It’s not so much that you have to be wiser or older or have gone through something. It’s more that, to understand this song, you have to have regrets and loss.
Rosanne Cash, Jonny's daughter, said that she cried the first time she heard it. She said it felt like he was saying goodbye. Less than a year later he passed away.
Johnny Cash was a legend in country music. Strike that. He was a legend in music, period. Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) wrote the song. When he heard Cash’s cover, he said “this is Johnny Cash’s song now.”
@@erichernandez2398 It’s so haunting. It’s simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking. And the video is perfection. The first time I saw it, I thought “He’s saying goodbye. He’s telling all of us goodbye.” I was so moved that I literally cried.
This is the sound of a man giving the eulogy to his own funeral. The original by Nine Inch Nails is a young man raging at the world around him. Johnny's version is an old man looking back upon his life and making peace with his regrets. This came out not long before he passed away in 2003.
Isn’t it funny how someone can take the same lyrics and make it just as personal as the original? Trent Reznor describes listening to this cover as watching someone kissing his girlfriend, taking his most intensely personal song and making mean something a bit different and yet the same in tone. I love both the versions, but you can hear their pain, it’s a bit too much sometimes.
ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON AND A BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION. The song is amazing and I LOVE both versions. The NIN version has more feeling / meaning to me (high school when it was written). Peace.
That is June Carter Cash, Johnny’s second wife and the love of his life. She belonged to the legendary Carter family, and was a star in her own right. John did not live for long after June died. The closing of the piano lid at the end of this song seems like closing the casket of a coffin to me. He was saying good-bye.
@@wesdog8975 Yes. And, John followed her in death less than four months later. It always feels like a farewell to me, though. Even Roseanne Cash told her Dad that it felt like he was saying goodbye in this video.
7:53 - - Yes, that was his wife, June Carter Cash. She passed away not long after this video was released. Johnny passed away later in the same year as her.
Johnny Cash was a veteran, musician, had a successful variety show series, was a movie actor. He started in the 1950s alongside Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis at the dawn of Rock and Roll; literally doing live shows with them. He was an activist for Civil Rights, in spite (or maybe because) of his experiences growing up poor in Arkansas and would unflinchingly risk it all to feature black and Native American artists in his performance projects. If there is a word to describe him, I would choose 'uncompromising'. He was very clear on his personal values and would rather suffer consequences than dishonor or others himself by compromising his values. Johnny loved music, every kind. His musical catalog includes gospel, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, rockabilly, folk, and humous. He is listed in the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Johnny also struggled with addiction: alcohol, heroin, amphetamines, barbiturates. He liked a little grass, which is mild, but the pressures of touring and working so many concerts (plus the bad company he toured with and the demons from his childhood) pushed him into serious self-medication with the hardest stuff around. It cost him opportunities, it cost him his freedom (he was jailed), but it also meant he remembered the fellows locked in jails, so did a live recording at Folsom Prison. As a young child, he could never get the approval of his cruel father, who preferred Johnny's older brother. While the two as elementary school kids were cutting logs in their makeshift sawmill (because when you're dirt-poor, even kids worked to bring in money), Johnny's brother was killed in an industrial accident. Their father blamed Johnny. At one point, as Johnny was battling another episode of addiction, Johnny's father told him the wrong son died. This was the last song Johnny recorded. It's a miracle the video was ever made. Yes, the woman on the stairs is Johnny's 2nd wife, who he could not live without. "Hurt" was recorded in 2002, released in March 2003. June Carter Cash, his wife, died in May 2003. Johnny Cash followed her in death in September 2003. I don't think Johnny would have ever considered himself as 'wise'; he experienced quite a bit in life, but he was well aware of his flaws and would more likely considered himself as a flawed man, someone who has made horrible mistakes, who could have done more for others, who could have lived a Christian life. He was intensely spiritual, but definitely prone to earthly failings, which gave him empathy for others. He was a complicated man, even to himself. And he had regrets. I don't believe he ever forgave himself for any mistakes, and may not have ever felt peace.
His support of civil rights could be in part of his upbringing, I don't know. He also got flack from some about his first wife Vivian Liberto not being "white enough". I think that changed how he saw people more than his childhood?
Very well written, the "jail" bit may be a little inaccurate, though, as IIRC they were overnight lockups when he was arrested for minor things - the usual thing with the misdemeanor charges laid the next day. probably the equivalent of the 'drunk tank'.
As I understand it, his relationship with his father wasn't quite so bad as the movie Walk the Line made out. There was friction, certainly, but apparently his father hadn't been overly adversarial with him. That movie took several Liberties with reality. For example, the tractor scene shown in the film was actually more serious than shown, as it very nearly killed him, rather than just getting him wet.
@@Lyme_lyte fair enough, but Johnny Cash struggled with his alcoholism his entire life and was addicted to both barbiturates and amphetamines. Not a China White heroin overdose (that he mistook for cocaine) like Reznor perhaps, but those metaphorical needles are still needles. You can have a different struggle and still find the pain within you to emote that line from your own demons. Reznor and Cash have very similar stories for all they are not in the same genre.
@@Lyme_lyte He did shoot up back in the day,so the 'needle tears a hole" fits just fine. He,Waylon Jennings,and Willie Nelson rode those hard drugs until it wrung them dry and then some.
He loved June so much. His wife and musical partner during most of his career. Don't let anyone diss you for having the feelings, you are growing and in a good direction. You're a lot further on the path than a lot of 20 years olds. *HUGS*
Johnny Cash was an artist who struggled early in his career with drug addiction and so forth. When he met his future wife, June Carter, it seems to turn his life around. Johnny goes way back to your grandparents days. He broke many barriers in his career. He was one of the first old-school white artists who performed on stage with artists of color. Johnny truly respected the talents of others. He spoke for the downtrodden, the prisoners, those who were cheated in life. His sound is iconic and unique to him. This song was uncharacteristic but SO powerful!
@@kampfer3146 Nope, the woman standing behind him is definitely June Carter, you can google a photo of her. I think the woman in the picture frame was possibly his mother but I can't find anything to confirm it
I speak as a man nearly 3 times your age. You have the superpower of introspection. If you don't think that's a superpower look around at how many people are terrified to even think about it. You, young man, are one of the reasons that humanity has a chance of being OK.
NIN’s songwriter, Trent Reznor prolifically responded to Cash’s “Hurt” cover with: “I wasn’t prepared for what I saw, and it really then, wasn’t my song anymore.” There was no warning that Cash would be covering “Hurt.” Reznor said, “Then I got a CD in the post. I listened to it and it was very strange. It was this other person inhabiting my most personal song. Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend. It felt invasive.” Reznor respectfully added in an NME interview that the cover meant more to him than winning something like a Grammy. The cover and video were recorded and filmed shortly before Cash’s death. Popular opinion across almost every genre of music is that “Hurt” by Cash, is the best cover of all time.
@@ChollieD There's a number of songs that are in the conversation for "best of all time". The final answer will be different for many, and deeply personal as well. For me it's Disturbed and Sounds of Silence, but I can't fault anyone who chooses this instead. Or even any of the number of fantastic Dylan cover. Hendrix made "All Along the Watchtower" every bit his own as Mr. Cash did here or David Draiman did on my favorite. The beauty of it is, there is no wrong answer.
Respecting everyone who has a favorite - I believe there is no such thing as an objective number one. Many greats all deserve the spot of “one of the number ones”. This is one of them, without a doubt.
My #1 personal favorite cover has always been Manfred Mann's "Blinded By the Light". Other faves of mine are Nirvana's "The Man Who Sold the World", Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower", and The Beatles' "Twist and Shout". But if you wanna talk about the best cover of all time, IMHO, I think the only other cover that ever came anywhere near this was Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help From my Friends". But even that couldn't match the raw emotion musically and especially visually, of Cash's "Hurt". In my book, hands down the best cover ever.
I know this is a old post, but I didn’t see too many comments on the feel. As someone who is currently listening to this song and stumbled across this video, I wanted to write this down. What makes this song work so damn well is the personal meaning shifts. In 1995, it was just a well written song of someone sharing their pain. In 1999, it was 20,000 people with their cigarette lighters in the air, singing, crying, allowing themselves to be their most vulnerable in one of the most beautiful moments I’ve been a part of. 2002 I blew my uncle’s mind when I sang along to this new Johnny Cash song. He didn’t realize it was a cover. The song felt the same, but different. Cash was reflecting on his life. Trent didn’t think there would be much of a past to reflect on. I turn 42 in May. If you don’t have regrets by now, your lying to yourself. I’ll save you money on therapy. When the weight of all your loss and regrets becomes soul crushing, put this on and just let go. There is catharsis in releasing this pain you don’t want to share because it feels selfish to burden others with your own personal baggage. Which of course is not true. If you ugly cry, it’s working. And FFS, as a man, we cry. You don’t have to let people watch you, but you can’t hold on to it forever. It will kill you. The local news is full of proof of how literal that is.
I don't know if you'll ever see this ( or even care tbh ) but I had to let you know that what you said hit me deeper than I have been hit in a very long time. I'm a 43 year old man that is coming to the end of a 17 year relationship and facing homelessness for the 7th time in my life. I have no family and no real support structure to fall back on, even with all of this going on in my life I still felt like I had to be a rock and hold it all together. It wasn't until I read your comment that I felt like I had permission to just fall apart and ugly cry at the top of my lungs. Sure it didn't help with any of the other issues I'm facing, but it did feel like a weight was lifted and I could at least breathe again. If you do actually read this, I guess my point was to just let you know that you touched and made an impact on a strangers life. Thank you
@@qferguson6749 I’m glad it helps. Sorry things are pretty bad right now. I can’t promise you things will get better. What I can say with absolute certainty is it seems, from my experience anyways, that the odds are in your favor.
@@ExasBits Thanks for that fam, it helps for sure. I'm 42 also, tons of regrets etc. nothing exceptional. But I deal with a sense of loss that I can't figure out. Loss of what? Not sure. But I appreciate you.
I still remember the first time I heard this. It was just about a week before Cash passed away. I was out driving and this song came up on the radio. When I heard it I had to pull over since I was tearing up so much. I never listen to JC much but his death really hit like a ton of bricks for some reason. This song was truly a legend saying goodbye.😢
So you first heard it when it first came out. Cause he passed right after it hit the air. June his wife passed like 3 weeks after this video was shot. He is a true legend of the music world.
It's always been my opinion that every genre has their Masters who transcend those boundaries. Johnny Cash is undoubtedly one of them. I used to listen to Punk Rock Pandora channels, and would wonder why I'd get some many Johnny Cash songs on it. Until it occurred to me that aside from not playing in that conventional tempo, he is Punk Rock as fuck.
To my knowledge, as soon as Trent Reznor heard this cover of his song, he not only proclaimed it now belonged to Johnny Cash, but he never performed it again. Trent's original is about combatting drug addiction. Johnny's version is about life decisions.
If this song doesn't tear your heart out when you first hear it, it's because you don't have one. Cash's daughter, when she first heard it, said "it sounds like you're saying goodbye". Cash replied "I am".
I’m 65 , I understand a little more about everyone goes away. I’ve lost all my older kinfolk and my close friends including my wife and a son. Nowhere close to having the money like Jonny but my little place that I have loved and had many fond memories of does look like an empire of dirt.
Thank you. I am a 50 year old man and admittedly not familiar with rap music. Everyone has their own taste in music and I am glad there are so many types of music out there. Still to hear someone as young as you, who listens to a musical type so different from what Johnny Cash sings, give such respect to an artist I grew up listening to is both humbling and inspiring. Most wouldn't do that so I say thank you for giving Johnny Cash a try.
I am 63 grew up listening to Country, Disco, pop, rock I didnt get rid of one genre to pick up another...Now I also listen to some rap and am a fan of KPOP....the only music genre's I am not a fan of is opera and grunge but I will on occasion check them out. trying to stay open to the possibilities.
@@jeaniejbutler4911 hi! here is a great Opera song that i love and i never liked opera either its one of the very few i like, i thought id offer you a listen if you were open to it, i think its beautiful. its my favorite opera song. Andrea Bocelli ruclips.net/video/ThQaYNXXL4Y/видео.html take care!
Someone said this song is the same from different ends of life. Trent sang it about regrets but with your life ahead of you to make a difference. Cash is singing as someone who regrets at the end of life when it’s too late change.
"I don't want to do the work, I just want the results." You just paraphrased the entire modern mindset. It's the hard work that makes the end result worth it, though.
When Johnny put this out,, I was just coming to the point in my addiction where I wasn't able to deny I was addicted. The 1st day you wake up in withdrawals, really sick, it is something you can never fully know, until you KNOW. I still can't listen to the whole song... It hurts too much! "Voodoo" by Godsmack is very similar for me. I was using "hard" drugs at 7yrs, daily by 15. Clean now for about 10 yrs.
Congratulations on taking steps to better yourself. The world doesn't have enough good people in it. To not use drugs to cope with reality is a difficult thing to face, but they only make reality worse in the end. Tool - Sober is another good song but painful if you haven't heard it. Much love and stay strong, I know the temptation never really goes away.
The best description of what kind of man Johnny Cash was is this incident. He scheduled himself to perform at Folsom Prison for the inmates. His record label told him not to, because 'his gospel (christian music) fans would be against it'. He replied 'Then they're not very good Christians are they?' And he went and did the show. And had it recorded live. It's one of his most legendary performances, and it was recorded to teach a lesson to the self-righteous, and done to show compassion to the incarcerated. That was Johnny Cash.
My grandfather is dying right now at this moment. He tried to be a good Christian AND he did prison ministries. If someone told him not to do it, it's probably because they didn't understand Christianity just like you appear not to.
The picture on the wall was of his mother, and the woman on the stairs was his wife. Not long after this music video was made she died and a few months later he also passed.
Young people appreciate this song. Us old folks feel it in our bones. As you head towards the sunset, you look back on your life wondering what might have been.
I can't listen to this song without shedding a tear and I think you are absolutely right about this. I will be turning 64 in 4 days and it goes by faster than you think. I find the older you get, the more you think about the years gone by. Really enjoy and appreciate your youth! ❤
@@Dark_Harmony Of course I am happy that I am still here! Just because you reminisce about times gone by and good memories, does not mean that you are not happy to still be alive! 😳
This one hits hard. You can tell that he knew his time was almost up. We all know that time is coming for us too. That's where the impact comes from. We know we're not going to be around forever. Hell, it goes by faster than you think.
As you get older it's never the effort you put in that you regret, it's the effort you didn't. The older lady in the picture by herself is his mother. The one on the stairs (and in the flashbacks with the baby) is his wife.
Wait until your 65 and you can't stop the tears and the hard lump in your throat. While Johnny Cash is *mostly* known as a country artist, myself and most of my friends through the 60's and 70's ALWAYS considered him an OG Rock & Roller. Not for his music so much as for who he was and how he bucked the system.
He was his own genre, for a while country accepted him then turned their back on him when people like George Strait came along but Johnny got his revenge when he teamed up with a heavy metal music producer who gave him guidance but also let him do his own thing. Johnny did quite a few covers in his later years but he always made them his own
Drink hard, play hard, drug hard, road hard. Music and the performance took priority in his life. As his cover of this song admits, caused pain for his friends, family, and eventually himself. The end of his life was full of sorrow and regret.
Young sir, you say you are 20 years old, but you have the maturity of someone far beyond your years. I'd just like to say that I recently discovered you and your reaction videos in the past couple of days, and as a 38 year old that's been through some hard times, I can honestly say that I am extremely impressed by your attitude, your demeanor, and your ability to really read into the song that you listen to. I truly hope your channel blossoms and grows into something amazing, and will continue to do so for years to come
When I first heard this song, it hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. It made me hurt, realizing all the people I now miss so dearly. Johnny Cash is a true legend.
So are you for living thru these TIMES where we live, see, & feel our future. But, our SOUL is IMMORTAL & WILL meet up with those that we NEVER stopped LOVING!! Bless you Sir, & GOD SPEED!!
Just an additional note. June was not meant to be in the video originally. She was standing on the stairs watching as they were filming. The raw emotion of her watching, knowing their time was coming, and fully feeling the depth of the song was so powerful that it was added to the video. IMO if you had managed to keep a dry eye up to that point watching her watch him will push you over the edge. The love and dedication these 2 had for each other are ultimate relationship goals for all of us.
The question you asked about June bug, yes, that is June Carter Cash, they dueted so many songs. The one thats most familiar to us with them dueting would have to be "Jackson" from what i heard, June died a few months before Johnny. After Johnny released this song, the world of country music was struck by a knife a few weeks later after Johnny died.
I appreciate you, dear young man, for grasping such a deep and heavy song. Your heart is a big one! Keep on your musical journey. It is lovely to witness a person in the younger generation have a desire to expand his horizons and grow! I am in my fifties and realize that one of the greatest gifts my Mom gave me was the awesome experience of growing up hearing EVERY genre of music in my home. I see now how that experience has given me an open mind and heart to empathy and appreciation for others. This musical journey is a gift that keeps on giving. Music is touching you, and you are touching us. God bless you!
Trent wrote this song about depression, the darker side of life, while Johnny covered it and brought to it life, It's beautiful how music can be! Love that Trent was happy and very grateful for having his song covered by the legend Johnny Cash
My father is gone now, my mother is gone now, my two brothers have passed also. This song gets to me just like the song "In The Living Years" by Mike and the Mechanics. As for the young man reviewing the video song, he gives me hope for the younger generation. He is open-minded and open to listening to new music. Johnny Cash is a music legend that everyone should listen to at least once in his/her life.
I’m sorry for your loss. I’ve got two brothers, I’m the oldest, and my biggest fear is losing them all... I’ll listen to the other song you mentioned I’m sure I’d love it ♥️
I'm almost there myself. Aunts, uncles, dad, cousins, just have mom who I take care of 24/7... and she doesn't know me very much so feels like I've lost her as well... 😢 I'm sorry for your losses!
Johnny was the first rockabilly. He pioneered a genre of music that wasnt even recognized until much later. One of the first country and rock musicians. This is a cover of a trent Reznor Reznor song that is normally an industrial song. He lead an amazing life and did lots of drugs and cheated on his wife. Legend really
As someone who has struggled with addiction, this song hits hard. I thought I was invincible until it spiraled and I lost my only brother and countless others. I was using to just try and numb everything, not able to sleep without it. Every time I used I would hope that I would just have that rush, then blissfully fade into darkness, and hoping that would be the end. Then being angry with them for bringing me back. The song definitely hits on those points.
I managed to kick early, at 14, almost as soon as I really started to feel that tug, but not before I lost a couple of friends, one in my arms. The lot of us went straight to mainlining it because that's what those who "Guided" us on that journey were doing. That's the dark underbelly of Seattle that no one talked about, at least not in the 60's...
To me this song hits hard because when I was 15 I was diagnosed with a terminal disorder that has severely shortened my life and at the time this song came out I had spiraled into a destructive behavior and was trying to get myself killed but I am a huge Johnny fan ever since my grandmother played his music for me as a toddler so when I heard this song and saw the video it caused me to stop and reexamine my life. Now I try to live my last days to the fullest
It took me years to realize my heroin addiction was a cowards way of committing suicide. Addicted at 16. Clean at 27. That's been 40 years ago. Knowing what causes a person to do what they do is a step towards healing.
Johnny Cash was an incredible human being. I had the pleasure of seeing him in concert, long ago. It was incredible. That is his wife on the stairs and the picture on the wall is his mother. He lamenting that he had seen them pass (die), before his time. Thanks for reviewing / reacting to this video. Be safe. I watch your dad every day almost.
RESPECT!! Young man I highly respect your acceptance to new things you're not familiar with. Good music is good music. Take a listen at more of his work and the genre. It's not the villain it's painted as
The lyric of “My Empire of dirt” is really what hits home for me how many of us men have built an empire of dirt for our children when all they wanted was a sliver of our time. That is what hits home for me. I’ve spent a lifetime building an empire of dirt thinking that was what was needed. 😮
The tragedy of this is right after covering this song about losing everyone in your life, his wife passed away, it was only months after... and he followed her shortly after. Almost like he couldn't survive without her. This song was his. Written by Reznor, but truly felt like it was meant to come from Cash's voice.
the lady on the stairs was his wife June Carter Cash. This song fits his life. He struggled with drug abuse and other things. This is the last music video he recorded before he passed away. He was such an amazing story teller. Check out his song called "A Boy Named Sue" or "One Piece at a Time"
I grew up listening to Nine inch nails sing this song. The day I heard Johnny Cash sing it, he broke my heart. He resonates with this song so well that you can literally feel it.
Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails is extremely emotionally touching. You will discover, if you look at some of the interviews of Johnny and his family, that this song was covered not very long after he lost his wife, June Carter of 35 years. June first and foremost was Johnny Cash's best friend. She stood beside him through his alcoholism and drug addiction. June also stood beside him during his divorce. In typical Johnny Cash style, he proposed to her on stage while singing a duet with her. Prior to June Carter, it was well known that Johnny Cash had a problem with alcoholism, drugs, and infidelity. When he married her, he turned a new leaf. Having watched documentaries and autobiographies about Johnny Cash, I have been given a feeling that he essentially worshipped June. In addition to the loss of his wife, Johnny Cash was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He was virtually blind from diabetes and was in a wheelchair. In an interview, one of his children said that this was not only his goodbye to his wife, but also to his fans. Knowing the backstory really makes this song stand out more. You should take the chance and listen to some of his earlier works.
June Carter Cash was still alive when he recorded Hurt; she appears in the video, watching over him as he performs it. It was a goodbye to her in the sense that he was making peace with and saying goodbye to his own life, and she can be seen holding back the tears, knowing that she was close to losing him. But in the event it was she who passed first, four months before he did.
As a previous commenter said, June was indeed alive when it was song and she is indeed in the video. But after this she died, he followed very short after, and house they filmed it in (his old house that was museum) burnt down. Let that sink in.
When I was in my 20s, I was listening to the Nine Inch Nails version of this song. Reznor's version was amazing, and was borne of pain and his own hurt, but when Johnny Cash did this cover, he absolutely transcended anything it meant before. Trent Reznor himself said it wasn't really his song any more. That's how powerful Cash's version was.
my friend, your reaction shows that you have a heart, you have emotions, i feel ya, im 63 years old, my best friend was 90 years old, he jumped to his death on saturday, this song describes my friend perfectly. im crushed that at 90 he decided to take his own life, were all on this earth for a spec of time, some specs are longer than others, be on the right side of the lord is all i can tell you. god bless....
I see a lot of these reaction videos and rarely do the content creators actually understand the music and meaning. I love how you seem to actually understand and can really portray that in your words. Spot on! Thank you for truly feeling the song and Johnny Cash!
The true power in this song come to someone nearer the end of their life, and knows some of Johnnys life as well. As a youngster, I remember my parents taking me to hear Johnny and June in a smallish concert hall in London Ontario many years ago. I no longer remember the specifics, but I do remember the emotion of the powerful performance. If someone deserves the title GOAT, he’d be one. The first time I watched this, it tore me up. Seeing June standing there beside him…powerful. Seeing him walking around his old family home, then watching it be swept away in a flood, just, wow. So much imagery, much of which I remember historically. This is a truly great masterpiece
Johnny Cash's career covered a wide spectrum of music.... From Country,Folk, Pop, Gospel and Rock .... Johnny is in both the Country, and Rock Hall of Fame.... He has been an outlaw, a born a again Christian .... He has been in jail for drugs.... He has performed for inmates in prison... He made albums Live from Folsom ,and San Quentin.... And yes the woman standing by him was his wife.... June Carter Cash ...
His last song before he passed away, what a legend he was. Fantastic voice and the lyrics really so sum up his absolute amazing life. Great song I’ll never ever get fed up listening to it, his voice was a powerhouse of emotion
That was his wife in the video yes, what makes this song and video even sadder is that his wife died shortly after it was released and then johnny died shortly after that. Johnny cash is one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time.
I've loved this song ever since I first heard it in 2003, but the older I get, the harder it hits. I was your age when I heard it for the first time. When you're young, and you regret things in your life, you have time to change them, but as you get older and more set in your ways, it gets harder to change those things. And then you reach the very end of your life like Johnny Cash and realize whatever mistakes you've made, it's too late to change or make up for them, and you must just accept things as they are.
Johnny Cash is an Icon that Transcends generations. He began singing in 1955 and this song was completed in 2002 just months before he died. The woman in the video, his wife June Carter, died either during the filming of this video, or shortly thereafter. She was more than just a life partner. She was the person who got him off Drugs and Alcohol. She set him straight. Her family even at one time chased his drug dealer off at gun point when he came by the house. I highly recommend you take the time to listen to some of his stuff. Johnny was a diverse singer that inspired some of the biggest names in music. When he died, those names gathered and paid their respects. Very few artists have been able to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Johnny was a bit ahead of his time, singing about the issues of the time. You could almost say that he stood for Social Justice in his music by singing about Controversial Issues of that time. He could hit on a political issue, but wasn't political. Richard Nixon invited Johnny to play for him at the White House. He had made some requests that he wanted Johnny to perform, but Johnny realized that Nixon intended to use him as a political football. As a result, he wrote a song about the misunderstood youth, the hippies and the outcasts that Nixon and Republicans did not like. He had politicians squirming in their seats. Johnny was a true Icon performing for nearly 50 years and had sold millions of records over that timeframe. Johnny Cash is one of those people that in spite of touching on hot button issues, he seemed to be able to relate to both sides of the Political Aisle. To this day, both Democrats and Republicans love and respect him. It's because he was truly genuine on stage. His music communicates how genuine he was.
I may have watched just about every reaction to this song that is available, and this one may be my favorite. Really great job breaking it down, and describing how your viewpoint on a song like this has changed as you've aged.
One of my all time favorite songs. Makes me think of my Alcoholic father and the sobriety he found late in life. Always makes me a little sad and a little happy. Johnny Cash absolutely owns this cover though.
Johnny Cash, who was called the man in black for his habit of wearing black for his concerts, was a music legend. He was one of the bad boys of country music in the 60s along with Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson among others. They recorded together in the 80s as the Highwaymen. His songs I Walk The Line, A Boy Named Sue, and A Ring of Fire are classics.
This was his goodbye to us and music and life, feeling the end and regrets. When he closed the piano at the end, it was the last time he played music. His wife came down to check he wasn't overdoing it and they filmed her. His wife died 3 months after this was filmed, and he died 4 or 5 months after her. This song is relatable to every human who lives long enough to get to a certain age. If we don't die young, we will all have mortality and regrets.
Wow JOJO!! You’re growing up in real time right in front of all of us!! Your dad is my favorite reactor I never thought anyone could take No life’s place but Van has taken that place!! Great to see both of you working to something greater! ❤️Tennessee
This was a nine inch nails song but the words are universal to have more than one meaning! Open interpretation, it was draws people to the song and Johnny Cash was the one that made you feel it.
It takes a long time to learn to play guitar. You put in a little time every day, and eventually you may get there. It's like planting a tree. It takes time. But if you don't start, it never happens. I think what Johnny intends to say with this song is that all any of us leave behind is dirt. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. You could say the memories remain, but they don't, because the people who once held those memories are gone. If you've ever cleared out someone's house once they've passed, you know that very little that's in there has value now that the life has been extinguished, and most of those possessions go into the dumpster. While there is joy in life, there is also a lot of hurt, and life begins and ends with it.
One of the things that is so haunting is Johnny WAS an addict in his younger years. He almost lost everything including the love of his life because of it. He also recorded this after June (yes that woman in the video is his beloved wife) passed away and he knew he was dying. He was contemplating the regrets in his life. And btw he did several covers of modern rock that will also blow you away. 🙂
Johnny Cash made this video about 2 weeks before he passed away. You can see his frailty and he was willing to give up to have his family. 💙😢 Yes he was showing his first wife and then his last wife with his child.
Your evaluation and perception and insight into this song are really touching to me. It's just so gratifying to see a young person whose life is progressing and moving forward, and with that music and the Arts are touching you and influencing you in a different way then they did even a few years ago. Music is such a wonderful and often times painful reminder of our journey through life and like I said it was just really great to hear your thoughts on the way this music can affect a younger person as well as the perspective of an older person. Some things about life are just a constant and we don't really quite understand them until we've experienced them ourselves
JoJo, always remember, nothing that's worth a damn ever came from something that came easy. You learn guitar - and I don't mean become Eddie Van Halen, just some basic chords - and you will have a dear friend for life. You will turn to it when you're down to ease your pain, and you will play it with utter joy when you are happy. A guitar will never let you down.
Always loved Johnny Cash. (and I'm only 46 in Scotland, UK, ha ha ha). This one breaks me though. every. single. time. I am in tears, even in the car. It is so powerful for all aspects or points you are in your life. I believe this was him saying good bye to his life and everyone in it and leaving nothing behind. It's desperation in the soul. Whether you have ruined your life, had a good life with nothing to show for it, you have faced addiction, the highs and the lows. It really is beautiful. His life and marriage was mind blowing, from such a young man to this - still beautiful. Watch the video, so meaningful. Honey, I have been watching your videos recently and I think it is great you are looking at other material than what you know or have been surrounded by until now. Keep it up, life in music is an education.
Thank you so much for uploading this! Johnny Cash will always be one of the goats. This video is very thought-provoking, particularly for younger people. Myself, I am 46. Even I am reevaluating a lot of shit.... Rip Johnny and June ❤️
I'm sure it's been pointed out by now, but the song was written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and it was primarily about his heroin addiction. But when Johnny did it, it brought even more meaning to it. So beautiful.
He was one of the Biggest country star when Elvis was the Biggest Rockstar in the 60 and they toured together this song is a cover of NIN ( Nine inche nail ) hurt you should check IT out to see the difference
A legend, for us old school girls. ❤ The picture on the wall was his mother, and the woman on the staircase, was his wife June. Thank you for sharing his sound with a whole new generation! He was an ordinary man, who went through so much, yet continued to share his journey through his music and soul. 🙏
It was, her name was June Cater. This song was written by Trent Resner from Nine inch nails. But Johnny owned this version. You need to listen to the other to completely understand what a tremendous job he did.
Johnny Cash was a troubled soul, suffering with depression, anxiety, addiction. He was also a beautiful soul as he was able to share such love and transparency in his music. He reflected anyone who had been hurt in life and who carried scars. You speak of experiencing life in "getting" his music. I think its true. His style grows on your over time, through life, personal experience, being witness to so much people get through
Johnny Cash was a country music star. He crossed over into rock, rockabilly, gospel... But he has been a huge influence on many rockers, punks, hip hop and so forth. He told stories that were real and true to heart.
If I listened to this song a thousand times, I would still feel the tightness in my chest, the lump in my throat, while tears would well up in my eyes before rolling down my cheeks, and I'd feel it every single time. I heard to his music in my teens and liked the songs, but it wasn't until my mid twenties that I actually listened and learned to enjoy his songs. Now, at thirty three years, I hear this song and I can feel the pain in his voice, right down to my soul, and I see and hear a man who feels that his life is drawing to a close, and he wants to share with the world the most meaningful bit of truth he's been able to find across the span of his time on this Earth while he still had the strength to do so.
Johnny Cash was a legend and always will be he's a man who conquered many demons in his life and made music about it... if you can't really relate to his music you haven't lived life yet
It’s not so much that you have to be wiser or older or have gone through something. It’s more that, to understand this song, you have to have regrets and loss.
Rosanne Cash, Jonny's daughter, said that she cried the first time she heard it. She said it felt like he was saying goodbye. Less than a year later he passed away.
💯💯❤️
Well said Michael.
@@amandagfuller And he replied that indeed, he was.
June Cash seen in the video passed 3 months after filming this video. Johnny passed 7 months after filming, 4 months after his wife.
Johnny Cash was a legend in country music. Strike that. He was a legend in music, period. Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) wrote the song. When he heard Cash’s cover, he said “this is Johnny Cash’s song now.”
Not only did he say that it was Johnny's song, but it scared him when he heard it. Johnny Cash scared Trent Reznor.
@@erichernandez2398 It’s so haunting. It’s simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking. And the video is perfection. The first time I saw it, I thought “He’s saying goodbye. He’s telling all of us goodbye.” I was so moved that I literally cried.
The Reznor version is better in the context of the album
The 2 versions of the song gives it 2 different meanings
Always felt like Trent wrote this for Cash, lol... obviously without knowing hehe
This is the sound of a man giving the eulogy to his own funeral.
The original by Nine Inch Nails is a young man raging at the world around him.
Johnny's version is an old man looking back upon his life and making peace with his regrets.
This came out not long before he passed away in 2003.
Has it really been 19 years since we lost Johnny? Damn.
Boyfriend and I was having this exact talk last night! You just hit it on the nail though.
Isn’t it funny how someone can take the same lyrics and make it just as personal as the original? Trent Reznor describes listening to this cover as watching someone kissing his girlfriend, taking his most intensely personal song and making mean something a bit different and yet the same in tone. I love both the versions, but you can hear their pain, it’s a bit too much sometimes.
ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON AND A BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION. The song is amazing and I LOVE both versions. The NIN version has more feeling / meaning to me (high school when it was written). Peace.
it was trent who gave him the green light to use his song
That is June Carter Cash, Johnny’s second wife and the love of his life. She belonged to the legendary Carter family, and was a star in her own right. John did not live for long after June died. The closing of the piano lid at the end of this song seems like closing the casket of a coffin to me. He was saying good-bye.
I felt the same way because the album for this song the first song "the man comes around" and the end song is "we'll meet again"
June passed a few months after the video was made.
@@wesdog8975 Yes. And, John followed her in death less than four months later. It always feels like a farewell to me, though. Even Roseanne Cash told her Dad that it felt like he was saying goodbye in this video.
Well said.
His daughter said it seems like ur saying goodbye, his reply was "I am"
7:53 - - Yes, that was his wife, June Carter Cash. She passed away not long after this video was released. Johnny passed away later in the same year as her.
Johnny Cash was inducted into hall of fame for country music, hall of fame of rock AND hall of fame of GOSPEL !! That is how big he was.
Johnny Cash was a veteran, musician, had a successful variety show series, was a movie actor. He started in the 1950s alongside Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis at the dawn of Rock and Roll; literally doing live shows with them. He was an activist for Civil Rights, in spite (or maybe because) of his experiences growing up poor in Arkansas and would unflinchingly risk it all to feature black and Native American artists in his performance projects. If there is a word to describe him, I would choose 'uncompromising'. He was very clear on his personal values and would rather suffer consequences than dishonor or others himself by compromising his values.
Johnny loved music, every kind. His musical catalog includes gospel, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, rockabilly, folk, and humous. He is listed in the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Johnny also struggled with addiction: alcohol, heroin, amphetamines, barbiturates. He liked a little grass, which is mild, but the pressures of touring and working so many concerts (plus the bad company he toured with and the demons from his childhood) pushed him into serious self-medication with the hardest stuff around. It cost him opportunities, it cost him his freedom (he was jailed), but it also meant he remembered the fellows locked in jails, so did a live recording at Folsom Prison.
As a young child, he could never get the approval of his cruel father, who preferred Johnny's older brother. While the two as elementary school kids were cutting logs in their makeshift sawmill (because when you're dirt-poor, even kids worked to bring in money), Johnny's brother was killed in an industrial accident. Their father blamed Johnny. At one point, as Johnny was battling another episode of addiction, Johnny's father told him the wrong son died.
This was the last song Johnny recorded. It's a miracle the video was ever made. Yes, the woman on the stairs is Johnny's 2nd wife, who he could not live without. "Hurt" was recorded in 2002, released in March 2003. June Carter Cash, his wife, died in May 2003. Johnny Cash followed her in death in September 2003.
I don't think Johnny would have ever considered himself as 'wise'; he experienced quite a bit in life, but he was well aware of his flaws and would more likely considered himself as a flawed man, someone who has made horrible mistakes, who could have done more for others, who could have lived a Christian life. He was intensely spiritual, but definitely prone to earthly failings, which gave him empathy for others. He was a complicated man, even to himself. And he had regrets. I don't believe he ever forgave himself for any mistakes, and may not have ever felt peace.
That's an excellent summary & I'm glad people will be able to learn from it! I always said that if there were a god, I'd want him to be Johnny Cash.
He struggled at first, wanting to record Rock like his contemporaries but, his voice was better suited to country.
His support of civil rights could be in part of his upbringing, I don't know. He also got flack from some about his first wife Vivian Liberto not being "white enough". I think that changed how he saw people more than his childhood?
Very well written, the "jail" bit may be a little inaccurate, though, as IIRC they were overnight lockups when he was arrested for minor things - the usual thing with the misdemeanor charges laid the next day. probably the equivalent of the 'drunk tank'.
As I understand it, his relationship with his father wasn't quite so bad as the movie Walk the Line made out. There was friction, certainly, but apparently his father hadn't been overly adversarial with him. That movie took several Liberties with reality. For example, the tractor scene shown in the film was actually more serious than shown, as it very nearly killed him, rather than just getting him wet.
Trent Reznor may have written this song, but Johnny lived every single lyric.
Your damned right. From his estranged family to his battles with addiction Johnny did things his own way because he was the man in black
After Trent heard Johnny's rendition, he said "this is not my song anymore" and never sang it again.
Except the line "the needle tears a hole"
@@Lyme_lyte fair enough, but Johnny Cash struggled with his alcoholism his entire life and was addicted to both barbiturates and amphetamines. Not a China White heroin overdose (that he mistook for cocaine) like Reznor perhaps, but those metaphorical needles are still needles. You can have a different struggle and still find the pain within you to emote that line from your own demons. Reznor and Cash have very similar stories for all they are not in the same genre.
@@Lyme_lyte He did shoot up back in the day,so the 'needle tears a hole" fits just fine. He,Waylon Jennings,and Willie Nelson rode those hard drugs until it wrung them dry and then some.
He loved June so much. His wife and musical partner during most of his career. Don't let anyone diss you for having the feelings, you are growing and in a good direction. You're a lot further on the path than a lot of 20 years olds. *HUGS*
Johnny Cash was an artist who struggled early in his career with drug addiction and so forth. When he met his future wife, June Carter, it seems to turn his life around. Johnny goes way back to your grandparents days. He broke many barriers in his career. He was one of the first old-school white artists who performed on stage with artists of color. Johnny truly respected the talents of others. He spoke for the downtrodden, the prisoners, those who were cheated in life. His sound is iconic and unique to him. This song was uncharacteristic but SO powerful!
Yes, that woman in the background was his wife, June Carter Cash, also a famous country singer. They sang many songs together.
and she died months after they recorded this, Johnny followed not long after
That was his daughter not wife
I thought it was his daughter and the picture on the wall was his wife.
@@kampfer3146 Nope, the woman standing behind him is definitely June Carter, you can google a photo of her. I think the woman in the picture frame was possibly his mother but I can't find anything to confirm it
@@Bobsyagod ty 👍 I wasn't sure, appreciate it 😊
I speak as a man nearly 3 times your age. You have the superpower of introspection. If you don't think that's a superpower look around at how many people are terrified to even think about it. You, young man, are one of the reasons that humanity has a chance of being OK.
OUT FRIGGIN' STANDING COMMENT, SIR! YOU ARE SO CORRECT! The KID GOT IT!!
Amen!
I watch this beautiful kid to heal my own soul from the hurt
12/28/22…. keep listening and speaking your Truth
absolutely 💯
NIN’s songwriter, Trent Reznor prolifically responded to Cash’s “Hurt” cover with: “I wasn’t prepared for what I saw, and it really then, wasn’t my song anymore.” There was no warning that Cash would be covering “Hurt.” Reznor said,
“Then I got a CD in the post. I listened to it and it was very strange. It was this other person inhabiting my most personal song. Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend. It felt invasive.”
Reznor respectfully added in an NME interview that the cover meant more to him than winning something like a Grammy. The cover and video were recorded and filmed shortly before Cash’s death. Popular opinion across almost every genre of music is that “Hurt” by Cash, is the best cover of all time.
Ok, but even better than Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower? I'd say that's the yard stick.
@@ChollieD There's a number of songs that are in the conversation for "best of all time". The final answer will be different for many, and deeply personal as well. For me it's Disturbed and Sounds of Silence, but I can't fault anyone who chooses this instead. Or even any of the number of fantastic Dylan cover. Hendrix made "All Along the Watchtower" every bit his own as Mr. Cash did here or David Draiman did on my favorite. The beauty of it is, there is no wrong answer.
Respecting everyone who has a favorite - I believe there is no such thing as an objective number one.
Many greats all deserve the spot of “one of the number ones”.
This is one of them, without a doubt.
Metallica's *ONE* also could be considered
My #1 personal favorite cover has always been Manfred Mann's "Blinded By the Light". Other faves of mine are Nirvana's "The Man Who Sold the World", Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower", and The Beatles' "Twist and Shout". But if you wanna talk about the best cover of all time, IMHO, I think the only other cover that ever came anywhere near this was Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help From my Friends". But even that couldn't match the raw emotion musically and especially visually, of Cash's "Hurt". In my book, hands down the best cover ever.
I know this is a old post, but I didn’t see too many comments on the feel. As someone who is currently listening to this song and stumbled across this video, I wanted to write this down. What makes this song work so damn well is the personal meaning shifts.
In 1995, it was just a well written song of someone sharing their pain.
In 1999, it was 20,000 people with their cigarette lighters in the air, singing, crying, allowing themselves to be their most vulnerable in one of the most beautiful moments I’ve been a part of.
2002 I blew my uncle’s mind when I sang along to this new Johnny Cash song. He didn’t realize it was a cover. The song felt the same, but different. Cash was reflecting on his life. Trent didn’t think there would be much of a past to reflect on.
I turn 42 in May. If you don’t have regrets by now, your lying to yourself. I’ll save you money on therapy. When the weight of all your loss and regrets becomes soul crushing, put this on and just let go. There is catharsis in releasing this pain you don’t want to share because it feels selfish to burden others with your own personal baggage. Which of course is not true. If you ugly cry, it’s working.
And FFS, as a man, we cry. You don’t have to let people watch you, but you can’t hold on to it forever. It will kill you. The local news is full of proof of how literal that is.
I don't know if you'll ever see this ( or even care tbh ) but I had to let you know that what you said hit me deeper than I have been hit in a very long time. I'm a 43 year old man that is coming to the end of a 17 year relationship and facing homelessness for the 7th time in my life. I have no family and no real support structure to fall back on, even with all of this going on in my life I still felt like I had to be a rock and hold it all together. It wasn't until I read your comment that I felt like I had permission to just fall apart and ugly cry at the top of my lungs. Sure it didn't help with any of the other issues I'm facing, but it did feel like a weight was lifted and I could at least breathe again. If you do actually read this, I guess my point was to just let you know that you touched and made an impact on a strangers life. Thank you
@@qferguson6749 I’m glad it helps. Sorry things are pretty bad right now. I can’t promise you things will get better. What I can say with absolute certainty is it seems, from my experience anyways, that the odds are in your favor.
@@ExasBits Thanks for that fam, it helps for sure. I'm 42 also, tons of regrets etc. nothing exceptional. But I deal with a sense of loss that I can't figure out. Loss of what? Not sure. But I appreciate you.
@@qferguson6749 I'm rooting for you brother.
Amen to all of it
I still remember the first time I heard this. It was just about a week before Cash passed away. I was out driving and this song came up on the radio. When I heard it I had to pull over since I was tearing up so much.
I never listen to JC much but his death really hit like a ton of bricks for some reason.
This song was truly a legend saying goodbye.😢
So you first heard it when it first came out. Cause he passed right after it hit the air. June his wife passed like 3 weeks after this video was shot. He is a true legend of the music world.
Your right he went out like a true gentleman i still love you johnnie
You'll find that a lot of rockers and metalheads love Johnny. His daughter said: "It sounds like you're saying goodbye." His response: "I am."
Someone said that he was a punk rocker, a metalhead, and a gangster rapper long before those musical genres existed.
It's always been my opinion that every genre has their Masters who transcend those boundaries. Johnny Cash is undoubtedly one of them. I used to listen to Punk Rock Pandora channels, and would wonder why I'd get some many Johnny Cash songs on it. Until it occurred to me that aside from not playing in that conventional tempo, he is Punk Rock as fuck.
To my knowledge, as soon as Trent Reznor heard this cover of his song, he not only proclaimed it now belonged to Johnny Cash, but he never performed it again. Trent's original is about combatting drug addiction. Johnny's version is about life decisions.
this❤
If that's true, mad respect to Trent.
Not quite. It wasn't on hearing it. It was on seeing that very powerful video. He sort of dismissed it at first.
Johnny had his share if addictions too.I always felt it was a combination of things thay happened in his life.
He plays it on tour all the time in fact I think it’s always his closer.
If this song doesn't tear your heart out when you first hear it, it's because you don't have one.
Cash's daughter, when she first heard it, said "it sounds like you're saying goodbye". Cash replied "I am".
If it doesn't tear your heart out every time you hear it, you don't have one.
That’s deep.
Gatekeeping a human? Why? You Slimeball.
I've heard this song hundreds of times and it still makes me cry 😢
I’m 65 , I understand a little more about everyone goes away. I’ve lost all my older kinfolk and my close friends including my wife and a son. Nowhere close to having the money like Jonny but my little place that I have loved and had many fond memories of does look like an empire of dirt.
Thank you. I am a 50 year old man and admittedly not familiar with rap music. Everyone has their own taste in music and I am glad there are so many types of music out there. Still to hear someone as young as you, who listens to a musical type so different from what Johnny Cash sings, give such respect to an artist I grew up listening to is both humbling and inspiring. Most wouldn't do that so I say thank you for giving Johnny Cash a try.
it is a perfect example of how we should give a chance to what we don't know before we judge it.
Word ✊🏽
I am 63 grew up listening to Country, Disco, pop, rock I didnt get rid of one genre to pick up another...Now I also listen to some rap and am a fan of KPOP....the only music genre's I am not a fan of is opera and grunge but I will on occasion check them out. trying to stay open to the possibilities.
i love that music can unite us all in some little way or another. its nice to appreciate that for a few minutes.
@@jeaniejbutler4911 hi! here is a great Opera song that i love and i never liked opera either its one of the very few i like, i thought id offer you a listen if you were open to it, i think its beautiful. its my favorite opera song. Andrea Bocelli
ruclips.net/video/ThQaYNXXL4Y/видео.html
take care!
Trent wrote this song about addiction. Johnny sang it about life. I relate to both. RIP Johnny Cash. You made the world a better place.
He also sang it about addiction. Johnny was on the needle for a number of years, so he knows the song's meaning intimately.
Also in an interview Trent said that it's not his song anymore.
Someone said this song is the same from different ends of life. Trent sang it about regrets but with your life ahead of you to make a difference. Cash is singing as someone who regrets at the end of life when it’s too late change.
Trent said it wasn’t his song anymore. Johnny wrecked it
@@paulfrankovich3085 LOL, what a nasty, thirsty little thing you are! 😂
The older I get, the more loved ones I lose, the harder this song hits. Can’t even hear it anymore without getting tears.
Sad facts
How many live this song, quietly, every day?
Mother, Father, Siblings, friends... remember, however much it hurts, your memory of them keeps them alive.
This.... 100 percent....
The beauty of listening to music, we can all sympathize with those losses, and remember the good times TOGETHER.
I love it just a few seconds into the song and yo head stopped bobbing for a few seconds and it was clear you started feeling some... 🙏 Respect
"I don't want to do the work, I just want the results." You just paraphrased the entire modern mindset. It's the hard work that makes the end result worth it, though.
When Johnny put this out,, I was just coming to the point in my addiction where I wasn't able to deny I was addicted. The 1st day you wake up in withdrawals, really sick, it is something you can never fully know, until you KNOW. I still can't listen to the whole song... It hurts too much! "Voodoo" by Godsmack is very similar for me. I was using "hard" drugs at 7yrs, daily by 15. Clean now for about 10 yrs.
Congratulations on your 10 year sobriety! You're stronger than you know- keep going!!
Congratulations on taking steps to better yourself. The world doesn't have enough good people in it. To not use drugs to cope with reality is a difficult thing to face, but they only make reality worse in the end. Tool - Sober is another good song but painful if you haven't heard it. Much love and stay strong, I know the temptation never really goes away.
God bless
As a recovering alcoholic, I can get that.
Much respect to you, all the best!
The best description of what kind of man Johnny Cash was is this incident.
He scheduled himself to perform at Folsom Prison for the inmates. His record label told him not to, because 'his gospel (christian music) fans would be against it'. He replied 'Then they're not very good Christians are they?'
And he went and did the show. And had it recorded live. It's one of his most legendary performances, and it was recorded to teach a lesson to the self-righteous, and done to show compassion to the incarcerated.
That was Johnny Cash.
Well said.
A rebel to the end.
My grandfather is dying right now at this moment. He tried to be a good Christian AND he did prison ministries. If someone told him not to do it, it's probably because they didn't understand Christianity just like you appear not to.
The picture on the wall was of his mother, and the woman on the stairs was his wife. Not long after this music video was made she died and a few months later he also passed.
Yes its June Carter Cash! RIP to them both! Legends
Young people appreciate this song. Us old folks feel it in our bones. As you head towards the sunset, you look back on your life wondering what might have been.
I can't listen to this song without shedding a tear and I think you are absolutely right about this. I will be turning 64 in 4 days and it goes by faster than you think. I find the older you get, the more you think about the years gone by. Really enjoy and appreciate your youth! ❤
Happy Birthday Debbie 🎂 you are so right we go back and reminisce!
@@deborahtaylor3617 Thank you so much! 😊
Spot on
Happy Birthday......for what it's worth......you're still here.
@@Dark_Harmony Of course I am happy that I am still here! Just because you reminisce about times gone by and good memories, does not mean that you are not happy to still be alive! 😳
This one hits hard. You can tell that he knew his time was almost up. We all know that time is coming for us too. That's where the impact comes from. We know we're not going to be around forever. Hell, it goes by faster than you think.
As you get older it's never the effort you put in that you regret, it's the effort you didn't.
The older lady in the picture by herself is his mother. The one on the stairs (and in the flashbacks with the baby) is his wife.
Son your the first of all the reactions I’ve seen actually understand the lyrics! Good job son!
Many Thanks for your sweet high sensibility, Jojo! ... Yes, our live is often "Full of broken thoughts ...we cannot repair"!
Wait until your 65 and you can't stop the tears and the hard lump in your throat. While Johnny Cash is *mostly* known as a country artist, myself and most of my friends through the 60's and 70's ALWAYS considered him an OG Rock & Roller. Not for his music so much as for who he was and how he bucked the system.
What a perfect way to describe it. Thank you.
He was his own genre, for a while country accepted him then turned their back on him when people like George Strait came along but Johnny got his revenge when he teamed up with a heavy metal music producer who gave him guidance but also let him do his own thing. Johnny did quite a few covers in his later years but he always made them his own
One of the best covers out there.
Drink hard, play hard, drug hard, road hard. Music and the performance took priority in his life. As his cover of this song admits, caused pain for his friends, family, and eventually himself. The end of his life was full of sorrow and regret.
Johnny Cash.......country rock star
The coolest part about this song is that this was actually a Cover. The original was written by Nine Inch Nails
Young sir, you say you are 20 years old, but you have the maturity of someone far beyond your years. I'd just like to say that I recently discovered you and your reaction videos in the past couple of days, and as a 38 year old that's been through some hard times, I can honestly say that I am extremely impressed by your attitude, your demeanor, and your ability to really read into the song that you listen to. I truly hope your channel blossoms and grows into something amazing, and will continue to do so for years to come
When I first heard this song, it hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. It made me hurt, realizing all the people I now miss so dearly. Johnny Cash is a true legend.
So are you for living thru these TIMES where we live, see, & feel our future. But, our SOUL is IMMORTAL & WILL meet up with those that we NEVER stopped LOVING!! Bless you Sir, & GOD SPEED!!
Just an additional note. June was not meant to be in the video originally. She was standing on the stairs watching as they were filming. The raw emotion of her watching, knowing their time was coming, and fully feeling the depth of the song was so powerful that it was added to the video. IMO if you had managed to keep a dry eye up to that point watching her watch him will push you over the edge. The love and dedication these 2 had for each other are ultimate relationship goals for all of us.
She came down the stairs thinking something was wrong with Johnny. Even at the end she was still a beautiful woman.
@@milojones5364 Johnny never did heroin he did coke and meth. Trent Reznor the writer of this song did heroin. Cash never did.
The question you asked about June bug, yes, that is June Carter Cash, they dueted so many songs. The one thats most familiar to us with them dueting would have to be "Jackson" from what i heard, June died a few months before Johnny. After Johnny released this song, the world of country music was struck by a knife a few weeks later after Johnny died.
Folsen Blues is a classic he played in the prison for the prisoners they loved it
I appreciate you, dear young man, for grasping such a deep and heavy song. Your heart is a big one! Keep on your musical journey. It is lovely to witness a person in the younger generation have a desire to expand his horizons and grow! I am in my fifties and realize that one of the greatest gifts my Mom gave me was the awesome experience of growing up hearing EVERY genre of music in my home. I see now how that experience has given me an open mind and heart to empathy and appreciation for others. This musical journey is a gift that keeps on giving. Music is touching you, and you are touching us. God bless you!
I love how you have the ability to read the deeper messages in songs like this.
I thoroughly enjoy your reactions.
I really love how open-minded you are about music. Love your channel.
Trent wrote this song about depression, the darker side of life, while Johnny covered it and brought to it life, It's beautiful how music can be! Love that Trent was happy and very grateful for having his song covered by the legend Johnny Cash
My father is gone now, my mother is gone now, my two brothers have passed also. This song gets to me just like the song "In The Living Years" by Mike and the Mechanics.
As for the young man reviewing the video song, he gives me hope for the younger generation. He is open-minded and open to listening to new music. Johnny Cash is a music legend that everyone should listen to at least once in his/her life.
I’m sorry for your loss. I’ve got two brothers, I’m the oldest, and my biggest fear is losing them all... I’ll listen to the other song you mentioned I’m sure I’d love it ♥️
I'm almost there myself. Aunts, uncles, dad, cousins, just have mom who I take care of 24/7... and she doesn't know me very much so feels like I've lost her as well... 😢 I'm sorry for your losses!
Johnny was the first rockabilly.
He pioneered a genre of music that wasnt even recognized until much later. One of the first country and rock musicians. This is a cover of a trent Reznor Reznor song that is normally an industrial song.
He lead an amazing life and did lots of drugs and cheated on his wife. Legend really
As someone who has struggled with addiction, this song hits hard. I thought I was invincible until it spiraled and I lost my only brother and countless others. I was using to just try and numb everything, not able to sleep without it. Every time I used I would hope that I would just have that rush, then blissfully fade into darkness, and hoping that would be the end. Then being angry with them for bringing me back. The song definitely hits on those points.
I managed to kick early, at 14, almost as soon as I really started to feel that tug, but not before I lost a couple of friends, one in my arms. The lot of us went straight to mainlining it because that's what those who "Guided" us on that journey were doing. That's the dark underbelly of Seattle that no one talked about, at least not in the 60's...
Damn, I can't count the number of times I felt the exact same way... I've been clean for several years now, but can still feel it in my bones.
To me this song hits hard because when I was 15 I was diagnosed with a terminal disorder that has severely shortened my life and at the time this song came out I had spiraled into a destructive behavior and was trying to get myself killed but I am a huge Johnny fan ever since my grandmother played his music for me as a toddler so when I heard this song and saw the video it caused me to stop and reexamine my life. Now I try to live my last days to the fullest
Same
It took me years to realize my heroin addiction was a cowards way of committing suicide. Addicted at 16. Clean at 27. That's been 40 years ago.
Knowing what causes a person to do what they do is a step towards healing.
Johnny Cash was an incredible human being. I had the pleasure of seeing him in concert, long ago. It was incredible.
That is his wife on the stairs and the picture on the wall is his mother. He lamenting that he had seen them pass (die), before his time.
Thanks for reviewing / reacting to this video. Be safe. I watch your dad every day almost.
RESPECT!! Young man I highly respect your acceptance to new things you're not familiar with. Good music is good music. Take a listen at more of his work and the genre. It's not the villain it's painted as
The lyric of “My Empire of dirt” is really what hits home for me how many of us men have built an empire of dirt for our children when all they wanted was a sliver of our time. That is what hits home for me. I’ve spent a lifetime building an empire of dirt thinking that was what was needed. 😮
The way he closes the piano at the end is the way you close a casket and it kills me everytime
The tragedy of this is right after covering this song about losing everyone in your life, his wife passed away, it was only months after... and he followed her shortly after. Almost like he couldn't survive without her. This song was his. Written by Reznor, but truly felt like it was meant to come from Cash's voice.
I knew when she passed, he wasn't long for this world. They were two halves of a whole, they burned so bright together.
My mother passed away 7 months after my father. I guess she didnt want to be in the world without him,though they had been divorced for several years.
the lady on the stairs was his wife June Carter Cash. This song fits his life. He struggled with drug abuse and other things. This is the last music video he recorded before he passed away. He was such an amazing story teller. Check out his song called "A Boy Named Sue" or "One Piece at a Time"
His wife died not long after this was shot. I think he survived her by 9 months maybe.
June Carter Cash was an incredible artist in her own right.
I grew up listening to Nine inch nails sing this song. The day I heard Johnny Cash sing it, he broke my heart. He resonates with this song so well that you can literally feel it.
This song is crushing. It feels like he’s writing a resignation letter to God. Signing off his life with a song.
Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails is extremely emotionally touching. You will discover, if you look at some of the interviews of Johnny and his family, that this song was covered not very long after he lost his wife, June Carter of 35 years. June first and foremost was Johnny Cash's best friend. She stood beside him through his alcoholism and drug addiction. June also stood beside him during his divorce. In typical Johnny Cash style, he proposed to her on stage while singing a duet with her. Prior to June Carter, it was well known that Johnny Cash had a problem with alcoholism, drugs, and infidelity. When he married her, he turned a new leaf. Having watched documentaries and autobiographies about Johnny Cash, I have been given a feeling that he essentially worshipped June. In addition to the loss of his wife, Johnny Cash was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He was virtually blind from diabetes and was in a wheelchair. In an interview, one of his children said that this was not only his goodbye to his wife, but also to his fans. Knowing the backstory really makes this song stand out more. You should take the chance and listen to some of his earlier works.
June Carter Cash was still alive when he recorded Hurt; she appears in the video, watching over him as he performs it. It was a goodbye to her in the sense that he was making peace with and saying goodbye to his own life, and she can be seen holding back the tears, knowing that she was close to losing him. But in the event it was she who passed first, four months before he did.
As a previous commenter said, June was indeed alive when it was song and she is indeed in the video. But after this she died, he followed very short after, and house they filmed it in (his old house that was museum) burnt down. Let that sink in.
Ring of fire is a great one of his songs
When I was in my 20s, I was listening to the Nine Inch Nails version of this song. Reznor's version was amazing, and was borne of pain and his own hurt, but when Johnny Cash did this cover, he absolutely transcended anything it meant before. Trent Reznor himself said it wasn't really his song any more. That's how powerful Cash's version was.
my friend, your reaction shows that you have a heart, you have emotions, i feel ya, im 63 years old, my best friend was 90 years old, he jumped to his death on saturday, this song describes my friend perfectly. im crushed that at 90 he decided to take his own life, were all on this earth for a spec of time, some specs are longer than others, be on the right side of the lord is all i can tell you. god bless....
I'm so so sorry for your loss of your best friend.
@@brendawilson2368 ty so much
So sorry for your great loss. Sincere condolences from Ireland. Wishing you strength. 💚
I see a lot of these reaction videos and rarely do the content creators actually understand the music and meaning. I love how you seem to actually understand and can really portray that in your words. Spot on! Thank you for truly feeling the song and Johnny Cash!
The true power in this song come to someone nearer the end of their life, and knows some of Johnnys life as well. As a youngster, I remember my parents taking me to hear Johnny and June in a smallish concert hall in London Ontario many years ago. I no longer remember the specifics, but I do remember the emotion of the powerful performance. If someone deserves the title GOAT, he’d be one.
The first time I watched this, it tore me up. Seeing June standing there beside him…powerful. Seeing him walking around his old family home, then watching it be swept away in a flood, just, wow. So much imagery, much of which I remember historically. This is a truly great masterpiece
Johnny Cash's career covered a wide spectrum of music.... From Country,Folk, Pop, Gospel and Rock .... Johnny is in both the Country, and Rock Hall of Fame.... He has been an outlaw, a born a again Christian .... He has been in jail for drugs.... He has performed for inmates in prison... He made albums Live from Folsom ,and San Quentin.... And yes the woman standing by him was his wife.... June Carter Cash ...
Those of us who grew up on punk music know he's also one of ours. ❤
His last song before he passed away, what a legend he was. Fantastic voice and the lyrics really so sum up his absolute amazing life. Great song I’ll never ever get fed up listening to it, his voice was a powerhouse of emotion
You do realize that it's a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song.....Cash also covered some of Soundgardens songs......
That was his wife in the video yes, what makes this song and video even sadder is that his wife died shortly after it was released and then johnny died shortly after that. Johnny cash is one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time.
I've loved this song ever since I first heard it in 2003, but the older I get, the harder it hits. I was your age when I heard it for the first time. When you're young, and you regret things in your life, you have time to change them, but as you get older and more set in your ways, it gets harder to change those things. And then you reach the very end of your life like Johnny Cash and realize whatever mistakes you've made, it's too late to change or make up for them, and you must just accept things as they are.
Johnny Cash is an Icon that Transcends generations. He began singing in 1955 and this song was completed in 2002 just months before he died. The woman in the video, his wife June Carter, died either during the filming of this video, or shortly thereafter. She was more than just a life partner. She was the person who got him off Drugs and Alcohol. She set him straight. Her family even at one time chased his drug dealer off at gun point when he came by the house.
I highly recommend you take the time to listen to some of his stuff. Johnny was a diverse singer that inspired some of the biggest names in music. When he died, those names gathered and paid their respects. Very few artists have been able to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Johnny was a bit ahead of his time, singing about the issues of the time. You could almost say that he stood for Social Justice in his music by singing about Controversial Issues of that time. He could hit on a political issue, but wasn't political.
Richard Nixon invited Johnny to play for him at the White House. He had made some requests that he wanted Johnny to perform, but Johnny realized that Nixon intended to use him as a political football. As a result, he wrote a song about the misunderstood youth, the hippies and the outcasts that Nixon and Republicans did not like. He had politicians squirming in their seats.
Johnny was a true Icon performing for nearly 50 years and had sold millions of records over that timeframe.
Johnny Cash is one of those people that in spite of touching on hot button issues, he seemed to be able to relate to both sides of the Political Aisle. To this day, both Democrats and Republicans love and respect him. It's because he was truly genuine on stage. His music communicates how genuine he was.
I may have watched just about every reaction to this song that is available, and this one may be my favorite. Really great job breaking it down, and describing how your viewpoint on a song like this has changed as you've aged.
One of my all time favorite songs. Makes me think of my Alcoholic father and the sobriety he found late in life. Always makes me a little sad and a little happy. Johnny Cash absolutely owns this cover though.
Yes, the man on the stairs as June Carter Cash, Johnny's wife. She was also a country music legend. Her entire family as a musical empire.
Johnny Cash, who was called the man in black for his habit of wearing black for his concerts, was a music legend. He was one of the bad boys of country music in the 60s along with Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson among others. They recorded together in the 80s as the Highwaymen. His songs I Walk The Line, A Boy Named Sue, and A Ring of Fire are classics.
I love how Kris, an actual veteran, would punk out Toby Keith at concerts for being a fake patriot.
This was his goodbye to us and music and life, feeling the end and regrets. When he closed the piano at the end, it was the last time he played music. His wife came down to check he wasn't overdoing it and they filmed her. His wife died 3 months after this was filmed, and he died 4 or 5 months after her. This song is relatable to every human who lives long enough to get to a certain age. If we don't die young, we will all have mortality and regrets.
Johnny Cash lived a life full of pain and regret. Never dismiss that. Take it as a lesson.
Wow JOJO!! You’re growing up in real time right in front of all of us!! Your dad is my favorite reactor I never thought anyone could take No life’s place but Van has taken that place!! Great to see both of you working to something greater! ❤️Tennessee
Try Johhny Cash, Man in Black. That will tell you more about the man than any biography.
I've listen to mostly rap since the mid 90's... And Hurt is one of my favorite songs of all time!
This was a nine inch nails song but the words are universal to have more than one meaning! Open interpretation, it was draws people to the song and Johnny Cash was the one that made you feel it.
It takes a long time to learn to play guitar. You put in a little time every day, and eventually you may get there. It's like planting a tree. It takes time. But if you don't start, it never happens.
I think what Johnny intends to say with this song is that all any of us leave behind is dirt. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. You could say the memories remain, but they don't, because the people who once held those memories are gone. If you've ever cleared out someone's house once they've passed, you know that very little that's in there has value now that the life has been extinguished, and most of those possessions go into the dumpster. While there is joy in life, there is also a lot of hurt, and life begins and ends with it.
I saw David Bowie and NIN back in 95 and they sang Hurt together. It was incredible.
One of the things that is so haunting is Johnny WAS an addict in his younger years. He almost lost everything including the love of his life because of it. He also recorded this after June (yes that woman in the video is his beloved wife) passed away and he knew he was dying. He was contemplating the regrets in his life.
And btw he did several covers of modern rock that will also blow you away. 🙂
Johnny Cash made this video about 2 weeks before he passed away. You can see his frailty and he was willing to give up to have his family. 💙😢
Yes he was showing his first wife and then his last wife with his child.
He is in the rock hall of fame the gospel hall of fame and the country hall of fame he is a freaking legend ❤
Your evaluation and perception and insight into this song are really touching to me. It's just so gratifying to see a young person whose life is progressing and moving forward, and with that music and the Arts are touching you and influencing you in a different way then they did even a few years ago. Music is such a wonderful and often times painful reminder of our journey through life and like I said it was just really great to hear your thoughts on the way this music can affect a younger person as well as the perspective of an older person. Some things about life are just a constant and we don't really quite understand them until we've experienced them ourselves
JoJo, always remember, nothing that's worth a damn ever came from something that came easy. You learn guitar - and I don't mean become Eddie Van Halen, just some basic chords - and you will have a dear friend for life. You will turn to it when you're down to ease your pain, and you will play it with utter joy when you are happy. A guitar will never let you down.
Johnny Cash transends music genres.He is known through most genres. in his career he did Country, Rock, Blues, Folk and Gospel.
I hope you look back at this song in 20 years. Your video still had me in tears. This is a song that means the most as you get older. Real life.
Always loved Johnny Cash. (and I'm only 46 in Scotland, UK, ha ha ha). This one breaks me though. every. single. time. I am in tears, even in the car.
It is so powerful for all aspects or points you are in your life. I believe this was him saying good bye to his life and everyone in it and leaving nothing behind. It's desperation in the soul. Whether you have ruined your life, had a good life with nothing to show for it, you have faced addiction, the highs and the lows. It really is beautiful. His life and marriage was mind blowing, from such a young man to this - still beautiful. Watch the video, so meaningful.
Honey, I have been watching your videos recently and I think it is great you are looking at other material than what you know or have been surrounded by until now. Keep it up, life in music is an education.
Thank you so much for uploading this! Johnny Cash will always be one of the goats. This video is very thought-provoking, particularly for younger people. Myself, I am 46. Even I am reevaluating a lot of shit.... Rip Johnny and June ❤️
I'm sure it's been pointed out by now, but the song was written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and it was primarily about his heroin addiction. But when Johnny did it, it brought even more meaning to it. So beautiful.
He was one of the Biggest country star when Elvis was the Biggest Rockstar in the 60 and they toured together this song is a cover of NIN ( Nine inche nail ) hurt you should check IT out to see the difference
A legend, for us old school girls. ❤ The picture on the wall was his mother, and the woman on the staircase, was his wife June. Thank you for sharing his sound with a whole new generation! He was an ordinary man, who went through so much, yet continued to share his journey through his music and soul. 🙏
It was, her name was June Cater. This song was written by Trent Resner from Nine inch nails. But Johnny owned this version. You need to listen to the other to completely understand what a tremendous job he did.
Johnny Cash was a troubled soul, suffering with depression, anxiety, addiction. He was also a beautiful soul as he was able to share such love and transparency in his music. He reflected anyone who had been hurt in life and who carried scars.
You speak of experiencing life in "getting" his music. I think its true. His style grows on your over time, through life, personal experience, being witness to so much people get through
Johnny Cash was a country music star. He crossed over into rock, rockabilly, gospel... But he has been a huge influence on many rockers, punks, hip hop and so forth. He told stories that were real and true to heart.
If I listened to this song a thousand times, I would still feel the tightness in my chest, the lump in my throat, while tears would well up in my eyes before rolling down my cheeks, and I'd feel it every single time.
I heard to his music in my teens and liked the songs, but it wasn't until my mid twenties that I actually listened and learned to enjoy his songs. Now, at thirty three years, I hear this song and I can feel the pain in his voice, right down to my soul, and I see and hear a man who feels that his life is drawing to a close, and he wants to share with the world the most meaningful bit of truth he's been able to find across the span of his time on this Earth while he still had the strength to do so.
Damn man, first time seeing you ever.. you got it! Much respect.
Johnny Cash was a legend and always will be he's a man who conquered many demons in his life and made music about it... if you can't really relate to his music you haven't lived life yet