. Nine Inch Nails lynchpin Trent Reznor has spoken about hearing Johnny Cash's spellbinding cover of Hurt for the first time.Hurt originally appeared on the 1994 Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral. UP TO 4K!Music video by Johnny Cash performing Hurt. He realizes that he built an "empire of dirt" and valued all the wrong things. A million miles away The album is a chronicle of the destruction of a man. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? We are one consciousness experiencing itself. Base self, chorus: He lost himself to dirt and if he could have his time again, he would do his life differently and be honest with himself (instead of kidding himself on the Liar's Chair and doing drugs). These people interacted with him to comfort his ego but were all just an illusion of his own making. "You are someone else" meaning he has grown up/matured/changed, but "I am still right here" meaning the core/instincts/habits are still right there. Reznor was sent the video while in the studio with Rage Against the Machine’s Zach De La Rocha, and, when the pair sat down to watch it, any doubts he had about the cover were long gone. He was found nearly dead due to a drug overdose and had lost the most important thing: himself. Hurt has come to symbolise the twilight years of the late-great Johnny Cash – who would have been celebrating his 86th birthday today – the iconic … I totally feel I can relate to it and it makes sense that it may have been written for the writers off spring. He deluded himself that he was proud of who he was and living his best life, when really he was just escaping from the life he wanted. The outro says it all. The verse is always the voice of the protagonist. Every line reveals the depth of Cash’s reflections and his private reckoning. I think Cash's version has "meaning" to more because more people are aware of his personal issues, and the song strongly follows his personal life. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Had it been the same voice throughout it would have been, "what have I become, my sweetest friend"? All he can do lament the sort of person he is. It was written by Trent Reznor for the NiN album ‘The downward spiral’ This song is about realising consequence and regret. And thanks to everybody who wrote their own interpretations. Drugs/drug addiction As someone else said earlier he's shown on a "throne". Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Self worth The video has him on a throne, yes, but more importantly it 'takes place' in the Johnny Cash Museum, symbolizing a type of 'storehouse of memory'. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. So what is clear in the song, and moreso in the video is the idea of a retrospective on your life, memory in the shadow of inevitable death. My interpretation--it's the Liar's Chair--We are all sinners/and liars--it's beautiful how true it is to admit to be a liar--before GOD-before you die--which is true when you meet your maker. The thing about a crown of thorns is that it slowly tears away at your head until it gets into your skull and destroys your ability to think straight again. However, if the song songs familiar it is due to the fact that it is a cover performed by Johnny Cash. /* TFP - lyricinterpretations */ Is the voice of the protagonist. goes away in the end". “We were in the studio, getting ready to work and I popped it in,” he recalled. Six month later, his beloved wife of 35 years, June Carter Cash passed in May 2003. The line "crown of shit" was changed to "crown of thorns", not only removing profanity from the lyrics, but also more directly referencing Christ. He was likely referring to his fans and the people who orbited him when he was popular. im 13 years old and for the first time I listened I understood it.i cried. In 2002, Cash covered Hurt and Reznor was in awe and announced in Rolling Stone magazine that Hurt belonged to Cash. A sad footnote to a sad story, Cash’s home of nearly 30 years in which the video was shot, burned down in 2007. At this point in his life, he realizes he has nothing. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html. As he does this, he … "Hurt" original by nine inch naiils later covered by johnny cash. Hurt was released by Johnny Cash on American IV in November, 2002. All of the people that he experienced throughout his life ‘go away, in the end’. Johnny Cash and his cover of Hurt are iconic, even in the years after his death. He wants to live a life where he remembers where his values should lie. The song is considered by many to be one of his saddest songs ever, with a video to match. During his life he became a liar, to others but first to himself. I believe Johnny Cash realised this in his later years which is why he chose to sing this particular song. As his friends pass away and death approaches him he is realizing how much he lied to himself over the years. June would die three months after filming, her husband, seven. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Johnny Cash was a deeply religious man, who loved Jesus and the Bible. In the 1960s, Johnny was hardly around for his wife and daughters and soon got a divorce due to his non-attendance. When asked if Cash could take on the song, NIN’s Trent Reznor at first said he was “flattered”, but worried that “the idea sounded a bit gimmicky” (his opinion would massively change, but we’ll get to that). Hope you're safe and happy wherever you are Johhny. I think this song is the musings of an old man who regrets the life he lived... However, JC does a lovely cover, even Trent was taken aback. It’s not Johnny’s song. "And you could have it all Every experience that he’d ever had was just his empire of dirt that he’d created. To do it in a four-minute music video is shocking.”. "If I could start again, a million miles away, I would keep myself, I would find a way." I would find a way? https://spinditty.com/genres/Johnny-Cash-Hurt-The-Story-Behind-The-Video One of my favorite videos ever. And his regret for the things he did, and failed to do consuming all his thoughts. This song is about his regrets in life. It was about losing yourself to your base self. From that he would be able to build a real empire instead of a dirt castle. To keep it simple. “If you were moves to that kind of emotion in the course of a two-hour movie, it would be a great accomplishment. 1. The story behind Johnny Cash "Hurt" music video, The recording went ahead, produced by super producer Rick Rubin, and was released as a single in 2003, catching the ear of respected, “I begged Rick Rubin to let me shoot something to that track,” Romanek told Dave Urbanski in, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, The story behind Johnny Cash’s Hurt, still the saddest music video, ‘The Man Comes Around: The Spiritual Journey of Johnny Cash’, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. It was originally written and sung by Nine Inch naiils later covered by Cash... 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