Hurt — Johnny Cash
Yeah, I know, this is really a Nine Inch Nails song.
When this song first came out, I remember watching it on MTV, and feeling all the feels of what it is like to be lonely and to regret.
At first, I didn’t even realize that this was originally a Nine Inch Nails song, since it wasn’t one of their most popular songs. The Johnny Cash version is still my favorite. His gravelly voice is perfect for portraying the sense of what it feels like to be hurt.
This remake is off of his last album, circa 2000, The Man Comes Around. Seeing this on TV, I was glued to the screen.
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that’s real
I went through a lot of suffering when I was young, so I felt all too well that sometimes the pain is the only thing that is real. Sometimes, hearing someone else echo back your own pain makes you feel validated. Less alone.
Here was someone old enough to be my grandfather, singing about how pain is all that is left. Alone with regrets. I felt like I would grow old that way too.
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
Here, I know he is talking about his drug use, and trying to use it to numb the pain. I think when you hurt that…
