LogFAQs > #956291213

106. Johnny Cash Hurt (2002)
from the album American IV: The Man Comes Around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI

Key lyrics:
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

It has been said enough times at this point to no longer be a bold statement the greatest song Johnny Cash ever recorded was his cover of Nine Inch Nails Hurt, released less than a year before his death. This was not an easy achievement. Cash had already recorded three songs that could compete for the title of greatest country song ever, by any artist. And though Cash had been making cover albums for nearly a decade by this point, none of his other covers received anywhere near the same attention. The choice of Nine Inch Nails was not as shocking as it might sound, as Cash had already covered Tom Waits and Nick Cave at this point.

The simple strength of Hurt is how it reconstitutes the meaning of the original song. Johnny Cash takes the perspective of a suicidal young man and transforms it into the regretful tale of an old man nearing death. This is what every cover song wishes it could be, casting new meaning with the same words. It does not seek to replace or imitate but rather coexist with the original, exposing a universal element to Trent Reznors desperate emotions. But Cash simultaneously creates something rare, a piece by an artist all too aware of his impending death. He sings with so much emotion, his voice trembling with age. His version of Hurt is among the most poignant pieces of art about mortality.

---

My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/