People who suffer from addiction will always feel sympathetic to the original by Trent. It speaks to us. People who have lived a long life and have regrets will prefer Johnny's version. It's ok to appreciate both
This song sums up my life! As a child I had cancer. The treatments of Chemo and radiation I received in 70s and early 80s were Adult doses. This has lead to a lifetime of health issues and pain for me. Obesity, diabetes, an autoimmune kidney disease, two brain tumors that have left me blind and deaf on the right! I relearned to walk and talk post op! Doc said it’ll take a year to recover. My ex left me, I lost my home to bankruptcy, the to fend for myself as I recovered. I couldn’t work for a yearI live still in pain as my body ages. Arthritis and the screws and plates in my head are reminders of my eternal pain! Don’t let your life become dirt! I now work from home since I can’t walk much! Plus when the cruel world sees me at work they immediately judge me as they notice I’m partially blind and walk slow! Coworkers immediately judge me. But even though my empire of dirt is gone I keep my dignity! If you suffer like me keep strong 💪 be grateful you live to fight everyday!
Wesley Trippaers I'm sorry, there must be some kind of a fail perpetrated by your browser, some serious drug issues, or who knows maybe ... maybe you were forced at gunpoint to post that because that's one of the most preposterous things I've ever heard.
7 years clean as of today... For 6 years I tore my skin to Poison my blood, for a euphoria that was never real... I died to wake up, and have been awake ever since. 7 years today.
Trent - Hurt Corey - Snuff Layne - Love, Hate, Love Kurt - Where did you sleep last night Eddie - Black Chester - Messenger Chris - Seasons Iconic performances, filled with raw emotion and filled with pain, goes to show that some of the best music comes from the heart and life’s experiences
Johnny's version is a beautiful ballad that captures a lonely man's final days. Trent's version is an amazingly clear depiction of pain. Even the keys he uses really portrays that internal pain marvelously. Breathtaking.
They’re both amazing in their own right, his the soul differently. One is about pain and struggling, and trying to climb out of a personal hell, the other is about looking back on life with some regret and wondering if they were good enough where it mattered….as a husband, father, son, etc.?
+Devashish Mishra For sure. It nails home the one of the worst parts of depression. How it effects the people you care about. That you feel like a burden, and occasionally push people away. Side note. I like how here he goes with the Cash version of the lyric. "I wear this crown of thorns" is a better line than "crown of shit."
Yeah, since it was on TV 'n' all. Still, I feel "crown of thorns" is darker and more cynical. Obvious, sure. But I think it hits more. It seems to say "All this admiration heaped on me is undeserved. I am a fraud." Where as "crown of shit" just sounds like it's trying too hard to be dark and edgy. Like high school goth poetry,
id say its second the ending lines from and all that could have been, another one of trents songs "please. take this, and run far away. as far as you can see. I am tainted. and happiness and peace of mind were never meant for me. All these pieces, and promises, and left-behinds, if only i could see: In my nothing you were everything, everything to me."
It was also being broadcast live on TV so he would've had to censor himself anyway. He probably decided the "crown of thorns" line would be better than "crown of ----" since he wouldn't be able to say it anyway.
“What have I become my sweetest friend?” Kills me everytime. My life spiraled out of control and turned me into a ugly mean nasty person, one day I just looked in mirror and the person looking back was a mangled mess, that’s the day I started getting better. This line has a special meaning to me. A beautiful song with a powerful message.
@@theroamer2355 The Downward Spiral. Self-destruction led path to Trents documented suicidal mind set at that time in his life is why, in my opinion of course, I think it's dark but beautiful because he won that battle.
That last, off key, note. It always hits me with a feeling of "failure" in his declaration of being better. Like what he says is one thing but what he does is different.
Not off key in the song, actually! What you're hearing is called "dissonance," and while it may sound off key because of the tension that it creates, rest assured, we are still well within our tonal center! If you listen closely, it's actually carried throughout the intro + verses. Dissonance like that adds a wonderfully surreal, dissociative, intriguing texture. The "tension" of dissonant chords really does impart a sense of pulling, as the term would imply. It's like the note is trying to pull away from the rest of the song, but the elastic mesh of the other notes gently guides it back in line where it settles. That F on top of the B is tonally unstable, creates tension, and that makes you want to hear it release that tension by moving on to a stable chord. Although in this case, given that it's at the end of the measure and song, it's meant to make you feel uneasy, unresolved, conflicted... as is the case of this pain Trent is describing. Interestingly though, as the dissonant blooms, it actually does feel quite resolved and satisfying. My brain was like "wait wtf why did he end on th-... oh. ohhhhhh. I like this. this is nice." Also side note that will probably be longer than my main response lol: Super interesting that you interpreted Hurt as a "declaration of being better." I'd be interested to hear why, as I thought of it as the exact opposite: someone at the end of their life coming to terms with your failures, relinquishing the fight with their inner demons; accepting that those demons have won, and now just reflecting on what their life has been. Sitting in an empty, moldy house that has become condemned not from one massive tragedy, but from a lifetime of gradual decay; having a deep desire to fix it, but knowing so certainly that they will not change. They will not fix it, and they're ok with that. The isolated line "if I could start again, a million miles away, I would keep myself, I would find a way" seems like he's hopeful to be better, but, the key word is "if." However, context changes that. Given how direct he is with his thoughts - yelling "I will let you down. I will make you hurt" - I believe the "if" is used very specifically, rather than saying "I WILL start again... I WILL find a way." Instead, it's "if" and "would," meaning he's just thinking about a "what if," not planning on any change. So not a declaration of being better, IMO. No right answers though, and that's what makes music cool! Even in the lyrics seem to describe one scenario more directly, our personal interpretation of the tone can hold just as much worth... There's that whole thing of "90% of communication is non-verbal," and similarly, the same seems to apply with music: the meaning we derive from it is largely based off tone and textures, rather than what is explicitly said. Tl;dr: Dissonant notes seem off key, but are not. Dissonance creates tension, imparting a sense of unrest, pain, a desire to resolve to a "nicer," more sonorous chord. When that resolution does not come, we are left with what you described: failure, a lack of resolution. This turned into an essay lmao
Trent Reznor is a gift to the human race. Also, extreme props to him for constantly conveying such real emotion in every live performance, no matter how many times he's done them over and over again.
So many songs use cheap tactics to extort your emotions, this one doesn't. This is a song for when you wish the emotion was there, but it isn't. You're interpreting a range of emotions inspired by your environment, but your mind was gone long ago. You have everything, and thus nothing matters to you anymore. Everything is gone, and you still don't care. A conversation with yourself, your younger self. The hopes and dreams of youth are all you can want now, but you're a slave to your present state of mind.
@@KARENboomboomROXX Apologies for my name reminding you! hope you feel better soon. And i hope they can keep in touch and see each other again at some point.
THANK YOU TRENT. YOU WERE WITH ME DURING THE DARKEST PERIOD OF MY LIFE. Only people who suffered from addiction or depression will understand.....GOD BLESS YOU......
I became addicted to heroin at the age of 13, now I'm 39. Since 10 years in substitution, and living a 'normal' life. But I'm struggling with depression, and sometimes, when everything seems senseless, the voice of addiction returns. I know what Trent meant while he wrote this song, it's about desperation and the feeling to be a disappointment for everybody. I'm sure not many people can really understand, what that means. Sorry for my English, I'm a german girl from Berlin.
Grateful. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Reznor. Clean date 3/10/79. Told by Doc I had maybe a year to live if I continued. Somehow I believed him. I had to be put away for awhile. Just trying to carry the message. Soon I'll be 70. Each day is a gift, as is this gentle, vulnerable man. Peace
you are not alone x this reminds me of doing CPR on my lover - he lived. but I died because I said if thats what you want. he woke up and didnt even know i was. the legal alchohol everyone. the legal class A.
@@notnowjohn1348 'carry you home' by James Blunt is the saddest I've heard the decade or so. "true love waits' by radiohead is about as sad as it get for my genres. And both of those songs have lyrics that will haunt you. And I am not a lyrics person at all Jealous guy by John lennon springs to mind. Yesteray by mccartney. Theres also the argument of what is "sad" and what is more just depressing and bleak. Perfect day by lou reed has a huge undertone of detached indifferent in the verses and then, orgasmic chorus, just like jealous guy. Listen to lou Reed sing that live if you want to hear convincing "pain" sorry, just one more thing: I'm always arguing with people who prefer J Cash's cover of this *to the extent of immediately not even considering the orginal* What I love about this one is the piano/keyboard. it is so effective that it could never be repeated with guitars. But one criticism I have of t reznor' is that his singing is not as sincere as a lot of other sad songs, I love the way he begins to sing the "and you could have it all" parts, but I think the sort of whimpering/squeaky yodel inflection think he adds at the end of each line was a bad idea if this song really does still have an excruciating attachment to him. i do still love this song but I think trent reznor is maybe a little too unsure singing-wise of his feelings/the balance between truth and professionalism . There's 1 or 2 live videos of mccartney(not all of them!) singing 'here today' that are the epitome of courage. Mike Tyson (yes the boxer ha) is also a beautiful example of fearlessly wearing your heart of your sleeve
@@notnowjohn1348 I really don't think she was implying no one else has ever expressed "pain" in their music. We are watching Trent Reznor. She is stating that in this song, Reznor... in this context, is expressing his pain, that we are hearing...in this song...in this video...Yes, he is. We can hear in his voice, choice of arrangement and see it in his face. A truth of him is being shared with us in this moment. Everyone alive has a song/singer/band that has the saddest/painful song they've heard (Adele seems to be made of sadness and pain). But we are talking about this song and performance by Trent.
Beer Me It is his song, he wrote it in the Nineties. It's on The Downward Spiral. Johnny Cash covered it. A simple Google search would have told you that
Trent was my neighbor in New Orleans on Royal St. As many times as I passed him in the street or sat next to him at the Dungeon on a Friday night having a beer...I never told him how much this song touched me. He was just a person in a big city who wanted to be treated as average and common and I did. But man, how I wish I had told him how this song impacted me.
I care. I’ve sat in the Dungeon when he was there and I felt that way. I approached him just once to tell him how much I loved his music, and he was all messed up, but he was kind enough to say thanks. I saw him a few times after that but I never approached him again. If you’re from NOLA and went out your chances of running into him were pretty good. At least In the circles I ran in back then.
@@wobblayed558 was that like the main goth club there or something? If I were Trent I would be scared to be anywhere near anything like that. Just straight to IHOP, maybe stroll by the library and home for me. If I so much as see anyone in black I’d hop on my bike and peddle for dear life.
While I love both Versions of this song, this live version feels more painful than the rest. Each one speaks differently. The NIN version conveys more feelings of anger and self loathing. Johnny Cash's version feels more about regret and acceptance of the hardships we all face. But this version by Trent feels like it's more personal. It's in that moment of pain, and loss, mourning, and the place you put yourself in. Someplace so dark and painful you don't know how long you've been there and if you deserve to even leave.. Thankyou Trent, for something so painfully beautiful to let us know that we are not alone in feeling what you feel.
Hey, that happens. Even the Beegees tipped their hat and said their song " How can you mend a broken heart " was much more beautifully performed by Al Green. I think all versions are beautiful and if Trent respect's Johnny Cash's reendition of Hurt, then hey. Just shows how much respect he has for Johnny.
I generally only like covers that are better in some way, or interesting reinterpretations of the song. Not only is the cash version a different perspective of the song, but hard to imagine, it is even sadder and darker than the original.
@D B it’s an e7 suspended followed by a B major #4 suspended. Since the song is in a B minor key, that transition sounds off putting, which was the intention.
Music theory is not a set of laws, it's more of a systematization or classification. None of the chords can be wrong in any context, it can be atypical, unusual, but it just brings different, its own unique color Sorry for possible mistakes in my English :P
Aliko Ya go for it man! I only have 2 requests, the first is that if and when u finish the lyrics u send me the lyrics and/or the song so I can see what it became. The second is that if somehow it gets big that u give me a little shoutout somewhere. Good luck!
J Melo All narcissism aside...the older I get, the more shit decisions I make, and the more successes I have...the more I find this song poignantly relatable. It just hits the spot. It produces a contented depression that somehow brings me great peace. Perhaps this contrasting paradoxical feeling is due to the ability I have to be brutally honest with myself? I don't know, but that's how it makes me feel and the older I get, the more it seems to intensify.
Been suffering from panic attacks a lot lately and always come to this after an episode. Might sound crazy but the idea of not being the only one feeling like shit is a reassurance. In that moment you feel all alone but having this here makes you feel like you aren’t crazy. As bad at that sounds finding comfort in someone else’s pain
That's why music is so great. For the musician, it's an outlet and a way to express feelings. For the listener, it's something to relate to and know that you're not the only person having those feelings. Music is always there, and has helped me through some rough times - just knowing that I wasn't alone.
I lost three of my sisters to murder over two decades ago. The person I was dating recently lost her sister (about three years prior to us dating). We were on a walk one day and I said "I hate so much that you know the pain of the loss of a sibling....but" and she finished my sentence and said "you're happy you know someone else does" and it always has stuck with me
As a person who has dealt with panic attacks for the better part of 30 years, you are not alone my friend. Songs like this ironically pull us together. Keep on keeping on my friend. What if tomorrow could actually be better than today without the anxiety? Wouldn't that be great? Hope.
You sorta forget what a great song it already was before Cash covered it. Both versions are simply amazing. Did anyone catch Reznor using Cash's "crown of thorns" line. Love both
I completely agree - this is one song where i like both the original and the cover equally even though they are so different - because they are sung with sincerity and feeling
@@bigguy1164 Obviously Trent had to stay clean for TV. Do you think he got the idea to specifically change to "thorns" in a vacuum? Cash already conveniently fixed it for him.
10 months clean from heroin and fentanyl. I'm crying right now feeling the words more so than ever. I gave away my empire of dirt. It all passes away but that doesn't mean it ends. We have another chapter to write. Another song. Thank you Trent. I needed this today.
Probably my favorite song of all time. It perfectly explains the feeling of being completely lost and self-loathing. Wondering how you got to where you are.
I suppose the vocals can be felt more with this, as well as the fact he isn't restricted by the beat of other instruments - the piano can be played with emphasis wherever he needs it rather than when best fitting everyone else.
Johnny Cash version is majestic, but i like this particular one a little bit more... Even more than the Downwrad Spiral version, it just needs Trent's voice and a piano and you got one of me most powerfull performances ever...
Nicolás Riveros this is Trents song, he wrote it and the legend Mr cash covered it.. Cannot change the track when either come in tune... Trent even keeps it clean with the word "thorns" rather than original word "shit" Cash actually did that in his acoustic cover
It's a fantastic song, for everyone arguing which version is superior...It doesn't matter. They're Trents lyrics, plain and simple. Where NIN gave us angst Cash gave us pain. He lent weight and a world weariness that Trent simply couldn't convey vocaly, but the meaning behind those words are something I think they both felt equally. They were both addicts, the difference being one was just finding his feet in the world while the other knew his days were coming to an end. Massive respect to both artists.
I don't think I could live without this song. It's on my permanent playlist. I can't think of any other song that expresses the essence and feeling of this hurt more than this one. It means different things to all of us. Some focus more on the addiction quality of it, others the loss of the happiness they sought in their lives, knowing now that it's not coming back...for others...something else. In a popular culture, where we're told to ignore all negative feelings and the pain and hurt that's happening inside us, this song is pure catharsis. Even if my hurt and loneliness never subside, I know that other humans do feel it. It makes me feel less lonely even though I'll likely be alone for the rest of my life.
Just....Fucking....Beautiful. This song kicks me right in the soul every time I hear it. So personal yet universal. It doesn't matter who sings it, as long as they mean it. Reznor, Cash, whoever. But those 2 specific versions can bring me to tears. Music is magic. Peace.
I saw a comment on the Johnny cash video that said something to the effect of: JC-I have wasted my life TR- I am wasting my life. Makes it an even more meaningful cover.
Trent really delivers this song in a very powerful way with the extended pauses, deep breathes, and whispers that brings intensity to such a minimal version of this masterpiece!!!!
This is one of those songs that despite how skilled a musician may be, if they're not or have never been stuck in a specific kind of situation/condition, they simply can't make the song work. Painful, yes, but it manages to turn said pain into beauty mystically and majestically. It deserves a serious amount of appreciation
@@poundinghogs8354 I feel you my friend... grew up a little, world changed, friends and family are now grown apart when they never should have, friends are overdosing, taking their own lives, innocense is broken, and the big picture is gone... No time for a revolution, brace for the final solution! I wish you the best! Signed, a fellow human on the internet.
to anyone dealing with active addiction, i love you, you are so much more than your problem. you've made it this far, and not everybody can say that; i love you, youre gonna do amazing things, i jus know it.
"depression/addiction/loneliness is the Dark Night of Soul. Sometimes we make make through, sometimes we survive it through, and many of us will NOT see the next morning." Powerful song that kicks the soul to go on.
This song is a masterpiece, no matter how you are you will always fell the emotion of this song, it may be from understanding Trent’s background or putting on someone who’s been through a really rough patch. This song is one of the best slow, sad songs if not the best of all time
I was in my late teens when this song was released, but could not (thankfully) relate to this song in meaning or style. Now, in my 40s, having experienced marriage, kids, various life trauma and years of anxiety ( recently diagnosed about 10 years ago) this hits different. I also really love this unplugged version. I understand his pain now. The beauty of this song is that if you are blessed and live long enough...life will guarantee that you WILL relate to this song in some way eventually. No one makes it through life without hurting. But if you can hold on long enough and have faith, you will also see the joy in life as well which you won't appreciate as much without having experienced the hurt.
Oh no you experience anxiety like every other human? That must be soooo hard for you. I'm sure you know exactly the "hurt" being conveyed in this song then. 🙄
Lol no, NIN had massive airplay and were consistently well respected. Just because you are just now discovering them does not mean they were under-rated.
I see a lot of people associating this song to drug addiction but I resonate it to heartbreak from a relationship ending. Growing up in a broken home with abuse, neglect and abandonment. Before today I didn't really like NIN or cared for Trent's songs but after hearing him talk about this song on "Song Exploder" it changed my view on Trent for the better. The guy I was seeing is a huge NIN fan & this song reaches my core when I listen to it. I think about the guy I was seeing & I'm weeping bc I miss him & the lyrics make me think about him. His favorite album was Downward Spiral. Thank you for this amazing song Trent. Hope everyone has a great 2021!!
From the first time I heard this as a kid in the 90s. I knew it was special now it really hits battling through addiction . Thx u Trent for being a voice of a generation.
I love this version! The vocals are so stark and the emotion laid bare. The piano is so crystaline, its unusal sad harmonies stand on their own, haunting, making a place in your heart.
Sometimes I wonder how some people get so much talent, not just practiced talent in playing their instrument(s), but the innate ability to write music that can make millions of people feel a million different things. This really was a gorgeous performance.
I'll let you in on a big secret - a large part of it comes from the same place every other talent comes - hard work, practise and making a lot of mistakes. Yes, like any art you need a certain sensitivity to the subject matter, and with music you often need to be in the right place mentally to pick up on the inspiration and set it down before it's forgotten. The source of melodies can be anything from waking up with a certain melody in your head to just improvising and noodling on a keyboard or guitar until something you like comes up. However, you also need to work at it like anything else. Trent studied music theory, learnt to play a large number of instruments serviceably well, and no doubt spends a lot of time simply working on and working over song ideas to come up with the finished product. I also guarantee that in his early days he wrote a lot of awful, corny stuff that never got past his garage/bedroom and closest friends! I'm privileged to have heard a few talented musicians early efforts and the fact is - you have to start somewhere!
@@kirkbridej77 at first I thought your comment said ‘we all have GRIFTS’ and I sat here staring at it wondering how playing music was a grift. Lol. Then I looked closer. You’re right. Everyone has something they excel at and that is what they should pursue in life. Even things like being a good communicator there are ways for you to earn a living. Wish more people understood that.
Unless you are in the late fall of your life you probably don't relate to Johnny Cash's version towards of the end of his life. "Reznor said. “What I had written in my diary was now superimposed on the life of this icon and sung so beautifully and emotionally. It was a reminder of what an important medium music is. Goosebumps up the spine. It really made sense. I thought: ‘What a powerful piece of art.’ I never got to meet Johnny, but I’m happy I contributed in the way I did. It wasn’t my song any more.” There is room for both versions as different and the same they are.
Never really listened to this song. I’m a industrial,grove,and nu metal fan. I can’t stop listening to this since actually paying attention to it. I’m a drunk and it has cost me some friends and most importantly my family. Definitely inspires me to clean up. So thank you Trent. Instead of drinking I will be writing these lyrics over and over like a bad school kid tomorrow when I feel that demon tapping my shoulder
"The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create." Chuck
@@trumphatesyou Directly below this comment of yours is one that says, "another one of those terrific songs that speak to the souls of some of us". Well, the same is true for the movie Fight Club because it gave/gives us quotes like this one that speaks to my mind and my soul. And if it does that for me, and obviously for you, then it definitely does for others. Thanks for sharing it. 🤍
IMO this is the live version that I enjoy the most. It's just beautiful in every aspect, Trent on the piano, the way it's directed, the silent crowd ...
The song speaks so much. I have loved it from day 1 until today hearing this again! I didn't understand the pain from the lyrics when I was a kid. As an adult my whole entire body feels it. Thank you!
People who suffer from addiction will always feel sympathetic to the original by Trent. It speaks to us.
People who have lived a long life and have regrets will prefer Johnny's version.
It's ok to appreciate both
well said
+kiwisquaw23 What about the nine inch nails version?
+kiwisquaw23 I prefer Johnny's version. I just like his voice over Trent's.
+Tan lol
kiwisquaw23 Cash's version works better in trailers, and NIN version works better in actual movies/shows.
Thank god the audience didn't clap during this hauntingly beautiful performance.
ya cuz it wasnt india. if the crowd had atleast one indian the whole performance would be whacked
dont you think that's a little racist
@@Jay-pf3dq ignore tards man
Anosh Aibara racist fuck
Yeah, everyone's "hurt" listening to hurt by trent.
This song sums up my life! As a child I had cancer. The treatments of Chemo and radiation I received in 70s and early 80s were Adult doses. This has lead to a lifetime of health issues and pain for me. Obesity, diabetes, an autoimmune kidney disease, two brain tumors that have left me blind and deaf on the right! I relearned to walk and talk post op! Doc said it’ll take a year to recover. My ex left me, I lost my home to bankruptcy, the to fend for myself as I recovered. I couldn’t work for a yearI live still in pain as my body ages. Arthritis and the screws and plates in my head are reminders of my eternal pain! Don’t let your life become dirt! I now work from home since I can’t walk much! Plus when the cruel world sees me at work they immediately judge me as they notice I’m partially blind and walk slow! Coworkers immediately judge me. But even though my empire of dirt is gone I keep my dignity! If you suffer like me keep strong 💪 be grateful you live to fight everyday!
Dying is easy living is hard
@@wabbit6653But where there is a challenge, there is a reward
please keep fighting
I love you
I hope the next phase of living is good to you. The true definition of tough. Thank you for your inspiration.
Trent is one of the most underrated vocalists ever. Dudes pure talent
I had no idea he was such a genius. Mesmerizing.
Nice voice but not a very good technique though
wubba lubba dub dub !!
@@ATTAR_1453whats with the random Rick & Morty reference?😅
Very pitchy.
Pain could not be more explained in sound.
+Arno Burtner Pain, fear, and self loathing.
You think so ? Try Slipknot - 515
Wesley Trippaers I'm sorry, there must be some kind of a fail perpetrated by your browser, some serious drug issues, or who knows maybe ... maybe you were forced at gunpoint to post that because that's one of the most preposterous things I've ever heard.
Dude!! Are u braindead or just plain simple??? Lol
well said, whenever somebody says the cash version is better (which it is amazing) i give them this link, and they always change their mind.
7 years clean as of today... For 6 years I tore my skin to Poison my blood, for a euphoria that was never real... I died to wake up, and have been awake ever since. 7 years today.
Futur is yours !
Congrats!
god bless you brother 💪
CONGRATS CONGRATS BRO 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@@SantyOrtegaBanegas Thanks man, always appreciated!!
can you hear the silence from the crowd? sometimes silence speaks louder than actions!
kiriakos patouhas there was also a deadening silence during "Hurt" at NIN concert summer 2017 in nyc..unreal
This perfomance is hypnotic!
Yeah your right, because it's so fucking genuine.
Pathos is a powerful tool
No all I can hear is the static it's annoying af and it nearly ruins the song lmfao
Trent - Hurt
Corey - Snuff
Layne - Love, Hate, Love
Kurt - Where did you sleep last night
Eddie - Black
Chester - Messenger
Chris - Seasons
Iconic performances, filled with raw emotion and filled with pain, goes to show that some of the best music comes from the heart and life’s experiences
Layne 💙
@@elkevinski The G.O.A.T 👑
Spot on 🙏🏽
Chris’s would be nothing compares to you.
@@rokaanalzeer7148 absolutely how did I miss that idk
Johnny's version is a beautiful ballad that captures a lonely man's final days. Trent's version is an amazingly clear depiction of pain. Even the keys he uses really portrays that internal pain marvelously. Breathtaking.
It's not Trents' version it's Trents' fricken song!! fml
@@justinmorgan2126 but it isn’t nearly as good as johnny’s version
@@bymafia2606 Trents Is so much better
They’re both amazing in their own right, his the soul differently. One is about pain and struggling, and trying to climb out of a personal hell, the other is about looking back on life with some regret and wondering if they were good enough where it mattered….as a husband, father, son, etc.?
Two very different stories with the same song. Incredible. On both their parts.
Rips me apart
Hurt always gets me. I think it could be played on a kazoo and I would still get goosebumps.
that's stress notes for ya
jeommy kin Notes that actually make a person stressed, uncomfortable, sad, angry, scared, etc. Music is a powerful thing my friend.
jeommy kin well then put your helmet on and go back to sped class lol
XD
This song is about his heroine addiction he had and since overcome this is what he felt like being a heroine addict.
"What have I become, my sweetest friend?
Everyone I know goes away in the end"
ranks among my personal list of most heartbreaking lyrics
+Devashish Mishra For sure. It nails home the one of the worst parts of depression. How it effects the people you care about. That you feel like a burden, and occasionally push people away.
Side note. I like how here he goes with the Cash version of the lyric. "I wear this crown of thorns" is a better line than "crown of shit."
That was done for censorship, not cause cash's version. Crown of thorns is kinda an obvious goto anyhow.
Yeah, since it was on TV 'n' all. Still, I feel "crown of thorns" is darker and more cynical. Obvious, sure. But I think it hits more. It seems to say "All this admiration heaped on me is undeserved. I am a fraud." Where as "crown of shit" just sounds like it's trying too hard to be dark and edgy. Like high school goth poetry,
id say its second the ending lines from and all that could have been, another one of trents songs
"please.
take this,
and run far away.
as far as you can see.
I am tainted.
and happiness and peace of mind
were never meant for me.
All these pieces, and promises, and left-behinds,
if only i could see:
In my nothing
you were everything,
everything to me."
It was also being broadcast live on TV so he would've had to censor himself anyway. He probably decided the "crown of thorns" line would be better than "crown of ----" since he wouldn't be able to say it anyway.
“What have I become my sweetest friend?”
Kills me everytime. My life spiraled out of control and turned me into a ugly mean nasty person, one day I just looked in mirror and the person looking back was a mangled mess, that’s the day I started getting better. This line has a special meaning to me. A beautiful song with a powerful message.
So that is what that line means. Even as a child I didn't see a friend in the mirror.
Lol
I hear you
I will let you down, I will make you hurt.
I got as much from this moment as I did this comment. Peace and love. 🙏
I love how Trent made one of the most dark, tragic and beautiful albums of all time, but also wins an Oscar from a Pixar film. Pure genius
Love the score in that movie, very atomspheric. And which album of NIN’s music do you think is the darkest and most beautiful?
@@theroamer2355 The Downward Spiral. Self-destruction led path to Trents documented suicidal mind set at that time in his life is why, in my opinion of course, I think it's dark but beautiful because he won that battle.
@@deew187 yeah that album has always seemed pretty moody, but like you said…. Beautiful.
Don't forget The Social Network. Most creative and beautiful film score I've ever heard.
Trent credits Bowie with saving his life, as do millions of others. The power of Bowie has no boundaries
That last, off key, note.
It always hits me with a feeling of "failure" in his declaration of being better. Like what he says is one thing but what he does is different.
That off key note gets me everytime
Trent can make imperfection perfect~
I was listening to this when I was like 9 and had to turn it off because that note physically irked me every time. Now I live it.
The song tells a story of something going wrong, very wrong.
Yeah the dissonance in the chords in the beginning. I love it
Not off key in the song, actually! What you're hearing is called "dissonance," and while it may sound off key because of the tension that it creates, rest assured, we are still well within our tonal center! If you listen closely, it's actually carried throughout the intro + verses.
Dissonance like that adds a wonderfully surreal, dissociative, intriguing texture. The "tension" of dissonant chords really does impart a sense of pulling, as the term would imply. It's like the note is trying to pull away from the rest of the song, but the elastic mesh of the other notes gently guides it back in line where it settles. That F on top of the B is tonally unstable, creates tension, and that makes you want to hear it release that tension by moving on to a stable chord. Although in this case, given that it's at the end of the measure and song, it's meant to make you feel uneasy, unresolved, conflicted... as is the case of this pain Trent is describing. Interestingly though, as the dissonant blooms, it actually does feel quite resolved and satisfying. My brain was like "wait wtf why did he end on th-... oh. ohhhhhh. I like this. this is nice."
Also side note that will probably be longer than my main response lol: Super interesting that you interpreted Hurt as a "declaration of being better." I'd be interested to hear why, as I thought of it as the exact opposite: someone at the end of their life coming to terms with your failures, relinquishing the fight with their inner demons; accepting that those demons have won, and now just reflecting on what their life has been. Sitting in an empty, moldy house that has become condemned not from one massive tragedy, but from a lifetime of gradual decay; having a deep desire to fix it, but knowing so certainly that they will not change. They will not fix it, and they're ok with that.
The isolated line "if I could start again, a million miles away, I would keep myself, I would find a way" seems like he's hopeful to be better, but, the key word is "if." However, context changes that. Given how direct he is with his thoughts - yelling "I will let you down. I will make you hurt" - I believe the "if" is used very specifically, rather than saying "I WILL start again... I WILL find a way." Instead, it's "if" and "would," meaning he's just thinking about a "what if," not planning on any change. So not a declaration of being better, IMO. No right answers though, and that's what makes music cool! Even in the lyrics seem to describe one scenario more directly, our personal interpretation of the tone can hold just as much worth...
There's that whole thing of "90% of communication is non-verbal," and similarly, the same seems to apply with music: the meaning we derive from it is largely based off tone and textures, rather than what is explicitly said.
Tl;dr: Dissonant notes seem off key, but are not. Dissonance creates tension, imparting a sense of unrest, pain, a desire to resolve to a "nicer," more sonorous chord. When that resolution does not come, we are left with what you described: failure, a lack of resolution. This turned into an essay lmao
Trent Reznor is a gift to the human race. Also, extreme props to him for constantly conveying such real emotion in every live performance, no matter how many times he's done them over and over again.
He is like another Mozart
yes.
he is a classically trained pianist. Trent Reznor is a genius.
Taylor Bivens don't get me wrong I like this song but I believe that johnny cash did a cover much better than this
You do realise this is a NIN song and not a cover?
One of the best performances I’ve ever seen. Sobriety is possible. Trent overcame a lot, if he can do it, we can.
So many songs use cheap tactics to extort your emotions, this one doesn't.
This is a song for when you wish the emotion was there, but it isn't. You're interpreting a range of emotions inspired by your environment, but your mind was gone long ago.
You have everything, and thus nothing matters to you anymore. Everything is gone, and you still don't care.
A conversation with yourself, your younger self. The hopes and dreams of youth are all you can want now, but you're a slave to your present state of mind.
+TheEnviousdominous an excellent comment.
well said
+TheEnviousdominous
quite profound...
I get what you're saying but what you're explaining sounds more like Somewhat Damaged
TheEnviousdominous damn, your comment made me cry, it just described the way I've been feeling for a few years now..
This is the proof Trent is one of the most talented composer and musician ever.
right
This dude out here writing movies scores and shit
LoL. JOHNNY CASH
@@mcq31mc lol. Today's kiddos don't like to search for info before to do an ignorant comment
only found out today he has an oscar nomination and two wins.
Fuck im drunk again, i miss the 90s and my friends and family. Love people when you have them
real talk brother...regret is a cold bitch
@@cleanwindow_7869 why do you feel the need to correct his comment?! Just wish the guy best in life and move on.
I miss my friends and ex girlfriend
@@sambriddon170 I'm sad that my son Sam misses his friend Britton that moved far away. Your name took me there. It was so close....
@@KARENboomboomROXX Apologies for my name reminding you! hope you feel better soon. And i hope they can keep in touch and see each other again at some point.
Even if you’ve locked your pain away, trent singing this will unlock it and bring you right back. Amazing
THANK YOU TRENT. YOU WERE WITH ME DURING THE DARKEST PERIOD OF MY LIFE. Only people who suffered from addiction or depression will understand.....GOD BLESS YOU......
Same✌
Raw. Vulnerable. Beloved.
I became addicted to heroin at the age of 13, now I'm 39. Since 10 years in substitution, and living a 'normal' life. But I'm struggling with depression, and sometimes, when everything seems senseless, the voice of addiction returns.
I know what Trent meant while he wrote this song, it's about desperation and the feeling to be a disappointment for everybody.
I'm sure not many people can really understand, what that means.
Sorry for my English, I'm a german girl from Berlin.
@@habibti1101 stay strong my friend, I too struggled with those same demons but life is much better clean.
Idk what will i quit first, this meaningless life or the meaningless drugs
9 years clean and this song still rips me apart.I'll never get over it
Addict here too, the struggle is real, stay strong
time for a drink to celebrate
1.5 years sober!! Plan on going the distance of my lifetime! Y’all wish me luck Nailers
yay you are amazing and i don't need to know you to know that ! Very good luck to you and yours
time for a celebratory drink
stay strong, stay sober my friend
@@nicholasjones1154 yawn
@@mandykitson7039 yawn🤓
Grateful. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Reznor. Clean date 3/10/79. Told by Doc I had maybe a year to live if I continued. Somehow I believed him. I had to be put away for awhile. Just trying to carry the message. Soon I'll be 70. Each day is a gift, as is this gentle, vulnerable man. Peace
I am truly happy for you :) Hope your 70th is a wonderful, joyous day!
When I'm depressed and having trouble keeping my thoughts from bad things I come here to not feel alone. Thank you Trent.
beautiful people
you are not alone x this reminds me of doing CPR on my lover - he lived. but I died because I said if thats what you want. he woke up and didnt even know i was. the legal alchohol everyone. the legal class A.
You're not alone.
you're not alone, here for the same reason.
We all would find the way, we just need patience
This is what pain sounds like.
**Piano
more like : aaAAAARRGGHH ;-)
Have you heard, or listened to Pink Floyd? The Gunners Dream, Mother, South Hampton Dock...
@@notnowjohn1348 'carry you home' by James Blunt is the saddest I've heard the decade or so. "true love waits' by radiohead is about as sad as it get for my genres. And both of those songs have lyrics that will haunt you. And I am not a lyrics person at all
Jealous guy by John lennon springs to mind. Yesteray by mccartney.
Theres also the argument of what is "sad" and what is more just depressing and bleak. Perfect day by lou reed has a huge undertone of detached indifferent in the verses and then, orgasmic chorus, just like jealous guy. Listen to lou Reed sing that live if you want to hear convincing "pain"
sorry, just one more thing: I'm always arguing with people who prefer J Cash's cover of this *to the extent of immediately not even considering the orginal*
What I love about this one is the piano/keyboard. it is so effective that it could never be repeated with guitars. But one criticism I have of t reznor' is that his singing is not as sincere as a lot of other sad songs, I love the way he begins to sing the "and you could have it all" parts, but I think the sort of whimpering/squeaky yodel inflection think he adds at the end of each line was a bad idea if this song really does still have an excruciating attachment to him. i do still love this song but I think trent reznor is maybe a little too unsure singing-wise of his feelings/the balance between truth and professionalism . There's 1 or 2 live videos of mccartney(not all of them!) singing 'here today' that are the epitome of courage.
Mike Tyson (yes the boxer ha) is also a beautiful example of fearlessly wearing your heart of your sleeve
@@notnowjohn1348 I really don't think she was implying no one else has ever expressed "pain" in their music. We are watching Trent Reznor. She is stating that in this song, Reznor... in this context, is expressing his pain, that we are hearing...in this song...in this video...Yes, he is. We can hear in his voice, choice of arrangement and see it in his face. A truth of him is being shared with us in this moment. Everyone alive has a song/singer/band that has the saddest/painful song they've heard (Adele seems to be made of sadness and pain). But we are talking about this song and performance by Trent.
this song is a magic piece of art. its just... its just something to behold and understand.
Dan -Horsenwelles- Williams its not his song...
Beer Me It is his song, he wrote it in the Nineties. It's on The Downward Spiral. Johnny Cash covered it. A simple Google search would have told you that
Jennifer Barberi rite what's this idiot thinking lol
Illa J he said to hear Cash's version is like someone else is kissing your girlfriend
Trent was my neighbor in New Orleans on Royal St. As many times as I passed him in the street or sat next to him at the Dungeon on a Friday night having a beer...I never told him how much this song touched me. He was just a person in a big city who wanted to be treated as average and common and I did. But man, how I wish I had told him how this song impacted me.
No one cares.
I care. I’ve sat in the Dungeon when he was there and I felt that way. I approached him just once to tell him how much I loved his music, and he was all messed up, but he was kind enough to say thanks. I saw him a few times after that but I never approached him again. If you’re from NOLA and went out your chances of running into him were pretty good. At least In the circles I ran in back then.
@@wobblayed558 was that like the main goth club there or something? If I were Trent I would be scared to be anywhere near anything like that. Just straight to IHOP, maybe stroll by the library and home for me. If I so much as see anyone in black I’d hop on my bike and peddle for dear life.
🧢
@@sibbyeskie more goth kids at IHOP milking coffee refills for hours, or at least that was the way it was during the days of Further Down the Spiral.
While I love both Versions of this song, this live version feels more painful than the rest. Each one speaks differently. The NIN version conveys more feelings of anger and self loathing. Johnny Cash's version feels more about regret and acceptance of the hardships we all face.
But this version by Trent feels like it's more personal. It's in that moment of pain, and loss, mourning, and the place you put yourself in. Someplace so dark and painful you don't know how long you've been there and if you deserve to even leave..
Thankyou Trent, for something so painfully beautiful to let us know that we are not alone in feeling what you feel.
Trent says he prefers Johnny's version to his own.
Hey, that happens. Even the Beegees tipped their hat and said their song " How can you mend a broken heart " was much more beautifully performed by Al Green. I think all versions are beautiful and if Trent respect's Johnny Cash's reendition of Hurt, then hey. Just shows how much respect he has for Johnny.
I generally only like covers that are better in some way, or interesting reinterpretations of the song.
Not only is the cash version a different perspective of the song, but hard to imagine, it is even sadder and darker than the original.
+John Michael this version? it is his song, period.
I like this live version better though.
That A minor chord at the break of every verse always cuts so deep. A chord that, in every aspect of music theory, is wrong. But it is so right.
@D B it’s an e7 suspended followed by a B major #4 suspended. Since the song is in a B minor key, that transition sounds off putting, which was the intention.
U found the words i wasn't able to find tank you :)
Music theory is not a set of laws, it's more of a systematization or classification. None of the chords can be wrong in any context, it can be atypical, unusual, but it just brings different, its own unique color
Sorry for possible mistakes in my English :P
Love that chord! Absolutely perfect!
Only a musician will get this...
A strange line between sorrow and rage. Quietly running through my entire body. Waiting for me to choose.
I couldn't describe it better, that's exactly what this song is.
Aliko Ya go for it man! I only have 2 requests, the first is that if and when u finish the lyrics u send me the lyrics and/or the song so I can see what it became. The second is that if somehow it gets big that u give me a little shoutout somewhere. Good luck!
Jonah Melo
if I may, I'd like to see the lyrics too, when finished. That comment is one of the most accurate things I've read in a while.
Best you can 'choose' is sorrow, for sure.
J Melo All narcissism aside...the older I get, the more shit decisions I make, and the more successes I have...the more I find this song poignantly relatable. It just hits the spot.
It produces a contented depression that somehow brings me great peace. Perhaps this contrasting paradoxical feeling is due to the ability I have to be brutally honest with myself? I don't know, but that's how it makes me feel and the older I get, the more it seems to intensify.
Been suffering from panic attacks a lot lately and always come to this after an episode. Might sound crazy but the idea of not being the only one feeling like shit is a reassurance. In that moment you feel all alone but having this here makes you feel like you aren’t crazy. As bad at that sounds finding comfort in someone else’s pain
You got this 👍
That's why music is so great. For the musician, it's an outlet and a way to express feelings. For the listener, it's something to relate to and know that you're not the only person having those feelings. Music is always there, and has helped me through some rough times - just knowing that I wasn't alone.
Have you listened to lateralus yet?
I lost three of my sisters to murder over two decades ago. The person I was dating recently lost her sister (about three years prior to us dating). We were on a walk one day and I said "I hate so much that you know the pain of the loss of a sibling....but" and she finished my sentence and said "you're happy you know someone else does" and it always has stuck with me
As a person who has dealt with panic attacks for the better part of 30 years, you are not alone my friend. Songs like this ironically pull us together. Keep on keeping on my friend. What if tomorrow could actually be better than today without the anxiety? Wouldn't that be great? Hope.
You sorta forget what a great song it already was before Cash covered it. Both versions are simply amazing. Did anyone catch Reznor using Cash's "crown of thorns" line. Love both
I was thinking the same thing with the "crown of thorns" line. Love that they can inspire each other in both directions like that.
I completely agree - this is one song where i like both the original and the cover equally even though they are so different - because they are sung with sincerity and feeling
Never got cash's version. Sounds like a pub singer.
Agreed. Except a live performance of this song is unmatchable.
He most probably had to do that due him performing on network TV.
this song could make a pool of tears drip out of a stone...
spanky stone u
I tried... Didn't work unfortunately...
@@justus4883 worked for me.
I love that he changed "Crown of Shit" to "Crown of Thorns" ... honoring Johnny's interpetation... Masterful, Trent, Masterful....
Or that you can't say shit on 2005 television.
ViolentZeroLogan yes he did but Trent Reznor wrote the original in 1994 and recorded it with Nine Inch Nails.
@@bigguy1164 Obviously Trent had to stay clean for TV. Do you think he got the idea to specifically change to "thorns" in a vacuum? Cash already conveniently fixed it for him.
His song will always be the best one.
@@bigguy1164 why are you so angry?
One of the most beautiful combinations of sound waves I've ever heard.
Thank you Trent reznor for one of the greatest songs ever.
We are all lucky to have an artist like Trent Reznor in our lifetimes. Cheers!
This is Trent’s masterpiece
I think just about every soul can relate.
Jonny Cash just reiterated that this is an amazing song. :(
@@travisthogmartin78
Just? Its been 20 years
Well not everyone. You have to have suffered to feel it with every fiber of your being.
@@Squee_666_9 Everyone has suffered.
@@sleazypolar Not everyone. Not yet. By the end they will have.
10 months clean from heroin and fentanyl. I'm crying right now feeling the words more so than ever. I gave away my empire of dirt. It all passes away but that doesn't mean it ends. We have another chapter to write. Another song. Thank you Trent. I needed this today.
Appreciate your strength. You have a many books to write and many more stories still to be told. Keep at it. You got this.
Proud of you
Hope things are going well friend.
How ya doing friend?
Stay well.
I am in awe of the power of this song.
Probably my favorite song of all time. It perfectly explains the feeling of being completely lost and self-loathing. Wondering how you got to where you are.
Well said.
+Brad Windhorst Thank you
Your description is is quite profound, just reading it brought some major things to mind.
+Minerspools OP I'm touched that my comment affected you in that way. Thanks for sharing.
Zeta Camellia SAME FOR ME IM THERE NOW SO LOST NOT KNOWING WHICH WAY TOO GO N LOST IT ALL I TEMEMBER EVERYTHING 😢😢
The last note he plays is haunting. Especially on the original song.
GrandmasDay32 i didn’t like it in the original, like it was kinda quiet then it just fucking blasts this sound
@@RoccHard13 that's the whole point to shock with disharmonic synth and guitars, it adds culmination, a mental break.
@@RoccHard13 late but i thought it symbolized the guys suicide. theres some threads on the nin sub which go in depth i recommend a read
@@user-fi2zs2ww1r can you share a link or what to look up ?
This is 1 of those songs where the original and cover are both incredible!!! Reznor and Cash both blew me away... 💕💔💕💔
And then this, the cover of the cover! Such a powerful song!
To me this version is better than his original(album version), I may be alone on that :/
No.
You're not alone
I suppose the vocals can be felt more with this, as well as the fact he isn't restricted by the beat of other instruments - the piano can be played with emphasis wherever he needs it rather than when best fitting everyone else.
A person alone with a piano makes them or breaks them he made it
2020 (;
I agree with you
This song is one of Trent's best work. The emotion he attributes to the lyric, the piano sequence, everything is just a masterpiece.
I really like how he takes so much time and effort to his live performances. And still make it unique each time. Trent!!
Nine inch nails has a very haunting sound, this version was hauntingly beautiful. Bravo to true music and artists.
Johnny Cash version is majestic, but i like this particular one a little bit more... Even more than the Downwrad Spiral version, it just needs Trent's voice and a piano and you got one of me most powerfull performances ever...
Nicolás Riveros this is Trents song, he wrote it and the legend Mr cash covered it.. Cannot change the track when either come in tune... Trent even keeps it clean with the word "thorns" rather than original word "shit" Cash actually did that in his acoustic cover
I prefer the Cash version but the bottom line is Trent wrote this song and it is BEAUTIFUL af
I have to agree, my biggest musical influence right here and I'm a guitarist in a rock band! My vocals borrow heavily from this genius right here.
mmmdoobiesnacks
"I prefer the Cash version but the bottom line is Trent wrote this song and it is BEAUTIFUL af"
What an ugly excuse for a compliment.
Nicolás Riveros Cash owned it! He is a master !
It's a fantastic song, for everyone arguing which version is superior...It doesn't matter. They're Trents lyrics, plain and simple. Where NIN gave us angst Cash gave us pain. He lent weight and a world weariness that Trent simply couldn't convey vocaly, but the meaning behind those words are something I think they both felt equally. They were both addicts, the difference being one was just finding his feet in the world while the other knew his days were coming to an end. Massive respect to both artists.
Mmmm…25 years ago when I found Trent’s version it was all about pain for me.
Great analysis Carl. Well said.
Holy shit. I got chills as he sings so softly in some parts. He makes you feel the pain, truly.
Trents embodies addiction, Cash’s embodies regret
That's one of the best interpretations I've ever read.
Word
Nah... both is regret, NIN version has more anger tho
To show the world your pain and vulnerability, in such a pure and powerful way is incredibly brave, and the sign of a true artist...
This probably gets tossed around a lot, but this is truly one of the best songs ever written.
Sure, one of them, but bittersweet symphony is number 1
Nah
I don't think I could live without this song. It's on my permanent playlist. I can't think of any other song that expresses the essence and feeling of this hurt more than this one. It means different things to all of us. Some focus more on the addiction quality of it, others the loss of the happiness they sought in their lives, knowing now that it's not coming back...for others...something else. In a popular culture, where we're told to ignore all negative feelings and the pain and hurt that's happening inside us, this song is pure catharsis. Even if my hurt and loneliness never subside, I know that other humans do feel it. It makes me feel less lonely even though I'll likely be alone for the rest of my life.
Probably the saddest and darkest song ever made, period, and i've heard a lot of sad fucking songs, this one is breathtakingley beautiful and sad.
Saddest yes. Darkest no that goes to daddy by Korn
Nutshell by Alice in chains to
@NomaD If you like sad songs, I suggest Duncan Sheik. Duncan was so much more than his hit “Barely Breathing” in the 90’s.
@@toddstarks226 Ill for sure check that out man.
@@nomad1517 Cool. I think you’ll enjoy it:)
Trent singing hurt is one of his best
Just....Fucking....Beautiful. This song kicks me right in the soul every time I hear it. So personal yet universal. It doesn't matter who sings it, as long as they mean it. Reznor, Cash, whoever. But those 2 specific versions can bring me to tears. Music is magic. Peace.
So absolutely true, it hits you in the chest...hard, and it's for a different reasons every time. Great comment bro
absolutely agree 100 percent
such a good song brought me to tears It really means something to me
Krys Fender y krys?,you a smack head
Stephe Dawe F U
I saw a comment on the Johnny cash video that said something to the effect of:
JC-I have wasted my life
TR- I am wasting my life.
Makes it an even more meaningful cover.
Trent’s is about his struggle to find a reason to live.
Johnny’s is about his failure to find that reason.
Mind blowing performance. It’s just raw. It makes my eyes water.
I never tire of this song and especially this rendition. Trent is a genius. Now I've got to dry my eyes and pull myself together.
Trent really delivers this song in a very powerful way with the extended pauses, deep breathes, and whispers that brings intensity to such a minimal version of this masterpiece!!!!
This is one of those songs that despite how skilled a musician may be, if they're not or have never been stuck in a specific kind of situation/condition, they simply can't make the song work. Painful, yes, but it manages to turn said pain into beauty mystically and majestically. It deserves a serious amount of appreciation
For me this will always be the best version. Billy this was your favorite song i miss you so much bro i hope i see you again in the after .....❤
2021 this song still gives me CHILLS!
Means a little more today
Good for u
@@rasmuspedersen3563 how?
@@poundinghogs8354 I feel you my friend... grew up a little, world changed, friends and family are now grown apart when they never should have, friends are overdosing, taking their own lives, innocense is broken, and the big picture is gone... No time for a revolution, brace for the final solution! I wish you the best! Signed, a fellow human on the internet.
@@mikedimas4883 right on man, safe travels.
I know people love Johnny Cash's cover but I will forever love Trent singing and emotionalizing his song. This video is just beautiful.
It’s so haunting, I love johnnys version but this version will tear into your soul
to anyone dealing with active addiction, i love you, you are so much more than your problem. you've made it this far, and not everybody can say that; i love you, youre gonna do amazing things, i jus know it.
"depression/addiction/loneliness is the Dark Night of Soul. Sometimes we make make through, sometimes we survive it through, and many of us will NOT see the next morning." Powerful song that kicks the soul to go on.
It is moving that Trent Reznor has been so touched by Johnny Cash's reading of his song that he incorporates much of that performance here.
I like this better than the album version.
the album has the excessively loud guitar at the end which is not nice to listen to in traffic :-P
LOL! totally... for years I needed to quantify this piece of the song, every time I have heard it; you just have, thank you!!
This is far and away the better version of this song. If I could count the number of times I listen to this version it would exceed the album version.
Me too
Thinus: Uh...dude, you probably shouldn't be listening to *any* version of this song in traffic.
This song is a masterpiece, no matter how you are you will always fell the emotion of this song, it may be from understanding Trent’s background or putting on someone who’s been through a really rough patch. This song is one of the best slow, sad songs if not the best of all time
Man, I love Trent such an amazing writer.
He's always had one of my favorite voices and some of my favorite lyrics.
All of this came straight through his soul, and it had to hurt to come out.
Uhm..ruclips.net/video/KIkTMD_J4GY/видео.html
I was in my late teens when this song was released, but could not (thankfully) relate to this song in meaning or style. Now, in my 40s, having experienced marriage, kids, various life trauma and years of anxiety ( recently diagnosed about 10 years ago) this hits different. I also really love this unplugged version. I understand his pain now. The beauty of this song is that if you are blessed and live long enough...life will guarantee that you WILL relate to this song in some way eventually. No one makes it through life without hurting. But if you can hold on long enough and have faith, you will also see the joy in life as well which you won't appreciate as much without having experienced the hurt.
Stay strong always 🙏🏼
@@Christian_espinosaofficial Thank you!
Wow, well said
I'm really glad I'm a strong person who doesn't go to the doctor to be "diagnosed" for normal human emotions like anxiety or sadness.
Oh no you experience anxiety like every other human? That must be soooo hard for you. I'm sure you know exactly the "hurt" being conveyed in this song then. 🙄
Has it ever been expressed so perfectly? For me there is nothing to compare to the emotion and reality of this version. My soul weeps with his.
Seriously one of the best songs ever performed by one of the best artists ever.
Pain could not be more explained in sound.
This is Trent’s masterpiece
I think just about every soul can relate.
Trent is still amazing.
How can people give this a thumbs down ?
I think it's probably some bias Johnny Cash fans.
+Regan D 38 nobs
His voice is weird and kinda unpleasant.
@Peter,fair enough that's your opinion.
For me both versions are great,but overall I prefer Trents cause to me it has more feeling.
Every word Trent says is sung with such heart and emotion. And you're hanging on every word because what he is saying matters. It's life.
Trent thank you for the generosity in your authenticity.......
Honesty is a virtue many truly never have the pleasure of experiencing....
Brilliant
Trent was one of the most underrated artist of the 90"s period!
How was he underated? Certainly not in Australia.
Pretty sure he was a huge star in the 1990’s
Lol no, NIN had massive airplay and were consistently well respected. Just because you are just now discovering them does not mean they were under-rated.
ALIEN ANT FARM
I see a lot of people associating this song to drug addiction but I resonate it to heartbreak from a relationship ending. Growing up in a broken home with abuse, neglect and abandonment. Before today I didn't really like NIN or cared for Trent's songs but after hearing him talk about this song on "Song Exploder" it changed my view on Trent for the better. The guy I was seeing is a huge NIN fan & this song reaches my core when I listen to it. I think about the guy I was seeing & I'm weeping bc I miss him & the lyrics make me think about him. His favorite album was Downward Spiral. Thank you for this amazing song Trent. Hope everyone has a great 2021!!
This version is like ASMR, I felt tingles in my head and eventually started tearing up. So much emotion with minimal production. That’s art.
The day Trent Reznor dies, will be a sad day of mourning :(
Never compare this artistic masterpiece to low rent filth like ASMR ever again. Thank you.
Another one of those terrific songs that speak to the souls of some of us.
One of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. He’s phenomenal on the piano. Just an amazing composer.
From the first time I heard this as a kid in the 90s. I knew it was special now it really hits battling through addiction . Thx u Trent for being a voice of a generation.
Both Trent's and Johnny's versions are powerful emotive interpretations of the same words, from different perspectives; amazing how great both are!
This is brilliant. It's stripped down to the absolute essential elements of the song, and it's just so beautiful
Ive been listening to Reznor for as long as I remember hearing music.. awesome version. Talent. That second chorus shatters everything.
I love this version! The vocals are so stark and the emotion laid bare. The piano is so crystaline, its unusal sad harmonies stand on their own, haunting, making a place in your heart.
i love the broken tones trent is playing. gives this masterpiece of music a whole new emotional level. simply great.
Sometimes I wonder how some people get so much talent, not just practiced talent in playing their instrument(s), but the innate ability to write music that can make millions of people feel a million different things. This really was a gorgeous performance.
I'll let you in on a big secret - a large part of it comes from the same place every other talent comes - hard work, practise and making a lot of mistakes. Yes, like any art you need a certain sensitivity to the subject matter, and with music you often need to be in the right place mentally to pick up on the inspiration and set it down before it's forgotten. The source of melodies can be anything from waking up with a certain melody in your head to just improvising and noodling on a keyboard or guitar until something you like comes up.
However, you also need to work at it like anything else. Trent studied music theory, learnt to play a large number of instruments serviceably well, and no doubt spends a lot of time simply working on and working over song ideas to come up with the finished product. I also guarantee that in his early days he wrote a lot of awful, corny stuff that never got past his garage/bedroom and closest friends! I'm privileged to have heard a few talented musicians early efforts and the fact is - you have to start somewhere!
We all have gifts
@@kirkbridej77 at first I thought your comment said ‘we all have GRIFTS’ and I sat here staring at it wondering how playing music was a grift. Lol. Then I looked closer. You’re right. Everyone has something they excel at and that is what they should pursue in life. Even things like being a good communicator there are ways for you to earn a living. Wish more people understood that.
Trent Reznor is Batman
ktuluesp lol
I was in a vibe listening to this and you right this, 😭😂
Lol 😂😂😂
Unless you are in the late fall of your life you probably don't relate to Johnny Cash's version towards of the end of his life. "Reznor said. “What I had written in my diary was now superimposed on the life of this icon and sung so beautifully and emotionally. It was a reminder of what an important medium music is. Goosebumps up the spine. It really made sense. I thought: ‘What a powerful piece of art.’ I never got to meet Johnny, but I’m happy I contributed in the way I did. It wasn’t my song any more.” There is room for both versions as different and the same they are.
Never really listened to this song. I’m a industrial,grove,and nu metal fan. I can’t stop listening to this since actually paying attention to it. I’m a drunk and it has cost me some friends and most importantly my family. Definitely inspires me to clean up. So thank you Trent. Instead of drinking I will be writing these lyrics over and over like a bad school kid tomorrow when I feel that demon tapping my shoulder
You can fucking do it.
"The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create." Chuck
@@trumphatesyou Directly below this comment of yours is one that says, "another one of those terrific songs that speak to the souls of some of us". Well, the same is true for the movie Fight Club because it gave/gives us quotes like this one that speaks to my mind and my soul. And if it does that for me, and obviously for you, then it definitely does for others. Thanks for sharing it. 🤍
Trent is from my hometown and a great person. He is so wholesome and humble. Beautiful song that touches so many .
What a masterpiece. I didn’t appreciate it when I was younger.
IMO this is the live version that I enjoy the most. It's just beautiful in every aspect, Trent on the piano, the way it's directed, the silent crowd ...
I know even he said Johnnys version was better but nah Trent this is yours brother. What a song
that is one of the most emotional performances I've ever seen. Awesome.
The song speaks so much.
I have loved it from day 1 until today hearing this again!
I didn't understand the pain from the lyrics when I was a kid.
As an adult my whole entire body feels it.
Thank you!