First time hearing Hurt by Johnny Cash

[@flickeringboxofficial]

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[@p.j.morris]

Trent gave Johnny this song. Trent said i was born to write it Johnny was born to sing it. He gave him this song because he said it's not mine anymore it's Johnny's. My husband interviewed Johnny 2 yrs before his death on our Podcast i will always remember Johnny he was an amazing man. awesome reaction.

[@keith6485]

Reportedly, when he was done recording this, his daughter said "Dad, it sounds like you're saying goodbye". He said "Yes".

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Had not heard that Keith, what a sad moment that had to be.

[@Lunzatis_Palemoon]

@Flickering Box Johnny had been in rough shape for years at that point and had had trouble getting around. It's why you see June, his wife, come down during the video to check on him. Johnny knew his time was coming to an end and so did his family, friends, and fans. At that point, it was a question of when, not if. Some people may consider it sad but I look at the things like if you made it to your 70s or later then you lived a good long life and what more could you ask for? It should be a celebration and reflection on the good times and happiness they made it to that age. Not everyone lives long enough to get to that age.

[@a-6610]

In the interview, they said he responded with "Well maybe I am."

[@impudentdomain]

@@Lunzatis_Palemoon In one way it is a tragedy but in another way how many people do get to say goodbye to all their friends in that way ?

[@ThaOneChrisJONES]

@@Lunzatis_Palemoon But also, it's a double-edged sword.. a long life also brings with it so many regrets, good memories yes but also painful memories, memories of loss.. the grind of life can really make you weary and you can see that weariness in Johnny's whole being ( especially his eyes ).

[@S7GraveDigger]

This wasn't Johnny's "Comeback". THIS was his "Swan Song".

[@proudleaf]

When he closes the piano and looks down at and gently touches it with love, its like he is saying goodbye to his music. Gets me every time

[@glennelfmann3143]

some people have said it's symbolic of closing the lid on a coffin

[@FTamer-bk8jw]

Me too.

[@zachpereira1658]

I heard it’s also cause it’s the last time he ever actually played music, he died 7 months later

[@jonbrooks6307]

Johnny closing the piano was him saying his goodbyes to the world rip Johnny cash 🙏🙏

[@christopherking4932]

It was a one of kind goodbye.

[@jonbrooks6307]

@@christopherking4932 it truly was

[@flickeringboxofficial]

One of the most powerful silent scenes I know of. You feel the weight of the moment.

[@jonbrooks6307]

@@flickeringboxofficial you do because Johnny was one of a kind he was a great proformer

[@rickcain4736]

that final scene hits hard...It's as if a coffin was being closed for a final time...

[@jayperez955]

Trent Reznor said he was stunned when he heard this version of Hurt. He said Johnny just took the song to a place darker than he could have ever imagined , he also said as far as he was concerned it was no longer his song , it became Johnny's song. Just a completely epic recording ❤

[@-Gax-]

This is one of those songs that causes a healthy 33 year old man to have existential crisis😂 Real talk, though. I need to be better

[@destructyo]

As a huge NIN fan, I really don't like that people have been repeating this to the point that it's now widely considered fact. Trent openly hated the cover the first time he heard it, found it invasive and literally compared it to someone sleeping with his girlfriend. He changed his mind about it when Cash's people sent him the music video and he saw the song in a different context. That's when he famously said "it's not my song anymore," meaning that, when told by Cash and using his life as background, it had taken on a different, just as personal meaning. Not better, DEFINITELY not "darker," just different.

[@destructyo]

@@parallax3d I don't think you read my whole comment. You just repeated what I said. What I took issue with was the original poster's claim (which is a common one) that Trent listened to the song and immediately took to it, which he did not. "It's not my song anymore" is a quote that has been so widely scrubbed of its context by people and misconstrued as Trent saying that Cash's cover has replaced his original. It's artist erasure, and it sucks. Read my comment again - you'll see that we're in complete agreement here about the actual intent of the quote. Also, @jayperez955 saying that Trent thought the cover took the song to "a darker place than he could have imagined" is complete fabrication and honestly incredibly disrespectful to a man who was writing about his experiences with alienation, addiction and suicidal thoughts.

[@winittiwary7893]

@@destructyo And in addition, he makes it his own song, when he changed the line crown of shit to crown of thorns (so it is not true, that he kept the lyrics original) from a Heroin addict, to a twitched story of Jesus and himself, which is also reflect in the visuals of the video

[@lawrencefine5020]

First time I saw this I went through a half box of tissues crying like a baby. And I'm a metalhead. Metalheads don't cry. Yeah they do and this one did. Brilliant move on Rick Rubin and Johnny Cash to do this song and video is stunning and goes perfectly with the song. Even Trent Reznor said "It's Johnny's song now, he made it his" Johnny's version of Soundgarden's Rusty Cage is damn good too.

[@chadbennett7873]

Yeah, we do. Nightwish makes me cry frequently. And this does every time I hear it.

[@Bluedruid13]

I still do brother. I have listened to this version thousands of times and the tears flow. And after I started watching the video and learned the stories behind it, it just became even more powerful.

[@robertburns4429]

You and me both brother.

[@impudentdomain]

yeah guy I still cry when I see it, Of course I grew up in the 60's and I always loved Johnny

[@heathen-heart]

I yet again have tears in my eyes right now. And I have watched this video dozens of times. And I listen to death metal, black metal, etc

[@clasmaster1471]

The song is just extremely real and makes everyone reflect on their own lives and we can all relate to loss and regret and pain and fear. And you realize when you get to the point where Johnny was none of this stuff matters, all these possessions do nothing for me when I am sick and I am lonely and I am hurting and I am regretting it is an empire of dirt the only thing that is important is your relationship with your self your God, your family and your Friends. So as a grown ass man I cry every time I watch this video. RIP Johnny Cash

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Well said Clasmaster, well said!

[@LoveBandit1000]

When he says "if I could start again, a million miles away" the tears flow everytime...

[@mattreneau-fs1hm]

God bless him great man.

[@jasonsomething6003]

Young people keeping older artists alive is simply so awesome.......... LOVED the reaction!!!!!!! peace

[@Masterfrogg]

Without question the greatest example of a "swan song" ever. And what a song at that. How lucky we are to have gotten to listen Cash's singing and there is no doubt that they will be remembered forever.

[@michaelallen434]

I grew up on Johnny cash and when tis came out it hit like a ton of bricks. It still does.

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Got me at the end of the reaction, tried to fight it but couldn't.

[@Charly_Dont_Surf]

Same

[@chrisking6667]

When the guy who actually wrote the song says "Everything I wanted to express with the words he made clear, it's not my song anymore it's his song"....

[@cmr7854]

I cry everytime I watch this by myself... especially when he closes the cover on the piano keys.

[@Diecastclassicist]

The more you know about Cash’s life, the more heartbreaking the video is.

[@michaelanderson4394]

I tear up every time I watch this video. I thinks it’s the most powerful song(Johnnys version) ever written. So much emotion

[@traviscrockett3640]

Yea. Trent has said many times in interviews that the song is no longer his. Great respect. When I die 3 John’s I want to meet are John the Baptist john Wayne and Johnny Cash😊

[@flickeringboxofficial]

That is a great 3 Travis! Never knew Trent said that, how cool.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

The best way to experience this rendition by Johnny Cash is his song with his video! I thought the titlw was just "hearing" although no doubt just hearing this song is already so emotional, the imagery is so man

[@maryannanderson2213]

I'm an old woman, dinosaurs were roaming the planet when I was a kid, and I have been a Johnny Cash fan since his very first hit, Cry Cry Cry, which he released back in the mid-50's. His cover of Hurt just destroys me. I love his lighter songs like Boy Named Sue, One Piece at a Time and The One on the Left is on the Right and I love his story-telling songs like Sunday Morning Comin' Down and Here Comes That Rainbow Again, I even like his more obscure songs like Cisco Clifton's Fillin' Station that was on an album of his that I bought probably 50 or so years ago and that I have NEVER heard on any radio station or TV show but which I think is one of his best. When he did Hurt it was like he was putting an epilogue to his life's work. In my opinion there are two kinds of people; those who are Johnny Cash fans and those who have never heard any of his songs. BTW, it is said that back in his heyday, out of every five records that were sold in this country, ONE of them was by Johnny Cash. There is a reason he's a legend.

[@MYSTICRATTLER]

Alexis Got the Depth of the song. Very Smart Young Lady...Instead of the beginning it's His End. He passed shortly after this.

[@randalthor1955]

It took me watching it about 50 times to overcome the feelings and watch it without bringing tears to my eyes. Now I feel I have spoilt it. I will need to pause for a while.

[@deichkucker]

With this video, which was also Johnny's last before he withdrew from music completely and unfortunately died in 2003, Johnny tried to reflect on his own life, in contrast to the original. It reflects the early days of his career, as well as its sometimes difficult course. The video also makes it clear that everything is temporary and that money and fame cannot replace health. This becomes particularly clear in the video when he, almost alone in an armchair, reflects on his life, while his wife June Carter Cash listens to him from the stairs and has to realize helplessly, almost pitifully, that the time to say goodbye will soon come . The last scene in the video is intended to symbolize the end. The end of saying goodbye to his fans as well as the end of earthly existence. He closes the coffin lid himself... Rest in Peace, great Man in Black. I am proud to have seen you live in 1982. I will always carry this gift in my heart...

[@OneThousandHomoDJs]

They played this one time at my church. Just showed the video in its entirety and talked about it afterward. I was one of maybe 2 or 3 people in the crowd who knew what was about to happen..........

[@flickeringboxofficial]

That is amazing, that had to be a sight

[@synthetic240]

Seems kind of ironic when Nine Inch Nails has a song titled Heresy and sings about how "God is dead". There's also Head Like a Hole where he sings about the hypocrisy of "God-money".

[@sopronunciareglignocchi7255]

​@@synthetic240 Not really. People of opposing beliefs can still find common ground and similarities between them.

[@nwslimbubba]

😢everytime I here this song I just can not hold it together. It's so powerful.

[@flickeringboxofficial]

And the scene at the end when he closes the piano is brilliant and so sad.

[@OldBoiler62]

My faather was 100 when he passed a few years ago and the first time I saw this video I was struck by how much my father and Johnny looked like each other towards the end right down to when Johnny closed the cover on his piano and rubbed hands across it. My father used to do the same thing with his organ.

[@DonLuc23]

The closing of the piano reminds me of old folks caressing a coffin of a loved one, same hand actions.

[@kylepreston7344]

The realization that we're not immortal is a bitter pill to swallow and it's not really until we've lived most of our life that we learn to appreciate the memories we've accumulated. Thanks for this reaction, so good.

[@BassMatt1972]

It was the video that brought this all together... THAT is what hit everyone, when they saw the video.. The tempo doesnt change, its the intensity that does.. Trent said this made the song what it should have been.. R.I.P. The Man In Black..

[@russellhamilton8903]

Hopefully you will do Trent's original version now. You hear the real 'hurt', pain and anger in his voice of a young man who is controlled by his addiction and can't turn the balance of control. Johnny's version is as an auld man near the end of his life reflecting on what had been. Both are SO powerful in different meanings. Both bring me to tears every time I hear them. Thank you fir doing it. Love from Northern Ireland 🤘🏻🇬🇧🖤

[@OllieScambaiter]

Would also like to see a reaction to the original (although the narrative weight is always lessened without having first gone through the Downward Spiral concept in full). I still prefer the NIN original as I find a lot of the impact of the Cash cover is found in the video more than the performance.

[@Malzarius85]

I grew up a nins fan it's sad to me so many credit this song to cash. They are both good but this meant a lot to me growing up and thanks to Trent for this masterpiece as Ollie said it was the end of the downward spiral even if I played this on repeat and my younger brother hated me for it

[@davebrowne8252]

Thanks both. Just thank you.

[@DavidK-hx6gn]

I could watch this video at least a thousand more times and still tear up 😢😎

[@MrWeeze]

Even Trent said that song is this anyymore... It's Johnny's... #Legend

[@richardhargrave6082]

Its so powerful and moving, I cry every time. That single piano note is awesome, its amazing

[@eglin32]

So powerful as was your reaction thankyou Mr Cash

[@stevieraygaatjeniksaan4315]

I love the reaction of nine inch nails the original artist behind the song. He said its not out song anynore wow!!

[@gravehammer3545]

Great remake. Johnny was one of a kind

[@KellyMurphy]

When I first saw this video I said, This is Johnny saying goodbye with the closing of the piano. A few months later he passed away.

[@rafalmeidas]

When I bought the CD with this song it had just came out and back then my dad was in his 70's, big Johnny Cash fan his whole life and being here in Mexico and a man of the last century he wasn't aware of the new stuff in the world all the time. When I heard this song immediately thought of him and at first I didn't want to show it to him because eventhough he was the best father any son would want and he didn't do bad things to regret but I knew he would think of what else he would have wanted to give us as a family. Powerful song. I did play the entire CD to him, he watched the video and he liked it a lot. Thank you dad for being who made me love music this much. I know you know wherever you are.

[@wompa70]

This song hits so much harder having listened to “Hurt” millions of times since 1995. Also, I grew up in a little country bumpkin town in central Florida so I’ve listened to Johnny Cash songs since birth.

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Same here, fellow Central Florida bumpkin. Loved both but Johnny's is gold.

[@rickwelch8464]

This song is powerful on it's own. When you've already heard the NIN version it makes it miles better.

[@stephenryan1912]

I need to point out, a twenty something year old man wrote this, and the pain he was in at the time, is serious and dark. Johnny Cash just happened to have lived the full life that the lyrics hit harder. Even Trent saw it, and said its his song now.

[@joeteeter]

I was 16 years old when Johnny Cash came out with this song

[@3dpooltile829]

His wife June was the lady standing on the stairs while he was singing. The picture on the wall behind him is his late mother.

[@maineman9447]

Brilliant, sad, and great. Nailed it.

[@slantize]

The beauty of Cash's Hurt is that know you for a fact that it was not tinged by profit, and that makes it a rare treat to enjoy art in its purist form.

[@MacPro8CoreMan]

The greatest cover of all time!

[@johnmichie8411]

He never played the piano again after this, powerful emotion stirring song. Makes the hairs on my arms stand straight each time. God love you JC.

[@mickeykmiller]

Thanks for not pausing!

[@flickeringboxofficial]

not intentional but glad it worked out like that for this one.

[@x2b1800]

Probably the most powerful piece of media ever created.

[@CPTM1]

Man, your Dad knows his sh*t when it comes to all genres of music. It is crazy. I love it

[@Justin_Dykes]

CASH definitely made this his own and he owns it..... Cash sings is with extreme conviction and the imagery in the video is stellar....What a great version..... And I'm a huge Trent Reznor fan (Cleveland Ohio boy).... Another great version is Reznor and Bowie (which was a great tour as well).....

[@Tar-Numendil]

I was 4 when this song came out, but I grew up with it.

[@TimothySmiths]

I am sure someone else has mentioned it but there was a lyric change between the two, Johnny didn't want to sing the original line Crown of Sh*t and changed it to Crown of Thorns. Everytime i see the video , tears, and sometimes when just listening to the song.

[@embraceyourweirdness70]

Even Trent Reznor said it was Johnny's song now. The only line that changed was when Johnny sang "I wear this crown of thorns", Trent sang "I wear this crown of sh*t". Naturally Johnny changed it. I love NIN, but this is the best version by far...

[@ldavies3280]

Dammit. Am I ever going to get to the end of this song without sobbing like a baby.

[@CanadaDan]

This songs chokes me up every time

[@JamesDavis-sh9gh]

Trent Resnor has gone to become an Oscar winning composer for The Social Network and Soul.

[@terryvittitow6362]

To really understand the impact of this song and Johnny Cash singing it and the video, you should read all about Johnny Cash's life from boyhood growing up in Arkansas until his death in Tennessee.

[@JeffreyDawsonSemperSermo]

I still can't listen to this song without crying. Its just so moving.

[@John_Krone]

Love the reaction. Could feel Alexis wanted to cry. Here too. Sad video. Subscribed

[@Lunzatis_Palemoon]

Trent's version is from the view of a young man fighting with addiction and how it has wrecked his life. Johnny's version is from the view of that same man decades later at the end reflecting on his life. Realizing all the mistakes he made throughout his life but understanding that those mistakes were part of the journey and what ended up making him who he was.

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Well said Lunzatis, great synopsis.

[@a-6610]

Most people don't realize that Cash lived the Rockstar live before it existed. He fought his battles with addiction, too!

[@Lunzatis_Palemoon]

@@a-6610 I don't think it's that they don't realize it as much as they don't know enough about Johnny. Johnny was very public about his issues with addiction and drugs. I think the Country Music category gives people misconceptions about the artists. The Gatekeepers of the Country Music Industry have always tried to make sure it has a certain reputation upheld. Those who don't really listen to Country Music don't realize this, but those of us who grew up with it have known about it the majority of our lives.

[@Marshall-h4d]

Wow I'm a huge Johnny Cash fan and I love this song... right there at the end of the song it's like he's saying goodby and thank you to the piano when he closes it

[@robperry5293]

From what I heard when Johnny closed his piano at the end of the video, he never opened it again.

[@MYJ61]

This has to be one of the greatest song ever. Taking his life into account, how he lived, the emotion in his voice, in his eyes, like he knows something we don’t. As great as Trent’s version is, this is on another level.

[@willardwilson1127]

This song put to the movie Logan, was unbelievable!!!

[@cosmyccowboy]

Sitting at the head of the table with an immense feast all laid out in front of him… all alone!

[@christopherhuot2826]

JOHNNY Transcended music!!!😊

[@clasmaster1471]

Man in Black and a boy named Sue are awesome ones to do!

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Boy named sue, Ira Hayes and Busted are 3 I would love to do if she doesn't know them.

[@kevinhennessy1615]

Brilliant Reaction - Love This Song It's a Classic After Trent Reznor Heard Johnny Cash's Version Of Hurt He Said This Is Not My Song Anymore It Belongs To Johnny Cash Now - Apparently When His Daughters Heard This Song They Started To Cry and Said It Sounds Like Your Saying Goodbye! And Johnny Cash Said I am.

[@Charly_Dont_Surf]

I’m forever grateful to RR for inspiring Johnny to be authentic and remembering his roots. RIP Johnny

[@r3ddirtr8r28]

If you can watch this without tearing up, you are indeed a cold fish.

[@cap873]

I don't personally feel that this cover (as great as it is) makes Trent's version any less amazing! Both are A+. You should let her hear the original next!

[@ian_forbes]

This is a truly moving and amazing version of the song, but I wouldn’t say ‘better’ than Trent did with the original. The song takes on a different meaning depending on your connection to NIN, to addiction, to where you were in life when each version entered your life. For me, the NIN version is the one that will be forever tied to some core feelings and memories … even as Cash delivers this remarkable performance and has made the song his own.

[@sirsuse]

Thank you for doing this reaction. My wife and I went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a few years ago, and this song was in loop mode at Johnny Cash's kiosk. My wife had to peel me away. My dad was a huge fan and so am I. This song is just so so amazing, and so befitting of the Man in Black.

[@aaronrice4607]

This is the most powerful music video ever made. Stunning.

[@backaddict673]

Few songs can impact me the way Cash's cover of "Hurt" has, even years later. His emotion comes through even more than it did for me when Trent first performed it. And Trent's original hit HARD.

[@macPles]

I believe once Trent Reznor heard this he said that this is Johnny's song

[@michaelhuntington3345]

This is an epic ballad! From the composure of the music, imagery throughout, and lyrical delivery, it takes me through his past and right up to his final moments.🙏

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Agreed

[@rmweidner7596]

Trent Reznor has commented in multiple interviews that he wasn't sure what was going to happen when he was asked to approve Johnny Cash performing "Hurt", but he was honored so he gave his approval. Then he was given a copy of the song, and he was not a fan of Johnny's version - but that was more to do with not being able to relate it to his original meaning of the song. Then he was given the video, and it all made sense. That's when he realized that his song was now Johnny's. ...you're right, though, that it in no way invalidates or lessens the original version of the song. It's one song, but it is able to encapsulate two entirely different issues and stages of life.

[@Peter-oh3hc]

I love this song and video, but I can't imagine calling in to request this on the radio

[@Peter-oh3hc]

@@RayfordRaySiegel it just makes me so sad and I wouldn't want to do that to orhers. I would not request strange fruit or where were you when the world stopped turning (except on 9/11). Just me.

[@capehARTlines]

im always struck by the last few frames where he runs his fingers across the closed piano. its a common movement by many people but you get the impression he just said goodbye to that piano and this life

[@damnhatesyou]

Charles Bradley version of Black Sabbath’s cover of Changes is the same of this so damn emotional.

[@LuckyDog-ok7gk]

Even Trent said it’s Cash’s song now! True legend

[@dantorrez2]

Absolutely love Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt. Nothing bad against NINs, I love them. It’s just Johnny Cash’s hits different. Can’t wait for you to do Shinedown and Simple Man. It’s not just a cover either, there’s a story there. History. Can’t wait. Keep up the amazing work!!!

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Thank you Daniel! I love the Shinedown version but didn't know there was a story behind it. Now you have peaked my interest. I will have to look that one up, thank you brother.

[@bamachine]

While I like the Shinedown cover, it is not on the same level as Cash with Hurt. I think Cash's version is the superior one, whereas I am not sure anyone can top the original version of Simple Man. To me there are three levels of great covers(the bad ones need not be classified, they are all worthless, IMO). There is the great but not as great, Shinedown's version of Simple Man fits that for me, also the Heart version of Stairway To Heaven, performance at the Kennedy Center Honors for LZ fits this also. There is the just as great but done differently, Disturbed's cover of Sound of Silence fits this for me. Then there is the cover that transcends the original, Cash's Hurt does this for me.

[@evilTaker90V2]

This was such a powerful performance that Nine Inch Nails, the band that made the original song, declared that it’s Johnny’s song now

[@lxwood505]

That my friends is what music was all about and should be all about.

[@generic53]

"You can have it all. My empire of dirt." Money and fame don't mean ANYTHING in the end.

[@christophermckinney3924]

And shortly after he died. What a great exit.

[@caretaker158]

The look that June gives him as she's gazing down.... gets me every daggone time! Especially considering that she was gone not long after, and then he followed her four months later.

[@UncleCharlie111x2]

Great job! Enjoyed this!

[@PhuVet]

He knew he was dying when he did the song. He didn't tell anyone until the end.

[@nathanclaytonvarietyasmr8224]

Loved your reaction

[@shadmccarty3452]

It was reported that the scene at the end of Cash playing the piano and then closing it, was the very last time he ever played the piano. I truly believe that this was him saying goodbye to the masses that he couldn't speak to personally. An amazing storyteller voice to begin with, but with the aged tone, it made it more powerful!

[@billspivey6919]

This whole album is covers of early 90s bands. Great album

[@marlinblack6597]

I'm 58 and know the torrid life of the man in black. This always make choke and tear up. It is so moving. He was one of my father's favorite singers.

[@raymo6795]

...so powerfull...John cared about about June more than anything else...always gives me a tear or two

[@RDRussell2]

You explain how this song "... hits me in a different way..." than when you first heard it. To me, that's one of the defining parameters of what makes something a work of art. All of the greatest masterpieces, from music to books to film to poetry and so on-they all linger with you, change with you, grow with you.

[@ElizasGrammy]

Watching him close the piano lid is like watching him die. 😔

[@flickeringboxofficial]

Yes indeed Eliza, the dead silence as he does it is so emotional and heavy

[@jacquesjrviens3384]

Disturb’s Sound of silence is also an amazing cover.