Pop Song 18 'Hurt' Trent Reznor Johnny Cash version 1994

'Hurt' Trent Reznor Johnny Cash version Cyrus Saladin Ming October 21, 2020

In 2002, Johnny Cash covered "Hurt" to commercial and critical acclaim. The related music video is considered one of the greatest of all time by publications such as NME. Reznor praised Cash's interpretation of the song for its "sincerity and meaning," going so far as to say "that song isn't mine anymore.

The song includes references to self-harm and heroin addiction, though the overall meaning of the song is disputed. Some listeners contend that the song acts as a suicide note written by the song's protagonist, as a result of his depression, while others claim that it describes the difficult process of finding a reason to live in spite of depression and pain and does not have much to do with the storyline of The Downward Spiral