Trent Reznor said that hearing this song by Johnny was like seeing an old girlfriend with someone else and realizing that he was better for her than you would ever be.
I definitely agree it was awesome of Trent to say that. As a writer of such a personal song to be like "yeah he killed it... I can't even lie. It's his now".
The crazy thing about it is the whole thing was set up by his agent as a gimmick to connect with The Youth. The told Cash it was about opiate addiction and he only learned it deeply enough to record it.
@@ankhimHoH I’m not sure how true that is, given the way Cash changed the lyrics. The line “crown of thorns” was changed from “crown of shit”. Gives that part a great deal more meaning.
As others have mentioned, this was written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. It's the final track of their concept album "The Downward Spiral" and is largely inspired (if that's the right word to use) by Reznor's own depression and drug addiction. So while the original paints a picture of someone contemplating suicide, in Cash's version we see an aged person coming to terms with their own mortality, and evaluating their life's worth. Same song, same lyrics (with a notable exception; "Crown of Shit" becomes "Crown of Thorns") and yet two very different pieces. Sublime. *Edit* I'm aware of the fact that Cash had struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism, among other things, so it's not necessary to point out that fact.
I love how Cash's version changed how Reznor performs it. You can compare The Downward Spiral version to the version on And All That Could Have Been to hear what I'm talking about.
I have always felt that the NIN version, is more impressive in a technical sense, but Johnny Cash brought a deep emotional connection to the lyrics that I don't get with the original.
This was well said. I do love the dichotomy, I prefer the arrangement and musicality of the Reznor version, but I appreciate the Cash version and respect it for the risk he took performing this type of music.
Goodbye can be depressing when you know it's coming, but you're still not ready. Trust me. I've said way too many goodbyes that I knew were coming but I still wasn't ready for. Knowing I was saying goodbye didn't mean I wasn't heartbroken.
I see it as him stating his regrets in his youth. He wishes he did more in life especially in his younger years he wishes he was a better person earlier in life. And then his acceptance and stating his goodbyes.
Clinical depression, no. But that temporary depression we all go through while we work through old issues, definitely. He was regretting the pain he caused to the people he loved over his lifetime.
Eventually, Trent Reznor said that this was no longer his song after this performance, in an interview he said that when he received the audio cover, he didn't payed much attention, it was until the video came out that he realized the power of what Johnny Cash did.
It's one all those rare songs where the cover is better than the original. The rare original and cover that despite having the same lyrics evokes different two completely different perspectives. The other cover that's jumping to mind rn is Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Jeff Buckley's version was more powerful and he made it his. A sad song in a very different way
Fun Fact: The shot with his wife standing on the staircase wasn’t planned. She came down to check on him while they were filming and the director loved the way it looked and included it in the video.
"I wear this crown of thorns upon my liar's chair..." is a lyric that Johnny changed from the original Reznor lyrics, but it perfectly portrayed the struggle between his devout faith and his personal sins and addictions - like saying he was trying to identify with Christ, but was at the same time saddled to a throne of lies. Brutal honesty.
Johnny didn’t write this song, it’s a nine inch nails song but he did a cover. I literally can’t listen to Johnnys version without crying, it’s so emotional, it’s like the lyrics were meant for him.
Truth, there are only so many people in the world who could convey the pain and emotion of a life lived like Johnny's in something as simple as an acoustic guitar, a piano, and that voice.
I agree. I've been a Johnny Cash fan for years and watched several in-depth documentaries on his life and death. It is gut wrenchingly emotional for me as well. I approach it from a Christian perspective which makes it all the more emotional and real for me.
@@jamiewilson3599 And Trent was right! Love NIN and their crews, but this never really seemed like 'his' when I saw it live. I mean, he DID do it justice...but Johnny just punches you with it...
When Johnny recorded the video for this and showed his wife and daughter before if was premiered. His daughter looked at him and said "dad it sounds like you're saying goodbye" he looked her dead in the eye and said "I am"
@@JP-py4ny I’m aware. He did covers on that album even older than this one. My remark wasn’t to imply he wrote this song but that he wrote his epitaph in the form of the record recording
I can't even hear Johnny's version without getting chills, and the video makes it exponentially more powerful. Weaving in the images of his past and then present, then closing the piano down and rubbing it with his hands as if to say goodbye. In my opinion, it is by far the greatest video and performance ever recorded.
Amazing reaction. This was Johnny's final recording. His wife, June (on the stairs in the video), passed away 3 months after the video was shot, and Johnny passed 3-4 months after she did. Rumour has it that when he showed the video to his daughter she said "it's as if you are saying goodbye" and he said " I am". The first time I heard his version I was not in a great mental state and the key progression was hitting me in the feels, but it is masterful and haunting to me.
Okay so because of how TH-cam space this comment out on my phone I just did one of my most panicked Google searches ever. You said that his wife passed 3 months after the video was shot. But I read it as his wife passed 3 months after the video, was shot. So inadvertently you made me think that somebody murdered Johnny Cash's wife before he died and I just didn't know about it and I am so glad that's not what happened
His last recorded song. And of course it was a hit! He lost his beloved June not long after this. And he followed soon after. Thank you both for the many years of fantastic music. May you RIP!
While Trent Reznor wrote and preformed this song for years, I feel that Johnny Cash’s version is the defining version of this song. Made more potent knowing that he recorded it after his wife had passed away, and he was not long for this world. In fact, recording this song and video was one of the last things that he did in his life. EPIC SONG!
This was filmed in the then (and now) closed Johnny Cash museum. Imagine being in the twilight of one's life, making one more song, and filming it in closed museum dedicated to your own life.
I feel that hearing this without seeing the video is almost sacrilege , it`s like he recorded both as a final farewell to the empire of dirt. The song stands one it`s own, obviously but the experience of both together is almost too much to bear.
Actually it was filmed in his house. His wife came downstairs from her bedroom to check on Johnny because she was worried about him and got caught on camera. The director kept the shot and incorporated it into the song. This house burned down shortly after they passed away.
This was a man taking stock of his life, as we all will someday. The humility, the vulnerability, the sadness, and the humanity is something that we all can connect with. It cuts deep, I think, because we know that someday we will ALL be in that same place.
@@malcolmplatt3768 thumbs up meaning I understand. I've seen it firsthand as well. A guy in his 70's. Spouse passed away, children passed untimely. Everyone he grew up with and got old with gone. Save our early morning bar community. It's heartbreaking
NIN sang this as a young man in the middle of addiction and did very well. Jhonny took it and told the same story but as an old man looking back on his life of addiction. The same story at different points of life is what hits so hard.
@@Vin496 There is something deeply sad in an old man looking back at his life of addiction and mistakes and the knowledge he is out of time. No matter how hard he regret he know he can't go back, he can't get better. His time is coming.
Johnny was "tortured" soul. He lived hard in his younger years with multiple addictions. He then accepted Christ but fought the fight of never feeling good enough for what God had given him. He understood struggles and felt like he had let people down because he fully knew what fighting the dark side was daily. He had also lost his wife just a short time before this. Johnny Cash was real. I have mountains of respect for him.
I've heard so many people say he sold his soul and honestly after this song along with a few others I wouldn't be surprised. I hope this isn't the case for obvious reasons but I'm not really all into Christianity so I can't speak too much on it. But the addiction issues are a different story. Fame truly isn't everything when you pull the shades over your own eyes and can't see reality for what it is. RIP to a real legend of MUSIC
@@yourhuuhness7921 Fame isn't what its racked up to be, all the wannabes we have now. Fame suffocate Elvis, and the prescription drugs he took in vast amounts to cope with it, killed him in the end....
Johnny Cash’s rendition of this song is haunting. If you don’t know his life’s story watch “Walk the Line”. It’s a great movie. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were amazing.
I love how Johnny Cash was able to take an established song and change the entire meaning of it based on his own performance and his own life. Super heavy
Covers should always be something the artist feels deeply and just wants to take a shot at from their own take. He didn't hurt the song or even try to restyle it, he just wanted to sing it from his own seat and he did a great job.
Johnny Cash had a way reaching one deep down in the core when he sang. He made one "feel" the music. I love his songs. But this one is my favorite cause it's so raw.
His cover of this song is a masterwork of interpretation. Emotionally it hits like a meteor, and even all these years later I can't help but tear up any time I see the video. LIstened to him all my life, and will do so until I'm a pile of dust. Value what you have, when you have it, folks.
I am very sorry for your loss. Regardless of his status or meaning to rest of the world, that doesn't change or lessen the loss that family feel for someone they cared for a great deal. If you were lucky enough to have someone great in your life, then their loss will always hurt.
Your great-uncle was a gift to the world. I think he was the very first singer I ever fell in love with, way back. His life was not easy, even after June came along, but everyone has issues in their lives. Johnny Cash was one of those "one-of-a-kind" that you will never see again.
He's not depressed in the song. He's realizing that so many of the that once mattered now seem worthless...like money, fame and his wife had passed away and they shared a beautiful and great love.
....and realising such things usually causes one to feel depressed or feeling depressed can cause one to think about such things. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he also felt depressed and definitely get the vibe from the song. I would assume to relate to the NIN lyrics so strongly some depression was probably present in his life. I also think it would be natural for someone knowing they are at the end of their life to feel a bit down. These things go hand in hand.
Don't forget not just his wife, but his band. The people he toured with and wrote songs together with. Like Elvis. Jerry Lee Lewis. Roy orbenson . Were all gone too. Johnny was a legend when dolly Parton first started singing. N he was one of the last to go.
Tried to make it through this without crying for once. Didn't even make it past the first chords. Goodbyes always hurt, and this was Johnny Cash's goodbye to the world.
"This song effected me in a way I can't define" A lot of us feel that way. I first heard this right after it came out and was immediately blown away. Less than a year later he died. I remember I was 19 and working at a coffee shop, the news was on, they announced he had died and started playing this music video. I dropped to my knees in shock in the middle of my shift. An elderly trucker came over and asked what was wrong; I pointed at the TV and said Johnny cash died. The man frowned as tears welled up in his eyes, he took a knee beside me, and quietly prayed.
@@jamestaylor3805 while I loved Cash, no one taught me lessons about life and pain through country music better than Townes Van Zandt. Those first few albums of his are ecstatically beautiful, while also staggeringly painful.
Johnny Cash passed 4 months or so after his wife June Carter Cash she was his foundation and stability. He did an interview saying he was nothing without her. I think he gave up after loosing her. Grieved himself to death essentially.
more along the lines that Mr. Cash passed away from a broken heart. there was no one on this planet that could ever replace Mrs. Cash. plus factoring in his age. at least he can be with his wife in the afterlife.
@@UnholyWrath That's pretty much the same thing that Lana already said. Passing away from a broken heart IS Grieving one's self to death. Same thing. Except @Lana Riley said it better to start with because she(?) didn't include fairy tales about a make-believe afterlife and she used proper capitalization to start off sentences.
I remember seeing June Carter Cash's funeral, and Johnny sitting there in a wheelchair. He just looked so broken and forlorn. I said "Just go home, Johnny, just go home." Four months later, he did so, and now he's back with June and his savior, Jesus.
❤❤MrLboyd,THANK YOU!THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO ABOUT THE SONG, "HURT". This means alot to me. This song, "Hurt" is very personal to me because I can relate alot to the lyrics. Back in 1994 , I was a junkie /crackhead and spiraling downward more and more in addiction. The price of my addiction led me to lose custody of my 2 young kids, my son and my daughter, some stints in county jail, homelessness, detoxes,rehabs, whatever else drama and chaos happened . In 1998 , I had to relinquish my parental rights with my daughter. My mother couldn't take care of both of my kids financially and emotionally. It was the most difficult thing ,I had to do in my life but, I loved my daughter very much and I wanted her to have a life that I know in reality couldn't give her. But, after that, I felt like a failure, ashamed , guilty, "HURT". So,that gave me the excuse to keep doing what I was doin'. I pretty much gave up ; I didn't care anymore,escpecially what would happen to me. Also, I just want to say, THANK GOD FOR MY MOTHER because she used alot of "TOUGH LOVE " on me many , many times through my addiction. I truly believe, by her doing that, saved me and my life! God was watching over me too. Back in 2004, I saw on MTV , Johnny's rendition of, "HURT".Even though I was in a haze and a daze, it made such a huge impact on me, that I FINALLY decided to get myself clean and sober, FOR ME,NOT ANYBODY ELSE! ME! It was the 2nd hardest thing I had to do in my life. Getting clean and sober sucks at 1st, for a couple of years even. But, with alot of support and actually doing what I NEEDED TO DO,sticking with it at all costs......HERE I AM! I have been in recovery from crack and heroin since 2004;alcohol since 2011. I feel truly grateful and blessed. I should've been dead yeeeeeeeeeeeears ago! Life isn't perfect but it sure beats the hell of me being 6 feet under! When I still hear this song, I break down and cry. It's very cleansing for me and reminds me just how far I've overcame. Now,my mission is to help those strugglin' with addiction/ alcoholism and/or mental illness . With all, that being said, THANK YOU,MrLBoyd FOR SHARING AND DOING THIS EPISODE! I APPRECIATE YOU AND WHAT YOU DO! YOU ROCK! 🤘😎
This is a cover. The original is by Nine Inch Nails. Personally, this performance by Johnny Cash is just unbelievable. Even the original writer was blown away that Johnny would want to cover his song. This version is so heavy. You get so much emotion from his voice, it just hits deep. Love the reaction
Trent was originally mad that some old famous person wanted to do the cover. Then he heard it. Then he was blown away. He said that it is Johnny's song now.
@@sixpakshaker88 yes sir. This song was so personal to Trent. He said it felt like someone kissing his girlfriend when he heard that Cash wanted to cover it. As you said though, once you hear Johnny sing it, there's no doubt it was meant for him.
@@dragblazer99 Actually he heard it and was still not sure, but then watched the filmclip with it and was blown away, admitting it was no longer his song.
"Everyone I know goes away in the end" carries a deeper and more bleak meaning for the elderly. My grandparents are still alive but definitely in the final years of their lives. I've often heard them say that all (or most) of their friends are gone and passed away. I can't even imagine how that must feel but it's pretty damn depressing.
Learn what you can from them while you still can. I deeply regret not spending more time with my grandparents before their passing (20 years since Grandma and 13 since Grandpa). By the time I realized what was most important in life, it was too late. Cash's version of this song is deeply introspective and almost explicitly references personal regrets; use it as an inspiration to do what's important.
It's a fantastic cover. A really mind blowing example of how you can use almost exactly the same words, and have an entirely different meaning come out. I honestly can't even say which is better, they don't even feel like the same song.
Everytime I come back to this song I want to bawl. Impossible to not feel emotional. As you get older, the song gets even more relevant. If you can imagine that.
Oh, but you can, I'm now the same age he was then, and that's the way it works, my old (and a few young, unfortunately ) friends, family, schoolmates, and classmates have been "moving along" for a while now, and as the years go on the pace quickens as it will of course, unless we become one of those who take their turn at the door, and we find ourselves on the other side greeting the others on their arrival. I would have understood it on one level long ago, but now feel it on a much deeper level, these things must be accepted and made peace with as they are a very real part of life's journey, no need to stay depressed by them, but they can be sobering indeed to reflect on.
This was written by Trent Reznor about a young man whose life through drugs has spun out of control, but Johnny Cash turned the meaning of it's song on it's head in such a beautiful way.
What I love most about this reaction is that this wasn’t even written by Johnny Cash, and yet your comments were 100% spot on. He made this song his own and between the words, the imagery in the video (especially of June, who passed not long afterwards), and the raw emotion in his performance, he took Trent Reznor’s song and perfected it.
Not sure if you are familiar with the original. He did this cover of a Nine Inch Nails. Both are great songs, and both have very different meanings. Nine inch nails singer who wrote this, after hearing Cash's cover się that it was no longer their song.
Chlupl 👍great comment. Mrlboyd great music from other times. My respect ✊ for your nice program always and my respect ✊ for iconos from other times. Music is eternal. Take care Boys & God bless you all.
@@stinjimonkey hello 👋 😀 I went to google to search about this dude from the 50’s. MrLroyd makes us study at these time of our life’s. Ja ja I like to search fast. 🤯😀 Stinji take care. 🤙🏼
I agree same song 2 very different themes. Idk if I'd call one better then the other. Cash's goodbye in doing this song did bring a tear to my eye when I heard it!
This is, perhaps, the most brilliant cover song ever written. I don’t think I’ve ever heard amore real and genuine performance. This is stunningly beautiful.
this song always hits me, that last scene where he closes the piano lid and run his hands over the cover always gives me chills. this was his goodbye to the world at the end of his life. he truly was a lgegend that made many mistakes but was always seeking redemption for the wrongs that he did.
When you first listen to Johnny's version of the song you get the same feeling in your chest as when you are at a memorial service and someone is giving a very personal eulogy. I work with seniors that are near the end of thier life. The line about the needle in the flesh I feel maybe in reference to all the shots, lab work and multiple needle sticks for medications and insulin.
This was made in the 3 months between his wife, the love of his life, passing away... And Johnny himself following her. My absolute favorite by him, out of MANY strong contenders. Edit: And, yes, Johnny Cash fought opiate addiction repeatedly in his life, among others. He knew the struggle well, which makes this resonate even more.
Yes, Johnny was an addict in his younger days. His sweetest friend is his wife, June Carter. From his addiction, he let a lot of loved ones down and hurt them. Although he did not write this song, it sounds as if it were written just for him.
Exactly right. His life and this song somehow belong together! I cry every time i hear it, cause I've been there myself- minus the empire he actually did build!😪💚
Couldn't have said it better. The sweetest friend part always makes me rear up, thinking he could've been referencing June.. makes my heart heavy haha..
Having cirrhosis of my liver from my addictions, this song hits me so much. He's realizing that he's almost gone. He's realizing that all the dirt he's been treasuring is really just trash compared to the real important things, like people and love.
I still cry every time I hear this even though I know he remade a Nine Inch Nails song...I feel like he felt a need to do this song at that particular time in his life to address his past mistakes, troubles, etc. He did a wonderful wonderful job on this.
I was so impressed with Johnny’s rendition of this Nine Inch Nails song that I think I like it better than the original. He projects so much emotion; I love it.
They're very different in meaning, yet they share the same kinds of problems at the same time. It's almost poetic and makes the song that much more powerful to me.
It is funny how a single song can have multiple meanings, depending on where you are in life. On one hand, Trent Reznor of NIN wrote the song as if the singer is at the height of his fame, but it's a hollow one. Meanwhile, Johnny Cash sang thdie song as a farewell to a hard life filled with regret. Same song, different meaning. I like them both, btw.
Yeah, like everyone says, it's a Nine Inch Nails cover. I'm a monstrous Nine Inch Nails fan, but this is Johnny Cash's song. Even Trent Reznor says the same. He wrote it at a time in his life, and it fit his narrative, but when a legend like Cash listened to it, and adopted to his time in his life, it took a whole new meaning. Dig your commentary and work man. Look forward to more!
I agree with Trent (and everyone else) ... The NIN version is a "Demo" ... No matter which version you are listening to ... They tried to do it again and again ... Then Cash did it right!!
What I find amazing is the amount of emotion that he put into this song even though it is clear his voice is no longer what it once was. Notice it is sung in a narrow comfortable range with no embellishments, no dynamic changes, with those limitations no one else could express such deep emotions.
When Cash's people sent Trent an audio version of this song, Trent was like "what is this...I don't get it. I don't like it." Then they sent him the music video, and he bawled like a child.
@@anthonycurby4606 Yeah. People always want to leave that part out for whatever reason. If they're going to go around telling the story, tell it right lol.
@@xtravagentk1275 Yeah...because it's not actually relevant, and it mostly makes Trent look like a jackass. He wouldn't have cared about the video either...except that it did something he can't deal with...it forced him to acknowledge something he didn't want to face. That's always been his problem. He uses his music to deflect, not to cope.
I love this song and how the age of the person completely changes the meaning of the song. It's Trent Reznor's song about his addiction and depression. Then you look at it through Cash's eyes a former addict and destructive personality...but couple it with age, by the time you are 80 or 90 years old...how many hospital stays...how much damage to your body...how many times has he shot up with drugs and it changed to getting IVs in a hospital...how much heart ache...bridges you've burned... people you've lost. My grandmother felt that depression...generationally he is alone...all the people from his youth are gone...he's last of his group, even if he has his children...all the people that can share his memories are gone. He's taking stock of his life and what the hell it all meant. It's a masterpiece of a song.
I feel like this is one of the most beautiful songs ever written/performed/filmed, every aspect, the music, the video, the lyrics are all perfectly interwoven. Incredibly powerful. Words can't do it justice.
"Everyone I know goes away in the end." Definitely speaks of depression, but it can also be speaking of old age. Many elderly people talk of the isolation and loneliness that comes from watching their old friends die. There is a story about a very elderly and well respected Rabbi. Someone brought him news that an old childhood classmate had died, and he burst into tears. His students and attendants were confused; he wasn't close with this old cohort, they hadn't spoken in years. But then the Rabbi said "He was the last person in the world who would have called me by my first name." Here was this well respected religious leader, who was surrounded by people who referred to him as "Holy Rabbi" in reverent tones, and he was lonely because a chapter of his life was now closed forever. He had no childhood cohorts left, he was the oldest and therefore the loneliest.
@@SnuuSnuu Yes, I think I said that in my comment. I'm not commenting on the NIN version, but Johnny Cash's version. He clearly had his own interpretation of the lyrics, and there's no harm in adding my opinion.
This was one of the last songs Johnny recorded and the last video he made. His wife June Carter Cash was in the video and passed shortly after, he passed a few short months after her. This was a Nine Inch Nails song that he covered. Both versions have different meaning. Johnny made this his own.
Thank you B... I love NIN! I love Johnny! I love this song... was excited for its release in 95, and was floored at Mr Cashs release in 2002! Great reaction Sir...
....and that's how almost everyone reactions to this masterpiece the amazing Johnny Cash gave us before his death (read other comments ref the background of song (NIN) and the imminent death of both he and June) He conveyed such emotion through his voice and the visuals combined, a rare and hauntingly beautiful talent. He is still 'The Man In Black' and always will be. *R.I.P. Johnny Cash* 💔
Johnny sums up his entire life with a song he didn't even write. He left his wife in a time when divorce was a taboo. He became famous, got into drugs, and disappointed those who loved him. Trent Reznor wrote the song. Johnny Cash embodied it.
I love your thoughtful compassionate articulate analysis - and your voice! I had a mentor who always closed our call with, "Hug your family." as a reminder, after all of our business talk, of what was really important.
Trent Reznor wrote this song. Although it is a deeply personal song, “Hurt” has become distanced from its author, Trent Reznor, frontman with the industrial-rock band Nine Inch Nails. Breaking away from its alt-rock origins, “Hurt” has transcended genres, having been reinterpreted for cellists and Gregorian chant.
Johnny Cash in his old age truly brought this song to life. Especially since he resonated with the lyrics so closely. He made this song his and NIN definitely agreed when they heard it. R.I.P. Johnny
I usually agree with your in depth assessments of songs and I do agree with your view of someone coming to the end of life and realizing that the people he loved the most were more important than the material things and drugs. However I feel he is not depressed but feeling his age and looking back at his life that he has many regrets. Toward the end of the video there are splashes of Christ crucified, signs of the cross and birds soaring thru the air, all signs of hope for redemption and the next life in heaven which John Cash believed in whole heartily. Another good Cash video is God's goin cut you down.
It's such a hard song to take in, because whether its Trents version which is more matter of factly dealing with depression and addiction, or Johnnys which is dealing with mortality and looking back on the hard life he lived and the people he has lost and pushed away. It is a beautifully haunting song no matter what, and just truly iconic as a result.
This is a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song, written by Trent Reasnor. Trent reportedly said after Cash recorded this, that it was now a Johnny Cash song.
I think of this song as the older and ailing Johnny Cash looking back with regret for the pain he had caused some of the people in his life whom he loved. Yes, it's a cover of someone else's song, but he imbues it with a gravitas that makes it his own. It's a testament to his creative spirit that, even in his last years, he could reinterpret a Nine Inch Nails song and elevate it to a whole different level. Sadly his wife June Carter Cash, who is also in the video, passed away just a few months after this video was made. Johnny followed soon after. True artists create as long as they possibly can.
MrLboyd - I only recently found you and have been watching your channel when I find something interesting, like this Johnny Cash song. I love your analysis of the songs, your ability to let your emotions out when appropriate and to really feel the music. I'm from the 60s and much of what you review I am very familiar with. I was a drummer, still have my snare drum. Thanks for allowing your audience to watch you as you "hear" songs for the first time. You are truly enjoyable. Namaste.
A note regarding the line "everyone I know goes away in the end" While it could be about pushing people away, I think at his age it takes on the connotation of how at a certain age most of the people you've known through your life have passed away and coming to the realization that the present is full of people who can't relate to your experiences It's still depressing, but it's the depression of a widower and not that of divorce
Thats what i always thought he meant, same when he says "i will let you down i will make you hurt" he means by dying he was gonna hurt people that knew him
If you’re listening to the Nine Inch Nails version it’s more about addiction and depression. When you listen to this version it seems more about growing old and this being his last song. He did struggle pretty severely with addiction, but when cash sings this, he doesn’t seem to be singing about that.
Coming from someone who’s lived with depression for most of my life, at some level or another, listening to this song makes me bawl. The emotion conveyed in it just hits those heart strings.
This song hits me everytime! I remember also that this song was used in the trailer for Hugh Jackmans last turn at playing Wolverine in "Logan" In my opinion... The use of this song could not have been more fitting. As it prepared the audience in a way, of things to come in the movie. Cried at the end of that too.
Just wanted to say that I love your videos. You're so thoughtful and articulate in your interpretation of the music. I grew up with Garth Brooks and at 33 he's still my favorite artist of all time. Really regret never getting to see Johnny live.
This was just before he died, I watched an interview his daughter did about this song, this video set, June's death and ultimately his death shortly after. I cried like a baby 😭😭😭
The imagery of filming this in the falling apart Johnny Cash museum while the man himself also was at the end of his life is crazy...this song is beautiful.
wow, thanks for letting the last part play out, it gave me nostalgias, back when I was a kid and everyone around me, then thinking about now and a lot of people have passed away that was always around back then. Powerful! I've been binge watching since your channel was recommended to me!
Trent Reznor wrote this about how his heroin addiction ruined his and others' life. It speaks to the emptiness and meaningless of a life ruled by addiction. The lyrics are very profound. As a veteran with ptsd, I see similarities. As others have stated, Reznor later stated the Cash made this song his with this acoustic and soulful cover. Cash did a final project of covers and spiritually profound after he recovered from his stroke and the loss of his wife. This was shortly before his death. Johnny Cash had his own addiction struggles as his career was taking off, as dramatized by Joaquin Phoenix in the film, Walk The Line. Cash recovered and became a Christian before embarking on the best years of his career. His life and career reflect how much his struggles and redemption informed his music and activism for society's downtrodden. This song, God's Gonna Cut You Down, and When The Man Comes Around are visceral experiences that get to me every time.
I'm so glad you did this reaction. This is an absolute legend who found a Nine Inch Nails song that just fit him and his old voice and his story perfectly. It's better than the original and it's one of the most emotional and touching songs ever recorded. I'm brought to near tears everytime I hear this. Legendary performance.
This song is intense, and recorded not many years before he died. The video was so powerful as many of us watched his life play out on the public stage. What an incredible talent who is missed 😢
I am just so happy that Johnny got a chance to record and perform this before he left us. We have been lucky lately the number of people passing and leaving a great song to remember thiem by.
"Everyone I know goes away in the end." I know this to be true when you get older. If you live long enough, you eventually outlive the people who were the closest to you and you find yourself so alone.
His wife, June Carter-Cash, stood behind him on the stairs. She passed away 3 months after this was released, and he passed away 4 months after her... of a broken heart 💔. There is an interview he gave about this song, and 20 days later he was gone.
Get this in your head really well, then go listen to NIN version and it will be just as gut wrenching, but completely different. You're kind of a metal guy now, maybe you could stretch towards industrial(ish) and the NIN catalog.
Having listened to this years after even this reaction came out, it is wholesome to see how people give their knowledge about it and complete the picture you can have of this song, one after another! Apart from that: it was a really great reaction from MrLboyd!
He didn't write the song, it was a cover. But heartfelt all the same. June and Johnny both knew that they were nearing the end of their lives. I am sure they both had their sadnesses and regrets, as we all do. He really felt those words.
Trent Reznor said that hearing this song by Johnny was like seeing an old girlfriend with someone else and realizing that he was better for her than you would ever be.
When Cash did Tom Petty’s Southern Accent’ he said it was the Anthem of the South. Petty’s version was marvelous, Johnny took it to a whole new place.
I like to say that Johnny Cash’s genre was Johnny Cash.
I definitely agree it was awesome of Trent to say that. As a writer of such a personal song to be like "yeah he killed it... I can't even lie. It's his now".
The crazy thing about it is the whole thing was set up by his agent as a gimmick to connect with The Youth. The told Cash it was about opiate addiction and he only learned it deeply enough to record it.
@@ankhimHoH I’m not sure how true that is, given the way Cash changed the lyrics. The line “crown of thorns” was changed from “crown of shit”. Gives that part a great deal more meaning.
As others have mentioned, this was written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. It's the final track of their concept album "The Downward Spiral" and is largely inspired (if that's the right word to use) by Reznor's own depression and drug addiction.
So while the original paints a picture of someone contemplating suicide, in Cash's version we see an aged person coming to terms with their own mortality, and evaluating their life's worth.
Same song, same lyrics (with a notable exception; "Crown of Shit" becomes "Crown of Thorns") and yet two very different pieces.
Sublime.
*Edit* I'm aware of the fact that Cash had struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism, among other things, so it's not necessary to point out that fact.
I love how Cash's version changed how Reznor performs it. You can compare The Downward Spiral version to the version on And All That Could Have Been to hear what I'm talking about.
I have always felt that the NIN version, is more impressive in a technical sense, but Johnny Cash brought a deep emotional connection to the lyrics that I don't get with the original.
@@williamkeith2419 yes! The video with clips of Johnny as a young man really enhanced his version of the song.
Well said.
This was well said. I do love the dichotomy, I prefer the arrangement and musicality of the Reznor version, but I appreciate the Cash version and respect it for the risk he took performing this type of music.
I don’t believe Johnny was depressed. He knew where he was in life. This was goodbye my friends.
Goodbye can be depressing when you know it's coming, but you're still not ready. Trust me. I've said way too many goodbyes that I knew were coming but I still wasn't ready for. Knowing I was saying goodbye didn't mean I wasn't heartbroken.
I see it as him stating his regrets in his youth. He wishes he did more in life especially in his younger years he wishes he was a better person earlier in life. And then his acceptance and stating his goodbyes.
Agree, this reactor didn't get it...but he figured out to be quiet at the end.
Yes it was
Clinical depression, no. But that temporary depression we all go through while we work through old issues, definitely. He was regretting the pain he caused to the people he loved over his lifetime.
Eventually, Trent Reznor said that this was no longer his song after this performance, in an interview he said that when he received the audio cover, he didn't payed much attention, it was until the video came out that he realized the power of what Johnny Cash did.
The song and video make me cry every time I see or hear it.
@@kainslance I was honored to see Johnny in the early 80's he was a true artist and bigger than life
It's a very powerful song and it's one of his best! Thanks Trent
@@kainslance I think of my late husband and cry everytime
It's one all those rare songs where the cover is better than the original. The rare original and cover that despite having the same lyrics evokes different two completely different perspectives. The other cover that's jumping to mind rn is Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Jeff Buckley's version was more powerful and he made it his. A sad song in a very different way
Fun Fact: The shot with his wife standing on the staircase wasn’t planned. She came down to check on him while they were filming and the director loved the way it looked and included it in the video.
daughter*
his wife had passed by the time of this filming, and johnny passed not long after filming..
@@capatheist The video was filmed Feb 2003 and June passed May 15th 2003. That is her on the staircase.
Its June, thats my great aunt
Thats incredible
@@capatheist I actually thought the same thing initially but thats June and she died within months of this video and him not long after.
"I wear this crown of thorns upon my liar's chair..." is a lyric that Johnny changed from the original Reznor lyrics, but it perfectly portrayed the struggle between his devout faith and his personal sins and addictions - like saying he was trying to identify with Christ, but was at the same time saddled to a throne of lies.
Brutal honesty.
Never realized this, thank you.
~_~
Johnny didn’t write this song, it’s a nine inch nails song but he did a cover. I literally can’t listen to Johnnys version without crying, it’s so emotional, it’s like the lyrics were meant for him.
Truth, there are only so many people in the world who could convey the pain and emotion of a life lived like Johnny's in something as simple as an acoustic guitar, a piano, and that voice.
When Trent Reznor was asked what he thought about Cash’s cover of his song, he replied “it’s Johnny’s song now.”
I agree. I've been a Johnny Cash fan for years and watched several in-depth documentaries on his life and death. It is gut wrenchingly emotional for me as well. I approach it from a Christian perspective which makes it all the more emotional and real for me.
@@jamiewilson3599 And Trent was right! Love NIN and their crews, but this never really seemed like 'his' when I saw it live. I mean, he DID do it justice...but Johnny just punches you with it...
he made it to where it feels that way, as he let us all know how terrible he felt.
When Johnny recorded the video for this and showed his wife and daughter before if was premiered. His daughter looked at him and said "dad it sounds like you're saying goodbye" he looked her dead in the eye and said "I am"
Saddest 😢song I've ever R.I.P Johnny Cash
that whole album "the man comes around" is johnny writing his own epitaph. great record
Do you have a source for this, I've seen a lot of people say it was his agent,, then some say his daughter, but I can't actually find proof. Cheers
@@ddbauer This was a cover song by Johnny. Nine Inch Nails wrote this song in the 90s
@@JP-py4ny I’m aware. He did covers on that album even older than this one. My remark wasn’t to imply he wrote this song but that he wrote his epitaph in the form of the record recording
I can't even hear Johnny's version without getting chills, and the video makes it exponentially more powerful. Weaving in the images of his past and then present, then closing the piano down and rubbing it with his hands as if to say goodbye. In my opinion, it is by far the greatest video and performance ever recorded.
Amazing reaction. This was Johnny's final recording. His wife, June (on the stairs in the video), passed away 3 months after the video was shot, and Johnny passed 3-4 months after she did. Rumour has it that when he showed the video to his daughter she said "it's as if you are saying goodbye" and he said " I am".
The first time I heard his version I was not in a great mental state and the key progression was hitting me in the feels, but it is masterful and haunting to me.
It was his daughter Cindy, and she was the one who told the story.
she passed 2 weeks after the video was released..
Okay so because of how TH-cam space this comment out on my phone I just did one of my most panicked Google searches ever. You said that his wife passed 3 months after the video was shot. But I read it as his wife passed 3 months after the video, was shot. So inadvertently you made me think that somebody murdered Johnny Cash's wife before he died and I just didn't know about it and I am so glad that's not what happened
Not his final recording, but his final video performance. He kept writing and recording after June died, because he felt the need to keep working.
Also, from what I’ve read, when he closed that piano, it hasn’t been opened since. I don’t know why, but that fact makes me tear up.
His last recorded song. And of course it was a hit! He lost his beloved June not long after this. And he followed soon after. Thank you both for the many years of fantastic music. May you RIP!
I thought she died before this song came out
This isn't his last recorded song.
Its one of his last. But not THE last.
He made a whole album after this. He worked all the way up til he died. His last single was God Gonna Cut You Down that came out after he died.
@@lukemilam918 like the 309 was his last one that came out after he died
As a person experiencing deterioration of my body and cognitive function, this song hit me deeply, I've never heard this piece before. Thank-you.
While Trent Reznor wrote and preformed this song for years, I feel that Johnny Cash’s version is the defining version of this song. Made more potent knowing that he recorded it after his wife had passed away, and he was not long for this world. In fact, recording this song and video was one of the last things that he did in his life.
EPIC SONG!
After The Man in Black's cover, Reznor said that "Hurt" was no longer his song.
His wife is in the video. She died shortly after him.
His wife died before him, but that's her there in the video on the stairs... clearly alive.
I agree. I am a HUGE NIN fan. Cash owned this. It’s like Trent wrote it for him.
I am pretty sure Reznor said that this song was now Cash's. His rendition was just simply astounding and man, the feels when I watch this video.
This was filmed in the then (and now) closed Johnny Cash museum. Imagine being in the twilight of one's life, making one more song, and filming it in closed museum dedicated to your own life.
Johnny Cash didn't make the song
@@brettmichaels2814 although he didnt write the song He definitely made it his song. Even Trent has said that is now Johnny's song
I feel that hearing this without seeing the video is almost sacrilege , it`s like he recorded both as a final farewell to the empire of dirt. The song stands one it`s own, obviously but the experience of both together is almost too much to bear.
@@brettmichaels2814 He didnt write it, but he made it.
Actually it was filmed in his house. His wife came downstairs from her bedroom to check on Johnny because she was worried about him and got caught on camera. The director kept the shot and incorporated it into the song. This house burned down shortly after they passed away.
This was a man taking stock of his life, as we all will someday.
The humility,
the vulnerability,
the sadness,
and the humanity
is something that we all can connect with.
It cuts deep, I think, because we know that someday
we will ALL be in that same place.
Powerful! His albums in a cracked glass frame, his awards and trophies, his collapsing house… an empire of dirt.
Really re-aligns our priorities
I've been to war. Not all of us get a chance to take stock of our life before it ends.
It is a blessing to have a chance to reflect.
That moment of his hands smoothing across the piano lid... it breaks me.
Me too...
The part that gets me is him pouring out the wine 🥺
"Everyone goes away" is also a literal situation for the elderly. They literally outlive all friends and family. A dark thought
I'm a CNA in a nursing home. Can confirm. Even those who are left, if any, have disappeared.
Or goal
We all "go away" in "the end"... or do we ?
My mother felt that as her own life wound down.
@@malcolmplatt3768 thumbs up meaning I understand. I've seen it firsthand as well. A guy in his 70's. Spouse passed away, children passed untimely. Everyone he grew up with and got old with gone. Save our early morning bar community. It's heartbreaking
NIN sang this as a young man in the middle of addiction and did very well. Jhonny took it and told the same story but as an old man looking back on his life of addiction. The same story at different points of life is what hits so hard.
Omg that just brought this song/video to a new level. I never realized that.
110% true, still prefer Trents version, because it it filed with pain that I can relate to, where Jonnys is filled with remorse.
@@Vin496 There is something deeply sad in an old man looking back at his life of addiction and mistakes and the knowledge he is out of time. No matter how hard he regret he know he can't go back, he can't get better. His time is coming.
Having different meanings based on where the person is in their life is a sign of a Great Song.......
Johnny was "tortured" soul. He lived hard in his younger years with multiple addictions. He then accepted Christ but fought the fight of never feeling good enough for what God had given him. He understood struggles and felt like he had let people down because he fully knew what fighting the dark side was daily. He had also lost his wife just a short time before this. Johnny Cash was real. I have mountains of respect for him.
He actually lost June shortly after recording this. He followed her a few months later.
I've heard so many people say he sold his soul and honestly after this song along with a few others I wouldn't be surprised. I hope this isn't the case for obvious reasons but I'm not really all into Christianity so I can't speak too much on it. But the addiction issues are a different story. Fame truly isn't everything when you pull the shades over your own eyes and can't see reality for what it is. RIP to a real legend of MUSIC
@@yourhuuhness7921
Fame isn't what its racked up to be, all the wannabes we have now.
Fame suffocate Elvis, and the prescription drugs he took in vast amounts to cope with it, killed him in the end....
@@teamcybr8375 i’m related to her
June is IN the video, and not just in archive footage. The video was filmed in February, June died in May, and Johnny passed in September.
Johnny Cash’s rendition of this song is haunting. If you don’t know his life’s story watch “Walk the Line”. It’s a great movie. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were amazing.
I remember openly weeping the first time I saw this. He was saying goodbye and it’s extremely intimate.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful, moving songs I've heard in my life.
I love how Johnny Cash was able to take an established song and change the entire meaning of it based on his own performance and his own life. Super heavy
Covers should always be something the artist feels deeply and just wants to take a shot at from their own take. He didn't hurt the song or even try to restyle it, he just wanted to sing it from his own seat and he did a great job.
Johnny Cash had a way reaching one deep down in the core when he sang. He made one "feel" the music. I love his songs. But this one is my favorite cause it's so raw.
His cover of this song is a masterwork of interpretation. Emotionally it hits like a meteor, and even all these years later I can't help but tear up any time I see the video. LIstened to him all my life, and will do so until I'm a pile of dust. Value what you have, when you have it, folks.
He was my great Uncle. Family meant everything to him. Every time that I hear this cover I cry.
I liked the songs before we lost him the best.
Wow Paige. That's amazing.
I am very sorry for your loss. Regardless of his status or meaning to rest of the world, that doesn't change or lessen the loss that family feel for someone they cared for a great deal. If you were lucky enough to have someone great in your life, then their loss will always hurt.
june was my great aunt
Your great-uncle was a gift to the world. I think he was the very first singer I ever fell in love with, way back. His life was not easy, even after June came along, but everyone has issues in their lives. Johnny Cash was one of those "one-of-a-kind" that you will never see again.
Mr Boyd it's so rare to see you speechless and I think everyone feels this way ❤
He's not depressed in the song. He's realizing that so many of the that once mattered now seem worthless...like money, fame and his wife had passed away and they shared a beautiful and great love.
Maybe not depressed but certainly regret.
His wife is actually in the video. She died a bit over a year later.
....and realising such things usually causes one to feel depressed or feeling depressed can cause one to think about such things. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he also felt depressed and definitely get the vibe from the song. I would assume to relate to the NIN lyrics so strongly some depression was probably present in his life. I also think it would be natural for someone knowing they are at the end of their life to feel a bit down. These things go hand in hand.
Don't forget not just his wife, but his band. The people he toured with and wrote songs together with. Like Elvis. Jerry Lee Lewis. Roy orbenson . Were all gone too. Johnny was a legend when dolly Parton first started singing. N he was one of the last to go.
Yes
This was his "Goodbye" song, it's a cover of Nine Inch Nails, who said after hearing it, it was his. He actually died after this was released
Died very soon after his wife. His queen.
In the last few months of his life he made his American V: a hundred highways album it was released 3 years after he died
Tried to make it through this without crying for once. Didn't even make it past the first chords.
Goodbyes always hurt, and this was Johnny Cash's goodbye to the world.
"This song effected me in a way I can't define"
A lot of us feel that way. I first heard this right after it came out and was immediately blown away. Less than a year later he died. I remember I was 19 and working at a coffee shop, the news was on, they announced he had died and started playing this music video. I dropped to my knees in shock in the middle of my shift. An elderly trucker came over and asked what was wrong; I pointed at the TV and said Johnny cash died. The man frowned as tears welled up in his eyes, he took a knee beside me, and quietly prayed.
He inspired so many "fiery youth" to mature through experiences they never had to go through. A true hero despite his sins.
Well ive never teared up reading a comment before dam
@@jamestaylor3805 while I loved Cash, no one taught me lessons about life and pain through country music better than Townes Van Zandt. Those first few albums of his are ecstatically beautiful, while also staggeringly painful.
Damn dude, that's a special story. Thank you for sharing it. You moved me to tears.
❤💔❤😘
Johnny Cash passed 4 months or so after his wife June Carter Cash she was his foundation and stability. He did an interview saying he was nothing without her. I think he gave up after loosing her. Grieved himself to death essentially.
more along the lines that Mr. Cash passed away from a broken heart. there was no one on this planet that could ever replace Mrs. Cash. plus factoring in his age. at least he can be with his wife in the afterlife.
@@UnholyWrath That's pretty much the same thing that Lana already said. Passing away from a broken heart IS Grieving one's self to death. Same thing. Except @Lana Riley said it better to start with because she(?) didn't include fairy tales about a make-believe afterlife and she used proper capitalization to start off sentences.
Its called real broken heart.
People actually do die of a broken heart. June's death broke his heart into pieces.
I remember seeing June Carter Cash's funeral, and Johnny sitting there in a wheelchair. He just looked so broken and forlorn. I said "Just go home, Johnny, just go home." Four months later, he did so, and now he's back with June and his savior, Jesus.
❤❤MrLboyd,THANK YOU!THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO ABOUT THE SONG, "HURT". This means alot to me. This song, "Hurt" is very personal to me because I can relate alot to the lyrics. Back in 1994 , I was a junkie /crackhead and spiraling downward more and more in addiction. The price of my addiction led me to lose custody of my 2 young kids, my son and my daughter, some stints in county jail, homelessness, detoxes,rehabs, whatever else drama and chaos happened . In 1998 , I had to relinquish my parental rights with my daughter. My mother couldn't take care of both of my kids financially and emotionally. It was the most difficult thing ,I had to do in my life but, I loved my daughter very much and I wanted her to have a life that I know in reality couldn't give her. But, after that, I felt like a failure, ashamed , guilty, "HURT". So,that gave me the excuse to keep doing what I was doin'. I pretty much gave up ; I didn't care anymore,escpecially what would happen to me. Also, I just want to say, THANK GOD FOR MY MOTHER because she used alot of "TOUGH LOVE " on me many , many times through my addiction. I truly believe, by her doing that, saved me and my life! God was watching over me too. Back in 2004, I saw on MTV , Johnny's rendition of, "HURT".Even though I was in a haze and a daze, it made such a huge impact on me, that I FINALLY decided to get myself clean and sober, FOR ME,NOT ANYBODY ELSE! ME! It was the 2nd hardest thing I had to do in my life. Getting clean and sober sucks at 1st, for a couple of years even. But, with alot of support and actually doing what I NEEDED TO DO,sticking with it at all costs......HERE I AM! I have been in recovery from crack and heroin since 2004;alcohol since 2011. I feel truly grateful and blessed. I should've been dead yeeeeeeeeeeeears ago! Life isn't perfect but it sure beats the hell of me being 6 feet under! When I still hear this song, I break down and cry. It's very cleansing for me and reminds me just how far I've overcame. Now,my mission is to help those strugglin' with addiction/ alcoholism and/or mental illness . With all, that being said, THANK YOU,MrLBoyd FOR SHARING AND DOING THIS EPISODE! I APPRECIATE YOU AND WHAT YOU DO! YOU ROCK! 🤘😎
This is a cover. The original is by Nine Inch Nails. Personally, this performance by Johnny Cash is just unbelievable. Even the original writer was blown away that Johnny would want to cover his song. This version is so heavy. You get so much emotion from his voice, it just hits deep. Love the reaction
Trent was originally mad that some old famous person wanted to do the cover. Then he heard it. Then he was blown away. He said that it is Johnny's song now.
@@sixpakshaker88 yes sir. This song was so personal to Trent. He said it felt like someone kissing his girlfriend when he heard that Cash wanted to cover it. As you said though, once you hear Johnny sing it, there's no doubt it was meant for him.
@@dragblazer99 Actually he heard it and was still not sure, but then watched the filmclip with it and was blown away, admitting it was no longer his song.
He didn't, Trent and Mutt Lang talked him into it I believe
Hurt for me doesn't exist without chills and tears.
Such a sadly beautiful song
"Everyone I know goes away in the end" carries a deeper and more bleak meaning for the elderly. My grandparents are still alive but definitely in the final years of their lives. I've often heard them say that all (or most) of their friends are gone and passed away. I can't even imagine how that must feel but it's pretty damn depressing.
Learn what you can from them while you still can.
I deeply regret not spending more time with my grandparents before their passing (20 years since Grandma and 13 since Grandpa). By the time I realized what was most important in life, it was too late.
Cash's version of this song is deeply introspective and almost explicitly references personal regrets; use it as an inspiration to do what's important.
It's a fantastic cover. A really mind blowing example of how you can use almost exactly the same words, and have an entirely different meaning come out.
I honestly can't even say which is better, they don't even feel like the same song.
Everytime I come back to this song I want to bawl. Impossible to not feel emotional. As you get older, the song gets even more relevant.
If you can imagine that.
I cry every single time I hear it
Check out the song "I'm not gonna miss you" by Glen Campbell.
Oh, but you can, I'm now the same age he was then, and that's the way it works, my old (and a few young, unfortunately ) friends, family, schoolmates, and classmates have been "moving along" for a while now, and as the years go on the pace quickens as it will of course, unless we become one of those who take their turn at the door, and we find ourselves on the other side greeting the others on their arrival.
I would have understood it on one level long ago, but now feel it on a much deeper level, these things must be accepted and made peace with as they are a very real part of life's journey, no need to stay depressed by them, but they can be sobering indeed to reflect on.
This was written by Trent Reznor about a young man whose life through drugs has spun out of control, but Johnny Cash turned the meaning of it's song on it's head in such a beautiful way.
What I love most about this reaction is that this wasn’t even written by Johnny Cash, and yet your comments were 100% spot on. He made this song his own and between the words, the imagery in the video (especially of June, who passed not long afterwards), and the raw emotion in his performance, he took Trent Reznor’s song and perfected it.
Not sure if you are familiar with the original. He did this cover of a Nine Inch Nails. Both are great songs, and both have very different meanings. Nine inch nails singer who wrote this, after hearing Cash's cover się that it was no longer their song.
Chlupl 👍great comment. Mrlboyd great music from other times. My respect ✊ for your nice program always and my respect ✊ for iconos from other times. Music is eternal. Take care Boys & God bless you all.
I think he reacted to original but I can't remember.
@@stinjimonkey hello 👋 😀 I went to google to search about this dude from the 50’s. MrLroyd makes us study at these time of our life’s. Ja ja I like to search fast. 🤯😀
Stinji take care. 🤙🏼
Nine Inch Nails did a fantastic job with this song but Johnny's version is by far the best version of this song!
I agree same song 2 very different themes. Idk if I'd call one better then the other. Cash's goodbye in doing this song did bring a tear to my eye when I heard it!
This is, perhaps, the most brilliant cover song ever written. I don’t think I’ve ever heard amore real and genuine performance. This is stunningly beautiful.
Greatest cover ever. Period. Johnny transcended the song and made it his own.
The “hurt” at the end of that first chorus was filled with so much pain. It’s palpable.
this song always hits me, that last scene where he closes the piano lid and run his hands over the cover always gives me chills. this was his goodbye to the world at the end of his life. he truly was a lgegend that made many mistakes but was always seeking redemption for the wrongs that he did.
When you first listen to Johnny's version of the song you get the same feeling in your chest as when you are at a memorial service and someone is giving a very personal eulogy. I work with seniors that are near the end of thier life. The line about the needle in the flesh I feel maybe in reference to all the shots, lab work and multiple needle sticks for medications and insulin.
Possibly but he was also an addict in his earlier life so he was intimately familiar with what Trent Reznor was singing about.
I think your perspective is a very good (though sad) analogy. Initially written by a young man about a young mans trials, Johnny made it his own.
Johnny was also a diabetic. It's what took his life in the end.
His last several albums were powerful. He worked with Rick Rubin on The American Series.
A happy song from him is One Piece at a Time.
Rick Rubin is incredible. He helped resurrect Cash's Carrier, and make some of his best music.
I love when the ppl reacting to this song just start stoping and commenting but when the song hits them they just go silent and tears out their eyes!
I remember finding this song for the first time and after listening I was in disbelief about how perfect it was
This was made in the 3 months between his wife, the love of his life, passing away... And Johnny himself following her. My absolute favorite by him, out of MANY strong contenders.
Edit: And, yes, Johnny Cash fought opiate addiction repeatedly in his life, among others. He knew the struggle well, which makes this resonate even more.
The lyrics, the imagery, the deep and soulful sound of his voice is almost too much. Many times, this has brought me to tears
Yes, Johnny was an addict in his younger days. His sweetest friend is his wife, June Carter. From his addiction, he let a lot of loved ones down and hurt them. Although he did not write this song, it sounds as if it were written just for him.
Exactly right. His life and this song somehow belong together! I cry every time i hear it, cause I've been there myself- minus the empire he actually did build!😪💚
Couldn't have said it better. The sweetest friend part always makes me rear up, thinking he could've been referencing June.. makes my heart heavy haha..
My sweetest friend in the original song meant heroin, and it could mean the same in Johnny's version here...
Having cirrhosis of my liver from my addictions, this song hits me so much. He's realizing that he's almost gone. He's realizing that all the dirt he's been treasuring is really just trash compared to the real important things, like people and love.
I still cry every time I hear this even though I know he remade a Nine Inch Nails song...I feel like he felt a need to do this song at that particular time in his life to address his past mistakes, troubles, etc. He did a wonderful wonderful job on this.
I was so impressed with Johnny’s rendition of this Nine Inch Nails song that I think I like it better than the original. He projects so much emotion; I love it.
It's amazing how different the meanings between Johnny cash's version and the original are. Same words, worlds apart. It's such a heavy song
They're very different in meaning, yet they share the same kinds of problems at the same time. It's almost poetic and makes the song that much more powerful to me.
One of the best songs of all times. RIP Johnny. Honesty, truth. Human. Great. Makes me cry every time.
It is funny how a single song can have multiple meanings, depending on where you are in life. On one hand, Trent Reznor of NIN wrote the song as if the singer is at the height of his fame, but it's a hollow one. Meanwhile, Johnny Cash sang thdie song as a farewell to a hard life filled with regret. Same song, different meaning. I like them both, btw.
Yeah, like everyone says, it's a Nine Inch Nails cover. I'm a monstrous Nine Inch Nails fan, but this is Johnny Cash's song. Even Trent Reznor says the same. He wrote it at a time in his life, and it fit his narrative, but when a legend like Cash listened to it, and adopted to his time in his life, it took a whole new meaning.
Dig your commentary and work man. Look forward to more!
Trent himself basically said i wrote this for you. Just didnt know it
I agree with Trent (and everyone else) ... The NIN version is a "Demo" ... No matter which version you are listening to ... They tried to do it again and again ... Then Cash did it right!!
What I find amazing is the amount of emotion that he put into this song even though it is clear his voice is no longer what it once was. Notice it is sung in a narrow comfortable range with no embellishments, no dynamic changes, with those limitations no one else could express such deep emotions.
Your reviews are so eloquent and you get the meaning behind the song. Please keep doing these.
When Cash's people sent Trent an audio version of this song, Trent was like "what is this...I don't get it. I don't like it." Then they sent him the music video, and he bawled like a child.
I was thinking about this, and how everybody is like trent was blown away, but yea he didnt care until they made the video.
@@anthonycurby4606 Yeah. People always want to leave that part out for whatever reason. If they're going to go around telling the story, tell it right lol.
@@xtravagentk1275 Yeah...because it's not actually relevant, and it mostly makes Trent look like a jackass. He wouldn't have cared about the video either...except that it did something he can't deal with...it forced him to acknowledge something he didn't want to face. That's always been his problem. He uses his music to deflect, not to cope.
I love this song and how the age of the person completely changes the meaning of the song.
It's Trent Reznor's song about his addiction and depression.
Then you look at it through Cash's eyes a former addict and destructive personality...but couple it with age, by the time you are 80 or 90 years old...how many hospital stays...how much damage to your body...how many times has he shot up with drugs and it changed to getting IVs in a hospital...how much heart ache...bridges you've burned... people you've lost. My grandmother felt that depression...generationally he is alone...all the people from his youth are gone...he's last of his group, even if he has his children...all the people that can share his memories are gone.
He's taking stock of his life and what the hell it all meant. It's a masterpiece of a song.
It shows that with youth there is always hope.
I feel like this is one of the most beautiful songs ever written/performed/filmed, every aspect, the music, the video, the lyrics are all perfectly interwoven. Incredibly powerful. Words can't do it justice.
"Everyone I know goes away in the end." Definitely speaks of depression, but it can also be speaking of old age. Many elderly people talk of the isolation and loneliness that comes from watching their old friends die.
There is a story about a very elderly and well respected Rabbi. Someone brought him news that an old childhood classmate had died, and he burst into tears. His students and attendants were confused; he wasn't close with this old cohort, they hadn't spoken in years. But then the Rabbi said "He was the last person in the world who would have called me by my first name." Here was this well respected religious leader, who was surrounded by people who referred to him as "Holy Rabbi" in reverent tones, and he was lonely because a chapter of his life was now closed forever. He had no childhood cohorts left, he was the oldest and therefore the loneliest.
That line is 100% about depression when Trent from Nine Inch Nails wrote the song.
@@SnuuSnuu yeah but this song has a double meaning depending on the artist
That's a really good story.
good story but depressing af
@@SnuuSnuu Yes, I think I said that in my comment. I'm not commenting on the NIN version, but Johnny Cash's version. He clearly had his own interpretation of the lyrics, and there's no harm in adding my opinion.
This was one of the last songs Johnny recorded and the last video he made. His wife June Carter Cash was in the video and passed shortly after, he passed a few short months after her.
This was a Nine Inch Nails song that he covered. Both versions have different meaning. Johnny made this his own.
Thank you B... I love NIN! I love Johnny! I love this song... was excited for its release in 95, and was floored at Mr Cashs release in 2002!
Great reaction Sir...
....and that's how almost everyone reactions to this masterpiece the amazing Johnny Cash gave us before his death (read other comments ref the background of song (NIN) and the imminent death of both he and June) He conveyed such emotion through his voice and the visuals combined, a rare and hauntingly beautiful talent. He is still 'The Man In Black' and always will be. *R.I.P. Johnny Cash* 💔
Johnny sums up his entire life with a song he didn't even write. He left his wife in a time when divorce was a taboo. He became famous, got into drugs, and disappointed those who loved him. Trent Reznor wrote the song. Johnny Cash embodied it.
I heard that once Trent heard Johnny's version, Trent said the song now belonged to Johnny.
Well said
@@rwxstudio7173 To the best of my knowledge that is true.
@@galerios1 Not quite. Trent wasn't a fan of it actually, until he saw the music video.
@@xtravagentk1275 That is true. Once he saw the video he changed his mind.
I love your thoughtful compassionate articulate analysis - and your voice! I had a mentor who always closed our call with, "Hug your family." as a reminder, after all of our business talk, of what was really important.
Trent Reznor wrote this song.
Although it is a deeply personal song, “Hurt” has become distanced from its author, Trent Reznor, frontman with the industrial-rock band Nine Inch Nails. Breaking away from its alt-rock origins, “Hurt” has transcended genres, having been reinterpreted for cellists and Gregorian chant.
some of the lyrics were changed by Johnny however.
Truth
@@JoeZyzyx Just the one word was altered & that was "Shit" to "Christ".
Johnny Cash in his old age truly brought this song to life. Especially since he resonated with the lyrics so closely. He made this song his and NIN definitely agreed when they heard it. R.I.P. Johnny
@@sinesensu1127 I totally agree with you!!!
I usually agree with your in depth assessments of songs and I do agree with your view of someone coming to the end of life and realizing that the people he loved the most were more important than the material things and drugs. However I feel he is not depressed but feeling his age and looking back at his life that he has many regrets. Toward the end of the video there are splashes of Christ crucified, signs of the cross and birds soaring thru the air, all signs of hope for redemption and the next life in heaven which John Cash believed in whole heartily. Another good Cash video is God's goin cut you down.
It's such a hard song to take in, because whether its Trents version which is more matter of factly dealing with depression and addiction, or Johnnys which is dealing with mortality and looking back on the hard life he lived and the people he has lost and pushed away. It is a beautifully haunting song no matter what, and just truly iconic as a result.
This is a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song, written by Trent Reasnor. Trent reportedly said after Cash recorded this, that it was now a Johnny Cash song.
Reznor
except nobody let's him have it..
I think of this song as the older and ailing Johnny Cash looking back with regret for the pain he had caused some of the people in his life whom he loved. Yes, it's a cover of someone else's song, but he imbues it with a gravitas that makes it his own. It's a testament to his creative spirit that, even in his last years, he could reinterpret a Nine Inch Nails song and elevate it to a whole different level. Sadly his wife June Carter Cash, who is also in the video, passed away just a few months after this video was made. Johnny followed soon after. True artists create as long as they possibly can.
MrLboyd - I only recently found you and have been watching your channel when I find something interesting, like this Johnny Cash song. I love your analysis of the songs, your ability to let your emotions out when appropriate and to really feel the music. I'm from the 60s and much of what you review I am very familiar with. I was a drummer, still have my snare drum. Thanks for allowing your audience to watch you as you "hear" songs for the first time. You are truly enjoyable. Namaste.
Johnny's wife passed away a few month's after this was released. Johnny followed here into the afterlife just 4 month's later.
Loved your reaction to this ❤ Beautiful, beautiful song at the end of an extraordinaire career.
Johnnys wife died 3 months after this video was made, Johnny died 4 months after her. In those 4 months he recorded 60 new songs.
A note regarding the line "everyone I know goes away in the end"
While it could be about pushing people away, I think at his age it takes on the connotation of how at a certain age most of the people you've known through your life have passed away and coming to the realization that the present is full of people who can't relate to your experiences
It's still depressing, but it's the depression of a widower and not that of divorce
Agree, this stuck with me
Possibly, but his autobiography mentions several people, old friends, who'd passed; Waylon Jennings, Roy Orbison, Faron Young etc
@@moominpic that was the point of my comment
Thats what i always thought he meant, same when he says "i will let you down i will make you hurt" he means by dying he was gonna hurt people that knew him
If you’re listening to the Nine Inch Nails version it’s more about addiction and depression. When you listen to this version it seems more about growing old and this being his last song. He did struggle pretty severely with addiction, but when cash sings this, he doesn’t seem to be singing about that.
Coming from someone who’s lived with depression for most of my life, at some level or another, listening to this song makes me bawl. The emotion conveyed in it just hits those heart strings.
Johnny’s daughter said, Dad it seems like you’re saying goodbye. “I was” was his response.
I love how he closes the piano at the end. It's certainly Goodbye.
A Lot Of People Don't Get The Chance To Say Goodbye, It Was Only Fitting He Did It In This Manner
" I am"
Gods going to cut you down is a great video with plenty of cameos wanting to pay respect to Johnny Cash after his passing
This song hits me everytime!
I remember also that this song was used in the trailer for Hugh Jackmans last turn at playing Wolverine in "Logan"
In my opinion...
The use of this song could not have been more fitting. As it prepared the audience in a way, of things to come in the movie.
Cried at the end of that too.
Love this song so much it made me pickup my guitar again after years of not playing just to play this song and feel it resinate in my own soul.
Wow, rarely see you so speechless!!! That was powerful to see your reaction. This cover always makes me tear up.
Just wanted to say that I love your videos. You're so thoughtful and articulate in your interpretation of the music. I grew up with Garth Brooks and at 33 he's still my favorite artist of all time. Really regret never getting to see Johnny live.
This was just before he died, I watched an interview his daughter did about this song, this video set, June's death and ultimately his death shortly after. I cried like a baby 😭😭😭
The imagery of filming this in the falling apart Johnny Cash museum while the man himself also was at the end of his life is crazy...this song is beautiful.
wow, thanks for letting the last part play out, it gave me nostalgias, back when I was a kid and everyone around me, then thinking about now and a lot of people have passed away that was always around back then. Powerful! I've been binge watching since your channel was recommended to me!
Trent Reznor wrote this about how his heroin addiction ruined his and others' life. It speaks to the emptiness and meaningless of a life ruled by addiction. The lyrics are very profound. As a veteran with ptsd, I see similarities. As others have stated, Reznor later stated the Cash made this song his with this acoustic and soulful cover.
Cash did a final project of covers and spiritually profound after he recovered from his stroke and the loss of his wife. This was shortly before his death.
Johnny Cash had his own addiction struggles as his career was taking off, as dramatized by Joaquin Phoenix in the film, Walk The Line. Cash recovered and became a Christian before embarking on the best years of his career. His life and career reflect how much his struggles and redemption informed his music and activism for society's downtrodden. This song, God's Gonna Cut You Down, and When The Man Comes Around are visceral experiences that get to me every time.
I'm so glad you did this reaction. This is an absolute legend who found a Nine Inch Nails song that just fit him and his old voice and his story perfectly. It's better than the original and it's one of the most emotional and touching songs ever recorded. I'm brought to near tears everytime I hear this. Legendary performance.
This song is intense, and recorded not many years before he died. The video was so powerful as many of us watched his life play out on the public stage. What an incredible talent who is missed 😢
I am just so happy that Johnny got a chance to record and perform this before he left us. We have been lucky lately the number of people passing and leaving a great song to remember thiem by.
He also covered "Rusty Cage" (by Soundgarden?)
"Everyone I know goes away in the end." I know this to be true when you get older. If you live long enough, you eventually outlive the people who were the closest to you and you find yourself so alone.
His wife, June Carter-Cash, stood behind him on the stairs. She passed away 3 months after this was released, and he passed away 4 months after her... of a broken heart 💔. There is an interview he gave about this song, and 20 days later he was gone.
I always get chills at the shot of June looking at Johnny. Something hauntingly beautiful about that
Get this in your head really well, then go listen to NIN version and it will be just as gut wrenching, but completely different. You're kind of a metal guy now, maybe you could stretch towards industrial(ish) and the NIN catalog.
Having listened to this years after even this reaction came out, it is wholesome to see how people give their knowledge about it and complete the picture you can have of this song, one after another!
Apart from that: it was a really great reaction from MrLboyd!
He didn't write the song, it was a cover. But heartfelt all the same. June and Johnny both knew that they were nearing the end of their lives. I am sure they both had their sadnesses and regrets, as we all do. He really felt those words.