Johnny Cash: Hurt

I had completely forgotten about Johnny Cash’s cover of the Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” until my memory had been rekindled by the use of the song over the credits for the movie “Columbiana.” Song writer Trent Reznor commented that he was a bit skeptical about Johnny Cash doing the song, but when he saw the video, he commented “I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine anymore.”

That was the key to the success of this 2003 cover version – Johnny Cash made it his own version. The video, shot 7 months before Cash’s death and 3 months prior to the death of June Carter, detailed the past successes and the present condition of Cash’s career and health. Even the Cash home where the video was shot had a shot life – succumbing to a fire just four years later.

The single was CMT’s Single of the Year in 2003, CMT’s Top Video of the Year for 2003, #1 on CMT’s 100 Greatest Country Videos, and was the only time Cash ever crossed over to Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart where it placed at #33.