Tears Well Up: “Hurt” by Johnny Cash with a Commentary by Trent Reznor

This past week I was talking about depressing songs with a friend. I played one track for him that I consider depressing, Morrissey’s “Everyday is Like Sunday” (which can be found on Morrissey’s Bona Drag album). The track is mostly depressing because of the lyrics — the music is not particularly depressing. My friend then asked if I’d ever heard “Hurt” by Johnny Cash. I said no. So he played the song for me. I was blown away. Few tracks actually make tears well up in my eyes — this song is now among them. Here is a video of “Hurt” as sung by Johnny Cash:

“Hurt” is actually a cover of a song by the same name by Trent Reznor. In the following video, Reznor gives a short commentary about Cash’s cover of the song:

“Hurt” was the last song recorded by Johnny Cash before he passed away on September 12, 2003. It can be found on American IV: The Man Comes Around

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