No, this is NOT a Johnny Cash cover...

It had been a while since I had last listened to Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt." I listened to a few different renditions of it today, including a really cool one featuring David Bowie (check it out below). It really is a violent, yet beautiful song; angry but peaceful; loud but quiet. That probably sounds like a load of rubbish to you. I'm not sure exactly how else to describe the power that "Hurt" relays to the listener. The best advice I can give you is to give it a good, long listen.


Contrary to popular belief, Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails did not cover Johnny Cash when they recorded "Hurt." It was actually the other way around. Cash was so moved by Reznor's "Hurt" that he chose to cover Nine Inch Nails. If that isn't a compliment to the fantastic work of Reznor, then I don't know what is.

Have a listen to Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt." It's a personal favourite.

Hurt by Nine Inch Nails

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
I try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become
My sweetest friend?
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of sh*t
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become
My sweetest friend?
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end

You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way