It is said that when Johnny's daughter saw the video, she said, "It's almost like you're saying goodbye" in which he replied, "I am."

@cydrych

3 ай бұрын

I saw an interview on tv with her telling that story years ago and have been looking for it ever since and can’t find it anywhere. I can’t remember who was conducting the interview or which network I was watching.

@cydrych

3 ай бұрын

@@davidwalton3604 well, maybe that’s why I can’t find it. Thanks.

@a-6610

3 ай бұрын

Not trying to nitpick, but his reply was "Well maybe I am."

@Heartstrings234Skyla

2 ай бұрын

His daughter passed away before he did.

@cydrych

2 ай бұрын

@@Heartstrings234Skyla one did but he had more.

Trent from Nine Inch Nails was asked how he felt about Johnny's cover of his song, Trent said "that song belongs to Johnny now"

@krazzybastard

3 ай бұрын

Yes I seen that and he’s right

@nathanpapp432

2 ай бұрын

Trent's version is still better.

@danewood2309

2 ай бұрын

@@nathanpapp432 not according to trent

@nathanpapp432

2 ай бұрын

@@danewood2309 When did trent ever say he thought this version was better?

@danewood2309

2 ай бұрын

@@nathanpapp432 in Interview ""Reznor was eventually able to realize the work of art that Cash had created from the track. The poignant music video for the song was what did it for him. "It really, really made sense and I thought what a powerful piece of art ... For anyone who hasn't seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. I have goose bumps right now thinking about it," he said, then patted himself on the back for his part in the whole thing. "I never got to meet Johnny but I'm happy I contributed the way I did. It felt like a warm hug." After the video won him over, Reznor went on to say what he should have said the moment he heard that Cash was interested in recording it. "Having Johnny Cash, one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time, want to cover your song, that's something that matters to me. It's not so much what other people think but the fact that this guy felt that it was worthy of interpreting. He said afterwards it was a song that sounds like one he would have written in the '60s and that's wonderful." The cover was released to critical acclaim, and as the Financial Times noted in 2019, the song pretty much became a Johnny Cash song. "That song isn't mine anymore," said Reznor.""

Lyrically identical - presentation is EVERYTHING. NIN is feeling the harsh reality of life - Johnny is feeling the weight of a lifetime of decisions.

@dwaynehorton8983

2 ай бұрын

There’s only one word changed in Johnnys version, he wears a crown of “Thorns”, Trent’s crown was made of something else entirely.

@CyberChunk77

2 ай бұрын

@@dwaynehorton8983 I was just about to say that Trent's was definitely not thorns. It was a crown of shit.

@WilliamRoop-xt6rp

2 ай бұрын

I understand that one word differed, but the lyric means the same no matter which version is sung... It's wearing a false crown. But thank you for the clarification.

@dwaynehorton8983

2 ай бұрын

@@WilliamRoop-xt6rp it actually has a slight difference in meaning, the crown of thorns is a biblical refrence referring to the one placed upon Jesus’s head, it was a symbol of pain, suffering and discomfort where Trent’s crown of shit is more of a symbol of unimportance and disgust, like being the king of nothing. That’s how I interpret the change. It also lends to Johnnys version connecting with his life story in a more visceral way. Even Trent said the words seemed to mean more when he heard Johnny sing them.

@merkaba0635

Ай бұрын

One is theist one is an atheist.

77 years old and I watch this and wonder what the hell was the point of a lifetime of work ,family, laughter tears etc etc. The finality of Johnny closing that piano cover sucks the tears out of this old guy every time. IT IS DONE

@jwoody27

2 ай бұрын

I'm 43 and can't get through this video without some tears.

@L0vac

2 ай бұрын

Good moments. Family, laugh, vacations, sunsets. The journey. We'll all end sometimes. It's up to each individual to find that WHY.

@zodiactauruss

2 ай бұрын

I wanted to tell you that many people from the other side of the world, including me, share your feelings.

@davidschlecht3979

2 ай бұрын

We feel the same. Thank you for being who you are. God Bless us all. We will see what the future holds in store for us....

@mirandaschalen

Ай бұрын

“- Why me? - That is a very Earthling question to ask, Mr. Pilgrim. Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber? - Yes. - Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.” ― Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Slaughterhouse-Five Don't believe everything you think. It's great to have you here, in this lifetime.

Sees someone is reacting to this song. Asks himself "Do I want to ugly cry right now?" The video really helps hit you in the feels...

@lucasogden9457

2 ай бұрын

Same, buddy. Same.

@Dcoy-um3hl

2 ай бұрын

This is definitely one I only like to listen to on solo drives in the truck

Somebody said that Trent wrote it a a fear of the future. Johnny sung it as a regret for the past.

@dorktriogamer2865

Ай бұрын

A comment ive seen is reznor wrote it as a suicide note, cash made it a eulogy

Johnny's version has a finality to it, while Nine Inch Nails' was an intermezzo, a momentary state. A life lived versus a life in transition.

@BrianKoppe

Ай бұрын

One thing that is unfortunately lost when hearing Hurt by Nine Inch Nails on its own instead of within the context of the album on which it appears is that it loses that sense of finality. Because within the context of the concept album, it is extremely extremely final. It is still powerful on its own but it really is best when heard as part of the whole.

It is sad to think within 11 months, they both died. R.i.p. Johnny and June Carter Cash.

The artistic courage of Cash recording this cover so late in his life is beyond impressive.

@PristineTX

2 ай бұрын

The moment Rick Rubin suggested this song to Cash was the moment Rubin went from a wildly successful producer to a certified GREAT producer.

@erickent3557

2 ай бұрын

@@PristineTX Yeah, Rick Rubin deserves a lot of credit... it's a great, great production

@user-mq5zt1gk4p

Ай бұрын

It was a hell of a way to go out. I still prefer the NIN version, but I respect the hell out of this cover.

I'm 47 years old now, and the lyrics of this song hit progressively harder with the closing of each new day. Brilliant writing, and a timeless and perfect cover/tribute to Reznor's penned genius. We all have an empire of dirt.

When I heard Johnny's cover and especially with the video, I swore it was like Trent wrote this song for Mr. Cash. Knowing the little I do about Johnny's life, it just seems so fitting for him to sing it. Add to that how old he looks, the emotion in his eyes, and just the age and tiredness in his still beautiful voice... let's just say I was not surprised that he passed on not too long after this. RIP, Johnny. I still recall that time me dad found a way to sneak his 8 year old son to the side of the stage to watch you sing a song in concert. And if the security guard who caught us but let us stay until it ended is still alive, thank you to you as well.

@martyboy5602

3 ай бұрын

After hearing this version and seeing this video, Trent Reznor is said to have stated "This is no longer my song. It's his."

@jdgrant5888

2 ай бұрын

I heard that Mr Reznor's first reaction when they ask him about Johnny Cash doing his song that it was "I don't know how anyone thinks they could feel the pain that I felt when I wrote this song" after listening and seeing it he is said to have commented "I don't know how I could have known I was writing this song for him to sing" whether it's true or not I have no idea

@gtjohns220

2 ай бұрын

Hip Hop Legend Rick Rubin brought this song to Cash and convinced him to record it.

Dammit......I cannot watch this video without tears welling up in my eyes. Every time.

@genny5309

2 ай бұрын

Every. Time.

@abugewww8013

2 ай бұрын

I was doing okay 'til they showed June looking on.

@hmao4466

2 ай бұрын

Same

I could see you fighting back the tears toward the end of this video. No shame in crying from what Johnny makes you feel with this. Everyone does. It's very human.

"The needle tears a hole" hits like a bolt of lightning when Cash sings it (he's an old Junky). It's as if Trent wrote the song for himself and Johnny Cash.

@byronhutchinson28

2 ай бұрын

Cash was never a needle junky he was addicted to pills.

Mad respect for you letting the video finish before commenting

Man, I cry every time I watch the video and listen to the song. So vulnerable and yet powerful. I need a minute...

@pilotdane1

23 күн бұрын

well said !!!!!

"Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend." - Trent Reznor

@synystera

3 ай бұрын

very subtle...

@Thelemorf

3 ай бұрын

And doing it much better

@UseLogicNotEmotion

3 ай бұрын

Yes, But after he watched the video he completely changed his mind and said "It's Cash's song now"!

@keltonhutchison5951

3 ай бұрын

@@UseLogicNotEmotion He said that before he watched the video. You are so correct.

@JasenHeffner

2 ай бұрын

he didn't say " kissing" lol

This song gives me chills. It's as if Reznor wrote the song for Cash.

@maximusdiximus-4827

2 ай бұрын

For reals

As an older person, the lyrics definitely hit different. Hearing Cash sing this at the end of his career and life is so powerful and resonant. RIP to The Man In Black.

I saw a glimpse of what appeared to be a physical reaction from you at the end of the first run of the video. Do not shy away from showing that. We come here to see not only your analysis of a song/video, we want to see how it actually effects you too. I can say with no shame that when I first saw this video, it hit me in the gut and had me in tears.

His version speaks to that generation and end of life. I watched my dad out live all his friends, his wife, family, etc. his version of this song really brought my dads feelings to life in a way that could be understood. Powerful doesn’t do this song justice it really is the spoken words of a soul❤️

@richdiddens4059

3 ай бұрын

I've watched this video for a while now and it's always emotional. This was first time I watched it since I suddenly lost my wife about a month ago. Like a sledge hammer of emotion.

@ganggreen9012

3 ай бұрын

A year or so before my grandmother passed away her best friend passed. At the time she commented that all of her close friends were gone.

LOVE THIS.i. 72 yrs old.the small white house is Johnny's childhood home. Where his older brother died in tragic sawmill accident with big saw. Before Child Labor laws. Love Johnny Cash.

The line "everyone I know goes away in the end" hits harder with Cash's cover. A life heavy with regret, after watching so many people you love die, and the rest abandoning you to age alone, as the world leaves you behind. There is nothing more tragic, and yet it's a doom that hangs over us all. Help is never coming, any hope is empty. All you can do is process the reality and the regrets to try to make peace. This rendition breaks my heart every time I hear it. It's pure tragic beauty, and it captures an intrinsic part of the mortal Human experience (namely the last chapters).

@dianalong6893

2 ай бұрын

This is like what have I done to be alone in old age

I love both versions for very different reasons. Your "urgency" comment about NIN hits for me because I always felt NIN's version was someone in pain and anguish wanting out, whereas Johnny's version is about reminiscing and regret. Both are great for their own reasons. Thank you again for a wonderful analysis!

@maximusdiximus-4827

2 ай бұрын

Agreed

@thecamosoupbone1273

2 ай бұрын

Agree fully. What I like about the 2 pieces is regret with different contexts. Both feels like regret. Cash's version feels more like a sad regret. Definitely reflective with clarity. Like he is accepting and making peace. Where Reznor's version has a feeling of Anxiety. I agree a sense of urgency feels accurate. Almost like he is still trying to make sense of his situation. Definitely like a deep depressive feeling with energy and anxiety. Both amazing.

This song always gives me the "Ozymandias" vibes : "... My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away."

I cry every time I watch this video. It captures all the emotions, experiences, reflections, and regrets of a life.

@maximusdiximus-4827

2 ай бұрын

For real. I feel the same but I still keep coming back to those song.

His voice is so haunting in this. Just an amazing artist, RIP Johnny.

the greatest gift Trent gave to humanity was this song to Johnny, thank you Rick Rubin G.O.A.T. for this song

This version of Hunt really brings home the point of "At a certain point, life starts taking more than it gives". It is one of those rare amazing covers of an already great song, that can easily stand on it's own. Thank you for going over both versions in this manner, very respectful.

I've watched many of your videos - this is the first time I have seen you speechless!

Two totally different versions.....sung by totally different generations with different views towards life in different stages of life..... both very touching in a very special way Thanks for all your warm words!🧡

@mistiekirk58

2 ай бұрын

Love me some johnny cash😊

I always felt Trent was singing from the present, Johnny from the past yet the lyrics match both perfectly

The pain in this song and his emptiness is so heartfelt 💔

This is a masterpiece and was truly his goodbye as he passed 7 months after this was shot.

Hi TV, i find this song so moving in Johnny's version, it's hard to put to words, and although I can relate to most of it, besides the needle reference, i actually feel the loss through similar experiences in my life, so this is a song that will always sing true to me, RIP JC, Rock On!

Greetings from Scotland. Absolutely love your reactions. I can never watch this version without crying. As someone nearer the end than the beginning it has an added resonance. Regards, Howard.

One of my favorite songs, but also very sad. Especially when I think of how June died 3 months after filming for the music video and him following her 4 months later. I believe they were soulmates, even if it wasn't easy at times. May they rest easy.

I enjoyed this very much. I felt like the original is plaintive and begging for help, while the cover was more contemplative and knowing the time for help was past.

the reaction at 3:45 is the most honest reaction without saying word....i've heard the song 100 time but still react that way.....

What might be the greatest lyrics ever written: "If I could start again a million miles away, I would keep myself. I would find a way".

This is Johnny Cash …. An old man pouring his heart out,for me heart wrenching, regret and loss, absent existence

Admit it, you struggled not to cry! I am a NIN fan, but the visual story telling in this song, backed up with Johnny Cash's vocal ability, and his frailty makes this a moving song. I also believe it was the last song he ever did.

I have never been a Country music fan, but I've always liked Johnny, in no small part because he sings in my range. This cover was a master class in making a final statement. His wife, June, who appeared in the video, died a few months after this was recorded. Johnny followed her a few months afterwards. I don't think he opened that piano again after filming this.

@michaelpalmer2143

2 ай бұрын

I dislike country myself but love most of Cash's music. But I never considered his music country. Most of it fits much better into the Folk category, which I do like. Even the music he did with The Highwayman, a supergroup featuring 3 other country stars, feels closer to Folk than Country.

My reaction is like yours: tears in eyes, speechless, just play it again and again.....

the johnny cash rendition just strikes right at the heart, it just owns it in a way that no other could - nothing beats experience. another great cover and one of the best live vocal performances that owns a song beyond any other rendition (leonard cohen called it perfection): K.D. Lang sings Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah (2005 juno awards). she's barefoot with an orchestra and wow can that woman sing.

Hurt was my song in the 90s, when I was a teenager and reached adulthood (between my 17 and 20 years old). It was angry, desperate, raw. Hurt is my song in the 2020s, when I'm and older man (in my 40s). It is sad, introspective, final.

After hearing Johnny Cash's version, Trent Reznor said that Hurt was now Johnny Cash's song. Such a powerful performance. 🙌✌️

Johnny felt every last word of this song in his soul.

This is such an intimate and personal performance! I completely understand people saying that this song 'belongs' to the man in black. RIP. Great reaction, Bethany!

You watched the entire video without pause, a wise, wise choice. I remember showing this video to my Country-fan wife, me being the Gen X Grunger of the pair, and at the end, she could only say, "Whoa!"

Johnny took this song for sure Trent said so himself So much emotion and power

No matter how many times I watch his versions, it breaks me up seeing him close the piano at the end. Because he’s done forever.

I love this version of the song. Came here to say that hearing this in the trailers to the movie Wolverine kind of broke me. Nothing like seeing your heroes living their regret.

Brings me to tears every time time. Such a musically and emotionally raw interpretation.

Mr. Johnny Cash's life work will live forever, and such a testament to Trent Reznor's musical and lyrical genius as well. ❤️

Johnny covered that song and owned it! His version always gets the eyes a little watery. Great performance!

I'm highly avoidant of emotion and I'm near tears every time hearing this song. Trent and Johnny are two of the greatest.

There isn’t a particular moment where the tears come in, it just builds from the beginning until it overflows.

When I was a teenager back in in 96 97 I first heard nin version and felt the angst and sadness of being alone and not wanting to be and adored the song when I heard Johnny's being older and more aware I feel it in a different way and just love the feeling of sorrow and life with the iconic sound of his voice and love his tribute to the genre

I felt your exhale and "okay" at the end. You must have taken a moment to compose yourself. I could see your eyes were swimming in tears. It is such a beautifully heart wrenching version. Johnny gave his 100% on that track.

When Trent Reznor wrote this song, he was singing it from a different place. It was dark and brooding. And then comes JR Cash. Similar reasons, but it was as though he was singing his eulogy. He knew his time was short, and this was the song to be remembered for all time. The end of this video always hits me pretty hard. When he closes the lid on the piano and wipes it down. There will never be another Johnny Cash The love and hurt that June Carter had in her eyes is a love we all want. She tragically passed shortly after the video was made, and he passed not too much later. A lifetime of love, and memories summed up beautifully in just a few short minutes. "When Reznor was asked if Cash could record a rendition of the NIN song, the rock frontman noted he was flattered but wondered if the song might come across as too “gimmicky.” But the music video and Cash’s recording assuaged his worries. Said Reznor, “I pop the video in, and wow… Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps… Wow. [I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine anymore… It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. [Somehow] that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning - different, but every bit as pure.”

To hear Trent Reznor say after hearing a song that was so personal his at first felt weird but after seeing the video he was left crying and said that that song is now his. Such an emotional good bye.

I am an old man who has delt with deep depression and the loss of loved ones. This song helped me through that.

@pilotdane1

23 күн бұрын

God Bless you Sir - You may or may not realize it - but there are people out there (here) who are praying for you and you family - I am right there with you my brother !!! Cheers my friend !!!!!

I think this video is a truly beautiful piece of art.

I've heard this version of the song so many times and it tears me down every. single. time.

I think what hit me the hardest in this video was June standing on the stairs looking at Johnny. It's almost as if you could read her thoughts on her face and she knew this was his swan song.

Love having the full song reaction, and only then going back for analysis

I have loved this song and this video for a long time, and it rarely fails to draw tears. But watching my own emotions play over your beautiful face is something I won’t soon forget. In those moments, I was suddenly not alone. Thank you so much for sharing your open heart. What a gift!

This was a masterpiece, IMHO. And it gets me in the 'feels' ... every ... single ... time. The significance of this song isn't so much in the execution of the music - but in its powerful communication. This is a gift not given to all performers, and not found in every work. It is rare. Thank you for your reaction and analysis.

"Everyone I know goes away in the end"... cut to the picture of Johnny's mother on the wall who had graduated to heaven many years earlier. Some songs stand on their own, but this rendition of the song and the accompanying video are so powerfully intertwined that the music alone just isn't the same w/o the visuals. Even after he sings that line a second time later in the song we cut to a short black & white clip of a home surrounded by flood waters which reflects a real event in Johnny's young life when he was 5 and his family home was nearly destroyed in a flood (and would one day inspire the song "Five Feet High and Rising"). That was the first major tragedy of many that Johnny would face in his life, the next being the horrific accidental death of his older brother Jack just 7 years later.

Gosh I love both versions but this one makes us all cry. I just echo what everyone else is saying that they take on such different emotions yet equally important. I also appreciate everyone being kind and positive. Love yall.

Trent pretty much gave this song to Johnny after hearing this version. He's honored that he could blow this song away in a reflective way. Love that you listened to the whole thing at first.

There should be a gutpunch emoji for these. I never can make it to the end. Not many years left . Things chosen, things leftvto choose

Watching this reminded me of my heart on first listen, as I watched note by note as this broke you. I may have never seen my feelings so clearly on somebody else's face. At my, now advanced age, I used this version to inspire a poem, that I will leave to be read at my funeral service. It's not so devastating, but reflective and an old guy's look back. Thank your for being you, Bethany! You are a treasure.

Good job! You held it together very well there - which is more than I've ever been able to do when listening to and watching this magnificent version.. Talk about taking a song and making it your own!

Being 80 there so much in this performance that I can associate with in my own life as more and more of your friends and family are gone and how you wish you had done certain things differently ,enjoyed your reaction, thumbs up 👍

There are song that hit differently from different points in life. I feel this way about "Landslide" for instance. Are you a grown up child who's lived your life around your parents, or are you an aging parent with grown up children? The same perspective shift is what I feel works here, not just with why/how people go away, but also what a person considers to be their "empire of dirt" which can be a well earned empire, but you know you can't take it with you, so the time of life makes it metaphorical dirt, while it can still be a bunch of other things one has either ruined, or mistakes one has made, or relationships, etc.

There's a common element applicable to both versions i.e. both artists displayed a self destructive aspect in their personality which manifested in driving those closest to them away. "And you can have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt." But then, what the hell would I know!😊

This version was about Johnny when listening. It’s incredibly sad. The original was about me, hearing it. Played it over and over and over again. It was a song to play when you’re hurting as well.

I loved seeing how this version touched you. The original NIN album version for Hurt grips my soul when I hear it, and I couldnt even get through your reaction video of the live version without whelling up. Then, seeing you have the kind of reaction to Cashs version that I get from Trent's version, just gives me goosebumps when I think about how powerful the song is...that it can be delivered through another singer and manage to give you the feeling it gave me.

Studying your micro expressions literally made me cry in sequence with your level. What an amazing thing to be able to experience as an empath without having to actually be in front of someone in person, which can be embarrassing to say the least. Thank you for showing your face during this without cuts or edits. I appreciate you.

@joefor88

3 ай бұрын

@@D.m_TeI.egram_me_TheVocalystTV Nah, I would prefer to deal with the actual "The Vocalyst" not some scammer who created their YT channel today. I certainly hopes she sees this and bans you.

You're Killin me with this song. I'm not crying you are

I, honestly, implore you to do a third episode with the original NIN studio recording of “Hurt”. I know that, as a vocalist, you’re probably more interested in hearing the live version. However, as a musician, I have to say that vocals are only really part of the equation and the way that they interact with the textures of the music on the studio recording makes this song one of very few I would ever label as “A perfect song”, if such a thing exists. Please consider it.

Trent wrote that song was from the perspective of someone going through life situations that cause addiction, and Johnny performed it as someone who lived through the addictions and has the regretful perspective of it.

Though NIN's version is a young man dealing with depression, and Cash's version is an old man resigning himself to the end of his life--they both deal with the impacts of substance abuse and addition on the people they've loved. But I think nearly everyone finds a connection to this song, facing our mortality and how we've impacted those we love.

I have the same reaction as you everytime I here Mr. Cash sing this beautiful song.

You know you are listening to a heart wrenching hits you in the gut song when the reactor doesn't pause it once!

There are no words. We only get one Johnny Cash. We could sure use some of him in these days. May He Rest In Peace.

Probably the strongest piece of music you’ll ever hear.

What good lirics, a good interpreter and a good presentation can do.... wow

The cash version has the added boost of a well done music video to enhance the emotion.

A truly unique voice that is much missed. Thank you.

The NIN original has been incredibly important to me since my teens, one of those songs that kept me alive, held me from the edge, consoled me when I was at the bottom. When I heard that Johnny Cash had made a cover, even though I respect him and his work, I was kinda pissed off. I didn't want to listen to it, afraid of how it could affect my love of the song. But I eventually watched the music video, and heard this version for the first time. And I got it. I felt it and heard it in a completely different way. The original holds a special place for me and always will. And this version hold another, different special place. As you put it, they are 2 different songs. Two other modern covers I feel the same way about: Disturbed covering The Sound Of Silence, and Kasey Chambers cover of Lose Yourself.

@asquare9316

3 ай бұрын

I hear you. Even Trent Reznor said, after hearing Johnny's version, that it was now Johnny's song.

@ganggreen9012

3 ай бұрын

I resisted listening to Disturbed's "Sound of Silence" for a couple of years because I couldn't picture a group with that name being respectful to the original. It's been my favorite version since the first time I saw the Conan video.

@Lemon-qs3uz

3 ай бұрын

​@@asquare9316Not what he said lol. Trent didn't even like the cover but once he saw the video his opinion changed

@asquare9316

3 ай бұрын

@@Lemon-qs3uz Here's a quote from an interview with Trent by Geoff Rickly of the Alternative Press: " I pop the video in, and... wow. Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps... Wow. I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine any more." lol

I swear I see you cry, and then you edit it out. I saw it here and I saw it in your review of Disturb’s Sound of Silence. Show how moved you are, let the emotions flow. It’s a human reaction to show emotion.

The tender loving way he closed the piano at the end has such finality to it. And the depth of emotion he carries in this performance is incredible. This is one of the most emotionally charged pieces of music I've ever heard, and no matter how many times I hear it, it has the potential to being me to tears.

Beyond the lyrics and melody, the common thread here is "Anguish". That is apparent in both songs. But that is a complex and nuanced emotion that can be conveyed in many different ways, from rage to defeat. I'm partial to the original because it came out when I was an angsty teen, lol. It struck a chord with me, very relatable. But this version is equal in it's impact, just different. And as I get older Cash's version gets more and more relatable. I don't see them as even being all that different, it's a song that just evolves to remain relevant. It's elemental to the human condition. But you really should hear David Bowie covering it. If I had to choose a favorite version, that would be it. I don't think it stands out as much as either of the versions you've reacted to so far as being distinctly original, but there's something about it that I can't quite put my finger on... It's just good. It's more nuanced.

FYI: June was sick when this video was done and came down to check on Johnny. The shot was so prophetic that it was kept in the video. June passed away within a few months after this video was released. Johnny passed away shortly thereafter. RIP John and June.

As a metal head, I'd heard the original years ago, when I first heard this one, i didn't recognize it was a cover. Yes the words are the same, but artist always puts their "touch" on a piece. Both are masterful in their own way.

Johnny inadvertently made this song his own. No one can ever emulate his story, ... his age, ... his pain.

The 2 versions sound to me like the 9 inch one is someone still battling his addiction where Johnny's is where he has passed the fire and is in sobriety for years because I see my life that way. sober 21 years. When he sings about it, you can feel and see the phantoms of the pain worry and hurt he caused in his addiction. I heard this song first when I was at the beginning of my sobriety. It helped me stay on that path. The 9 inch nails sounds more like the day after. While you are active in your addiction. The phantoms make you stay to forget about what you did. So you continue.