That genius writing you spoke of came from Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails. You might want to listen to that one. The differences between a young man with his life spinning out of control and an old man reflecting on his life and regrets and the pain of mistakes you can't fix is stark and amazing.

@cross062993

10 ай бұрын

This was a beautiful breakdown of the dichotomy of this cover.

@wanitalane7802

7 ай бұрын

After hearing Johnny’s version Trent said it was no longer his song. So different than the original. ❤

This is one of the best covers of all time, if not the best. You hear a lot of talk about artists making songs their own when they cover them; this is the epitome of that. Summed up nicely by Trent Reznor himself who said “I wasn’t prepared for what I saw, and it really then, wasn’t my song anymore.”

@dillonsronce2583

Жыл бұрын

I read in an interview that that after he saw this version of the song, he no longer considered it to belong to nine inch nails. And that he felt like he was born to write this song but it was Johnny who was born to sing it not him (Trent)

@katherandefy

Жыл бұрын

Trent is also as real as it gets and a wonderful person from what I have read. Incredible writer.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who originally wrote and sang Hurt, said of the Johnny Cash version, "I'd been friends with Rick Rubin (the promoter who put the project together) for several years. He called me to ask how I'd feel if Johnny Cash covered Hurt. I said I'd be very flattered but was given no indication it would actually be recorded. Two weeks went by, then I got a CD in the post. I listened to it and it was very strange. It was this other person inhabiting my most personal song. I'd known where I was when I wrote it. I know what I was thinking about. I know how I felt. Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend. It felt invasive." But then the Nine Inch Nails star also said, "It really, really made sense and I thought what a powerful piece of art. I never got to meet Johnny but I'm happy I contributed the way I did. It felt like a warm hug. I have goosebumps right now thinking about 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."

@katherandefy

Жыл бұрын

Wow

@JimBlueFitness

5 ай бұрын

I'd heard his take on it before, but reading again today, I was struck not only by the honesty of how he initially felt upon hearing the Cash version, but also by the humility and grace with which he accepted the amazing thing that had happened with his song.

Johnny and his wife June Carter Cash in the video together is really a thing to cherish. June was a member of really THE pioneering country music family, the Carter Family, who sang very traditional mountain style country music. June actually wrote Ring of Fire long before they were married. She was a much bigger star than Johnny when they first met and he had admired her as a fan long before he was ever famous. Their classic song together is the duet of the song, Jackson. With his marriage to June, Johnny found sobriety and the happiness that had evaded him for much of his life, and she died and within a few months Johnny passed as well within the year following this video.

Hurt is one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs. It mirrors the turbulent times in his life and that his love ones are passing away. The sudden stop of the dramatic piano and the closing of the piano lid is a powerful ending to this emotional song which feels like Johnny is saying goodbye.

@JariJuslin

Жыл бұрын

And to make it all more powerful it was his former home, now almost in ruins, and when he closes the piano in the end of the video and caresses it, that was the very last time he ever played it. The broken gold records and statues were not movie decoration, it was all real shit.

@katherandefy

Жыл бұрын

😮

@Ickshter2112

Жыл бұрын

Funny you say that. His daughter watched the video and song and told Johnny that it sounded like he was saying goodbye and Johnny replied he was.

I'm here in Florida and it's 90 outside and inside 85 since I have no air-conditioning either. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails wrote this song in a period of despair for himself, a personal and intimate look into what he was going through. Johnny's manager thought this was something that would be perfect for Johnny and approached Trent. He gave his permission and when he received the CD he regretted having done so. Johnny had wrestled with the song and needed to be convinced that it was right. He went through it time and again before he decided it was okay. He sent the video to Trent who took a deep breath and said, "I wrote this, but it's Johnny's song now." June (his wife) you saw on the staircase, and Roseanne, their daughter said, "It sounds like you are saying goodbye." "I am." June died 3 months later and Johhny about 4 months after her. To me, the haunting regrets of a lifetime are brutal, and as I am close to his age, it crosses my lifespan as well. The song is personal and intimate and a masterpiece written by Trent Reznor and taken to Johnny Cash's heart.

Anyone who knows the story of Johnny Cash's life can't help but be amazed that this WASN'T written about him. It is so powerful.

This song was originally written & performed by "Nine Inch Nails". It was written about drugs & depression. But Johnny Cash's version is considered the best. His version is more about regret for past mistakes in life & realizing material things & fame mean nothing in the end. When the video was filmed in February 2003, Cash was 71 years old & had serious health problems. His frailty is clearly evident in the video. He died seven months later, on September 12 & his wife, June Carter Cash, who is shown gazing at her husband in two sequences of the video, had died on May 15 of the same year.

@davehertle

Жыл бұрын

In the video, June Carter Cash is gazing at her husband from the stairs. I am told in real life, as they recorded this scene, she had just returned home from a Doctor's report that her condition was terminal. Such a finality!

@melissastruxness512

Жыл бұрын

But Johnny was definitely on a lot of drugs when he was younger so fits there too

@redangel169

Жыл бұрын

I don't think its better than the NIN version. I love both for different reasons

@Hobodeluxe960

Жыл бұрын

@@davehertle yeah they both knew their time was short. this to me is an apology to June for all the crap he put her through in his wild years.

@Metzwerg74

Жыл бұрын

when Trent Reznor(Frontman of NIN and composer of this song) heard Johnny´s version of the song, he said:" this is not my song anymore....now, it´s Johnny´s...."

My father loved Johnny Cash. Daddy passed away at 57, and I am now 53. Who do I turn to for advice now that I am the oldest in my family? I do get this song. I love your empathy, Peter. I know you will do a phenomenal job with the song.

@HerriCaine

Жыл бұрын

My Dad passed away aged 57 when I was almost 20yrs old & although I'm not the eldest child in my family the passing of my Father caused our family to drift & fall apart. I have 4 siblings that I don't speak to because they've caused me so much pain since our Dad passed. I have an adult daughter & one of the things I've learned from my Father's unexpected passing was to @ least have Funeral Insurance. We had no money to bury our Father in 1993 & all but one of my siblings left the cost of the Funeral & Headstone up to me, long story short -I ended up Bankrupt. I couldn't believe how cold my own siblings were to leave me to pay the bill although I was a solo Mother. My Mother was experiencing a huge amount of mental anguish that lasted 10 yrs after my Dad's passing. If my Parents/Dad had invested in some "Life Insurance" then my Mum wouldn't have lost everything financially also my Mother & I wouldn't have had to loose everything which caused irreversible damage in our lives mentally.

I heard that after the recording session and the close of the piano, his daughter told him, "you sound like you are saying goodbye." He looked up and said, "I am." I know I am close but if off in any way I welcome correction. Thanks for the great content! (as always!)

@gabrielstratton1775

Жыл бұрын

This may be somewhat apocryphal, but I have heard that after he closed that piano, it has never since been opened and sits nearly untouched in the House of Cash museum

Usually, it's sad to hear an artist who once had a massive, vibrant voice try to sing when he's "past his prime" because he's trying to sing as if he still HAD the massive, vibrant voice. Cash was smart enough to recognize the changes in his voice and embrace them. Honestly, I don't think he could have done justice to this song when he was young. But this was magnificent.

@JariJuslin

Жыл бұрын

Indeed. Part of why this hits so hard is that hearing his voice you *know* he's seen and done it all. It is clear from the voice alone that when he tells us that it's too late for him to fix anything anymore it is very much true.

@Eileen_in_Vegas

Жыл бұрын

@@JariJuslin The emotion on his face while he's singing is all genuine, too. I watched his career for decades - through all the bad and the good. He has definitely "been there, done that".

Not to mention the pain in his eyes - it's heartbreakingly beautiful.

This performance is nothing but saying goodbye to life in the most honest way.

Peter you missed the final point. He closes the piano key cover and the way he runs his hands over the cover. It made a finale statement.

The older I get, the more this version resonates. Very much appreciate your reaction and analysis here.

I really liked this as a NIN song, but what Cash brought to it made it so much more real and raw. He managed to bring these struggles and lyrics to a different crowd

It's always amazed me at how differently the meaning of the lyrics come across in this version vs NIN.

This is an epic cover, as only a legend like Johnny can do. I love that his voice isn’t as strong as we all knew it to be, because it adds so much emotion. Makes me cry every time. Looking forward to your analysis.

@Sanders-vd3tp

Жыл бұрын

I sob every time, even now, when Peter interrupted it many times (which I don't mind, that's what he's here for). It is also amazing how it's really work of many people to produce this piece. Not only Reznor, then Cash and musicians and producers working with him, but also a director and the scenographer of the mv. It all comes together so perfectly conveying these meanings and emotions. Yet it's also so simple.

Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails wrote this song and upon hearing Cash's version, he was quoted as saying...."its his song now" referring to how cash covered it

@karbear26

Жыл бұрын

That’s awesome

Rick Rubin was the producer. He suggested this song for Cash to cover but didn’t get a response. So Rubin suggested it again and made it the first suggestion so Cash would really notice it. When asked why Rubin was so insistent that Cash cover it, Rubin said, “it’s the lyrics.”

I would love to see a conversation between you and Elizabeth of The Charismatic Voice. She also discusses how voices change in her analysisisises and I think both of you discussing that would be fascinating.

This is one cover where I feel like I can say it was actually made for the person covering it (Johnny Cash). He was not only an advocate for addicts' and prisoners' rights (performing in prisons till his death) but he was overall a pretty progressive man for his time and even compared to country stars now. Johnny Cash was a great man and he should be appreciated alongside other progressive country artists like Dolly Parton.

The original of this song is heroin, anger, and youth. This version is alcohol, regret, and age. I love the original. It's super-goth and intense. But Cash's cover is profound.

Johnny and June Carter Cash are one of the great love stories in Nashville. If you listen to country music, you will hear them referenced in many song. She passed shortly after this song and Johnny within a few months of that. A memory of mine with this song is my son, he was 18, I have always listened to country music but like most teens, that was mom's music and he stubbornly did not listen to it. This came out at a time you could still put videos on tv for the background and I would while I was doing school work. Every time, didn't matter what time of the day, that this song came on, my son would come out of his room and stand there and watch it. It hit everyone so hard when it came out. It still to this day takes my breath away. thank you for your reaction.

He is so talented & experienced that he knows what what he's doing in every moment & it's all deliberate

This is so powerful! Great reaction, Peter. Loved it. 👍❤

I understand the emotional kick. I grew up in Hendersonville where he lived. Rode the school bus with Rosanne, his daughter. Drove by the House of Cash regularly. The old train depot that made it was the one that the bus drove by everyday when I was in elementary when it was still in commission. He was an amazing human. He stood up against the prejudice against the Native Americans. He wrote a song about Jim Thorpe who had his Olympic medals stripped from him for playing minor league baseball. He was recording at the same place as Nine Inch Nails and heard them record this and asked if they would let him cover it first. They came to an agreement and he released it first. It so closely mirrors the things that happened in his life. See the movie that was made about him with and then you will know how much this fits his life. It left me weeping when I first heard it.

@kerimmejdoub1381

Жыл бұрын

The Nine inch Nails version was released in 1994... Cash covered the song in 2002.

@leekestner1554

Жыл бұрын

@@kerimmejdoub1381 Well some how the urban legend has evolved to this. Don't know what the seed was.

The woman in the video is his wife, June Carter cash. I believe he passed away before her but I don’t think she was far behind. If you’ve never seen walk the line it’s a great way to learn more about his whole history. Great reaction

@nancyankrom3803

Жыл бұрын

June died first then Johnny a few months later.

@LiseWaring

Жыл бұрын

June died before Johnny. They were married for about 40 years. They had a son - that is the baby shown. His daughters are from his first marriage.

One of the songs you only liste to when you are in specific moods because it is so emotionally devastating

You should check out Johnny Cash’s grandson Thomas Gabriel! He sounds just like his grandfather. Thomas’ mother said she can close her eyes and can’t tell the difference between her father singing and her son singing! It’s pretty crazy!

Your reaction to Johnny Cash's version of 'Hurt' was beautifully expressed! It was x2 more interesting to watch / listen to since you are an opera singer. 👍👍👍

Johnny Cash was one of the greatest singers of all time, and his songs are timeless. Ring of Fire and I Walk The Line are great examples of this. Johnny Cash was originally from Arkansas, and I live in Arkansas. At some point, someone shot the water tower in his hometown. When they shot it, they hit it in a spot that made it look like Johnny Cash was peeing. Whether or not the placement was intentional doesn't matter because shooting a water tower is a crime.

Such a legend. Right up to the last song. And so distinctive. I hope we see you doing some Johnny Cash covers, Peter

@PeterBarber

Жыл бұрын

Just need to get better at guitar…slowly but surely!

@super_siri

Жыл бұрын

@@PeterBarber Take a card from Tim and Austin, and get friends to play your instrumentals. They do that a lot in their personal channel videos.

@katherandefy

Жыл бұрын

Oh you are gonna do totally phenomenal. Your voice and skill are real gems. Looking forward to it!!!

@catriverotter9527

11 ай бұрын

What a great idea, thanks!!

@catriverotter9527

11 ай бұрын

​@@PeterBarberI can see wanting to incorporate that aspect of Cash's musicality, but don't let that stop you from doing some shorts or maybe a collaboration? I never would have imagined it but, as you sang bits during this video, I can suddenly hear the similarities between your voice & Cash's voice when he was young! 💜💜💜

To give context, Johnny was plagued by substance abuse and similar problems thorough is life, causing endless amounts of problems to himself and hurt to his loved ones. So him first talking about the needle, and the familiar pain and stain, and then finally saying if he could start again, he would make sure to be a better person is heart-breaking. He knows he was not the person he wanted to be, but also knows it's too late to change anything anymore.

Thank you for your kind reaction. The woman on the stairs was June Carter Cash. A famous country singer in her own right. She was his wife. She passed on a few months before he did. He was known as the Man in Black. Being that was the only color he ever wore. May I suggest you listen to song entitled Man in Black. It was a major song when it came out in 1967.It had a lot of social commentary in it. He came out against the Viet Nam War. The first country star to do so.

I really enjoyed your commentary about the voice as it ages. I was in my 20s during the 1970s. By the mid 80s, a lot of the really huge successful musical acts had seen better days and either had retired or still toured and did music, but definitely out of the limelight. There were a few exceptions, of course. Johnny Cash was one of those icons that continued to perform as long as he was able. This was the last song he did, I think. Another icon that I really love, and that you can definitely hear the change in his voice as he aged, is Elton John. Not sure if you've done much of his stuff, but if you are interested, you can really hear the change in one of my favorite songs of his, "60 Years On". If you listen to his studio version when he was quite young, and then listen and compare it to it that he sang at the Royal Opera House in London, it is really striking. He still is an excellent singer, but the years have really changed the depth and sound of his voice. I think he also has had vocal surgery at some point, so I am sure that helped bring about change, besides the years. Great reaction! Thanks!

I wondered if you could handle this one.. It's so strong. When he closed the piano..he died not long afterwards. He knew he was at the end. Thanks for this one.

Thank God for Rick Rubin who saw the potential in Johnny Cash's older voice and how Johnny, being so real, would have a major impact on a new audience. Us Punk rock guys, always loved John R Cash but Rubin gave us a gift with American Recordings.

My voice can easily be in Johnnys range . As I’m entering my fourth quarter and this feels like a glimpse into what will soon unfold in my own days. Thats why it connects

😢Told my wife this is what I want played at my funeral. Absolutely stunning.

What Johnny did with Trent's song is beyond epic... it's the story of life. Note: you stopped the video a few seconds before the end... the last little scene of him closing the keyboard is extremely poignant - especially considering this was the last thing he ever filmed. You might want to go to the original video and catch that. The House Of Cash is the long closed Johnny Cash Museum, and they filmed in there in exactly the derelict state it sat in. The scenes of Johnny looking into his boyhood home always get to me... and knowing June died 3 months after this was filmed, and Johnny 4 months after his wife, makes me choke up every time I see or hear this performance.

I just…full body chills all the time

And the photo on the wall is Mother Maybelle Carter, mother of June, and with the Carter family one of the famous names in country music history.

Oooo ❤❤❤ massive hit after Johnny covered this song. Looks so like my old dad. Both gone now. And much loved and missed 🌹 Your skill is topnotch and I enjoy your takes on music!

I like your analysis of this incredible touching performance of Johnny Cash. I would really like you reacting and analysing one of the most beautiful and touching male voices of all times: Elvis Presley, especially his "american trilogy" performance in his 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert.

When I think of “gravel” in the voice I think of the analogy of the bit of static that you get from playing a vinyl record. There’s that little bit of turbulence as the needle drags along the grooves and comes through in the sound.

At 70 years old it’s really hard to put into words how much more meaning this has when your a lot closer to the end than the beginning. In the end most people have regrets.

Great analysis! I love Johnny and this cover fits his life story so well.

Iconic timbre…exactly!

Thank you Peter, I think that is one of my favourite reactions you've done. I loved your analysis of his singing.

There's a lot behind that video. His wife, June came down to check on him, and wasn't supposed to be in the video, but the producer left it in because it fit. The ending that you missed is him closing the piano, and caressing the lid. Such symbology, because this was also his last song that he recorded. It sounds like a goodbye because it *was* his final goodbye.

If you want something a little lighter (but not much), check out Johnny's "God's Gonna Cut You Down." This song has a definite message as well. It's my understanding that the video was completed after Johnny's death, and you will want to watch the official video. It's half the fun of the song. Let's just say Johnny has a lot of friends. 😁

I work with voice actors. The term we use for that tone of age in a voice is called having "angels" in their voice.

Listening to you mimic his style for the opening line sent chills down my spine, especially on "today". I know you said no two voices are identical, but in that moment, you could easily have passed for a much younger Johnny Cash vocally. I've seen a LOT of your reviews, and none of them prepared me for how close you sound to The Man In Black when you actually want to. I don't have any, yet, but you absolutely deserve a Pit Viper moment of your own for that. Thank you! As you're a huge Johnny Cash fan, have you heard his grandson sing?

So many Johnny Cash songs that I liked growing up in the '60s. Totally enjoyed your interview the Bassmaster Geoff Castellucci.

This song brings me to years every time I hear it. Everything about Johnny's voice here adds up to create a truly moving performance. The way age has affected his voice, the raw emotion in the delivery... And the visuals are brilliant. They capture so much, while being so simple. Johnny never gets up, you only ever see him seated. He's either paying guitar, playing piano, or singing. Beyond that, the choice of what shots line to with what lines in the lyrics is well done. We see spots of Johnny examining his childhood home while he sings of broken thoughts and regret. We see a shot of his wife, in poor health, watching over him as he sings am line mentioning his best friend. The shot where he pours out the wine while singing "you can have it all, my empire of dirt". And the most powerful shot in the entire video, where he lovingly closes the piano, gently lingering on it for just a moment. That shot says so much in so little. Its his final goodbye. Loving, yet full of regret and pain.

This song hits so much harder being that it was the last single he released. So powerful.

@chrisd7047

Жыл бұрын

From what I understand, June died not too long after this video was filmed, and Johnny followed 4 months later. He only lived as long as he did because of her (she'd flush his drugs down the toilet when she found them). That little slice of history just kills me when they show her on the stairs in the video.

I like this version more than the studio version by Nine Inch Nails, but my favorite is the version from MTV Unplugged, just Reznor and a Piano, so stripped down, so emotional... perfection

Oooh I hope there will be a video of your version of Fulsom Prison Blues. I too adore Johnny Cash. Grew up listening to him. My Dad had all his albums

"This is some real shit" is, no joke, the most apt description I've ever heard of Cash's version of "Hurt." You refer to other people being able to do more justice to the poetry of this performance, but they can't. It's so strangely powerful that words are just inadequate - and more importantly - unnecessary. This is, like you said, "some real shit" and whenever I need a good cry, this song always fucking delivers.

Thank you. Synergistic-the parts together yield greater sum then their individual values. The vocal, lyrics, visual, instrumentation, arrangement, direction and editing combine to make this a potent art work. Thank you for featuring this.

The real genius of his version of this song is that he delivered it so well that so many people think he wrote the song. Tis is actually a cover of a Trent Reznor song. But Johnny did it so much justice.

"Schvitzing" thank you for that ❤ I miss NY.

This was fantastic!

Omg this song and the way it is sung is EPIC. Nine Inch Nails even agree this is meant for Johnny Cash. It is still about drugs because Cash was on a lot of drugs when he was younger. A lot. So it still has the same meaning essentially. I love the songs you review. Frankly better than most reviewers. Also you actually know what you are talking about. Thank you for reviewing this version. Oh and the lady was his wife June Carter and she died shortly after this. It may not have a lot for you to talk about but it is just one of the best renditions ever.

Great Reaction 👍🙏👣

This is an amazing cover and it extremely emotional. I am always amazed when artists do a cover of a well-known song and make it their very own while still honouring the original. Kasey Chambers cover of Eminem's Loose yourself and John Farnham's cover of The Beatles Help come to mind.

Good on you Peter to focus on the visuals of this performance. Do wish you would have let the video go for a couple of more seconds. The closing and wiping of the piano is possibly the most powerful moment in the video.

You might want to look into Sunday Morning Coming Down a songwritten by Chris Kristofferson. I believe he hustled Johnny Cash into looking at this song . He later recorded this great hit

@maudglazbrooke1287

Жыл бұрын

Best song about a hangover ever

You mentioned explitly the musical and poetic elements of this performance, but I think it's also worth noting the video itself as very creative a piece of art. It really amplifies the emotional impact of the song.

Still makes me tear up.

I never knew this song is in A minor, and appreciate the info. “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. is in the same key. So of course not a key suited to express being at peace. Otherwise, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is the original composer of the tune, including its lyrics. It closes his second full-length studio album ‘The Downward Spiral’. I imagine that it’s been the song used to close most of his live performances, as well. Reportedly Trent was skeptical of Johnny’s rendition when he first heard the audio recording. However, he felt very differently after seeing this tremendous video.

Although I really enjoy your vocal analysis videos, this one is all about the feels. I grew up hearing Johnny Cash and know some of his background so it is heartbreaking. Yet, I believe he may have intended it to be a warning to check one’s values. Trent Reznor’s performance is also heavy-Johnny just changed the perspective. BTW, you look exhausted. I hope you find some relief from the heat!

Sometimes a lot of reviewers miss some thing, because they skip the last few seconds of a video, a final point the videographer is making. It was missed in this review. Personally I found the last few seconds of the video for HURT were also very powerful. The end of the music, then the silent closing of the piano, and finally Johnny cash runs his fingers over the lid of the piano, as if to say 'my song has finished and I have laid everything to rest'.

I love singing this song in bass as it allows you to comfortably lower the voice.

Recorded in 2002, his final album released before his death. His wife June Carter Cash died in May of 2003. Cash died in September, four months later. Hurt was a Nine Inch Nails song written by Trent Reznor. After hearing Johny's recording said ... It's no longer my song, it's Johnny's. "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.

Even though this was originally written by Trent reznor about depression and addiction, and although both elements do show up in Johnny's version because he definitely struggled with both, this version is about a man who is at the end of his life who has only reflections and all the regrets he has. This version speaks much higher to most ppl, because although most people know somebody who is addicted and somebody who is depressed, everybody will have to face this at the end of their lives. Because it doesn't matter how much money you have or how much Fame, whether you live in a mansion or live in a cardboard box on the street, death will visit everybody equally. I think the most powerful line in the songs at the end when he said that if he could go back he would keep himself. Johnny was at heart a simple country boy who Loved music and God, but he had to change himself in order to become marketable. And made him do many things over history that he regrets today such as addiction and pushing people away that loved him. To me the ultimate lesson is all we have at the end of our lives is not the people around us or the money we've accumulated because you can't take any of that with you, the last journey you must take alone. But all you have is your integrity and your soul, dont change that or sacrifice that for anybody.

Hola desde Argentina!... Amo a Jhonny Cash... Desde niña...(hoy tengo 54) y con este tema lloré mil veces... Te recomiendo que veas la película sobre su vida.. quien lo interpreta es el genial Joaquín Finix... Es hermosa peli .. pero turbulenta vida .. y ahí valoras más está canción... Un abrazo a la distancia!!😊

Trent Reznor says about the Cash version of Hurt: "I'd been friends with Rick Rubin for several years. He called me to ask how I'd feel if Johnny Cash covered Hurt. I said I'd be very flattered but was given no indication it would actually be recorded. The idea sounded a bit gimmicky. Two weeks went by. Then I got a CD in the post. I listened to it and it was very strange. It was this other person inhabiting my most personal song. I'd known where I was when I wrote it. I know what I was thinking about. I know how I felt. Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend. It felt invasive". Johnny played this song over 100 times before he recorded it. He called it "The best anti-drug song I ever heard." The song was released as a single in 2003. "One Hour Photo" director Mark Romanek said: “I begged Rick Rubin to let me shoot something to that track” being instantly enamored of the rendition, he offered to shoot the video for free. Universal eventually agreed to the music video, but with 71-year-old Cash’s health declining and being unwilling to stay long in the cold Tennessee weather as he was going on holiday to his ranch in Jamaica that coming Saturday, Romanek had only days to make the video and after scouting in Nashville, he decided upon Cash’s home and museum in Hendersonville, Tennessee, The House of Cash. "Arriving on Friday with no idea of what I was going to make" Romanek said. "I looked around the house and made a few suggestions of where we might film Johnny performing. I was making it up off the top of my head. Then I went to the House of Cash Museum and found it in total disrepair. There was no time to clean it up so I decided that I'd just film it, and Johnny, exactly as they were. He was no longer in his prime - he was fading and that was what I wanted to show. The place was in such a state of dereliction. That’s when I got the idea that maybe we could be extremely candid about the state of Johnny’s health - as candid as Johnny has always been in his songs. While I was filming the opening segment of Johnny playing guitar in his living room, his wife, June, came down the stairs and watched. The look on her face was so complex: full of love and pride and concern for her husband. So I asked her if I could film her too and she agreed. But the most important element was when we discovered a film archive in the museum. When we looked back at the rushes we'd filmed at the house we thought they were good but not great. But once we dropped in the archive footage of Johnny we realized that was the soul of the video. The whole thing was so spontaneous. It's made me realize that sometimes you can be too prepared and that there's some value to urgency." The music video speaks about the transience of life, the gracelessness of death, the Ozymandian crumbling of an oeuvre and the decline of a genre, an era and an attitude. The ‘closed to public’ sign on the museum. The cracked platinum records. The caviar and lobster banquet with no diners. The clips from earlier in Johnny’s career. His wife June looking on. The closed piano lid. The video was so intimate that Cash's management didn't think it should be released, and Johnny was leaning in that direction. According to Rick Rubin, it was his daughter, Rosanne Cash, who convinced Johnny to let it go. June died May 15th, 2003, three months after filming, Johnny died September 12, 2003 four months after his wife. Rick Rubin said of the video: “I cried the first time I saw it. If you were moved to that kind of emotion in the course of a two-hour movie, it would be a great accomplishment. To do it in a four-minute music video is shocking. I think the hurt video is a historical document, it's like looking back across a life." Trent Reznor was sent the video while in the studio with Rage Against the Machine’s Zach De La Rocha, and, when the pair sat down to watch it, any doubts he had about the cover were long gone. “We were in the studio, getting ready to work and I popped it in,” said Reznor. "Tears started welling up. I realized it wasn't really my song anymore. It just gave me goose bumps up and down my spine. By the end I was really on the verge of tears…there was just dead silence. There was, like, this moist clearing of our throats and then, ‘Uh, okay, let’s get some coffee.' It really, really made sense and I thought what a powerful piece of art. I never got to meet Johnny but I'm happy I contributed the way I did. It felt like a warm hug. It's an unbelievably powerful piece of work. After he passed away I remember feeling saddened, but being honored to have framed the end of his life in something that is very tasteful. For anyone who hasn't seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. I have goose bumps right now thinking about 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. " A sad footnote to a sad story, Cash’s home of nearly 30 years in which the video was shot, burned down in 2007.

I was going to comment that this sounds reflective and it does. But as we reach the end, I find that the strong feelings about my past has been worn down by time and experience. I find this song more moving because the singer sounds more tired than thing stronger. It asks "Was it all worth it?" Well Freddie, I find the answer a mixed bag.

June was his wife. She wasn’t supposed to be in the video, however she came downstairs to check on him and they kept it in the video. She passed away about 3 months after this was released, Johnny passed about 6 months later

So Johnny Cash was a legend we all know that the song was a cover Nine Inch Nails originally wrote it. Trent Reznor was the lead singer. He wasn’t particularly happy that Johnny Cash had did the cover of that song. It was very personal to him at the time as well. totally different song, and Johnny Cash sang it, when Trent Reznor heard him sing the song, he declared that song no longer his the song was made for Johnny Cash. It was also Johnny Cash’s last video and song that long after that song, his wife June died, and his daughter had passed as well and almost a year later to the date, Johnny Cash passedtruly sad story and I can’t help to have a tear roll down the side of my face every time I hear this song I appreciate you analyzing a correctly for what little that you know

Painful and powerful because the song, written and performed by Trent Reznor, now applies to Johnny almost perfectly. Trent admitted that after he watched the video and listened to the song, it would always be Johnny's from now on. June Carter Cash died 4 months before her husband, Johnny.

Trent Reznot told that they send him a raw copy of this.. and he never listened to it... and then they send him the final take, and when he listened to it he said "now it´s a Johnny Cash song",

You are so right, son - this is the real shit.

His wife is June Carter. He was married before and fell in love with June and they eventually divorced and he got married to June. He had listened to June Carter as a boy as she was also a singer as a child. June’s daughter from a previous marriage is Carlene Carter who is a great country singer from early 90’s

Trent Reznor Singer Songwriter of Nine Inch Nails ! wrote & originally played this & when He heard Johnny Cash's Version he said Johnny Owwns this song

16:40 That would Johnny's wife, June Carter Cash, she actually died about 3 months before Johnny did

Such a sincere song, no matter if your voiced is young or old. It touches your soul on all levels.

This was written by Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, He said that after Johnny Cash did it it was his song, He couldn't do it better.

18:27 Hey Peter One song that Johnny Cash did that youmight want to do a reaction to is the song "Jackson" which he recorded with his wife June Carter Cash

10:39 sounded so sweet... you could make the sweetest and unquestionably strangest cover of this song if you wanted to, you could lean so hard into the cognitive dissonance if you tried

@PeterBarber

Жыл бұрын

I would love to

@maudglazbrooke1287

Жыл бұрын

@@PeterBarber I'd fund that if you need bribery.... I suspect what you actually need is time and that isn't really transferable

@catriverotter9527

11 ай бұрын

​@@PeterBarberI'd add my vote to "do eeet, Peter"! 💜💜 Cognitive dissonance wouldn't *begin* to describe it....

FINALLY! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS! I am so excited!!!!!!

Trent Reznor said it best..." This is Johnny's song now"

His wife you see looking down on him is also a singer. June Carter (Cash) if you do more on him you may want to do one of there duets.

Johnny and June are one of the most famous couples in music history.

“This song is going somewhere…” oh buddy, you have no idea. You thought your emotional nards were hit earlier lol. This song guts me every single time.

Love me some Johnny Cash!!🥺 Went to college with one of his Great Nephews!!

"Walk the line" is a great movie to understand his story way better. And it makes the visuals in this video even more powerful. Nice reaction! Greetings from germany! "Schwitzen" was pronounced very german. Do you have german roots?

This cover was so amazing... that the original creator said that the song was not their song anymore... but that it really belonged to Johnny. And... honestly, I don't think that sentiment is incorrect in the least. If you want some more good vocal poetry (which is definitely a domain where I thrive, personally), I actually highly recommend the band Flogging Molly. I know, they can be easy to dismiss as just a bawdy Irish Punk group, but they have some serious Irish Folk roots and some powerful skill in that domain... and a lot of what is in their music is born from the struggles of the lead singer in particular's life. Black Friday Rule is... actually rather biographical. The Sun Never Shines (On Closed Doors) and Factory Girls both being songs very strongly connected with his mother. And the opening of Never See The Likes of You Again is very much his father. Still, if there's one song of his that I'd recommend, it is Screaming at the Wailing Wall, which... in my opinion is not only no less relevant now than it was back in 2004... but, if anything, even _more_ relevant nearly two decades on (*groans* Don't tell me that one is nearly two decades old...). I think that it could also be very interesting to see your take on some of Billy Joel's stuff. I've come across a few reactions to his songs which have just been... delightful. I never _expected_ to hear someone say that "Billy Joel has bars," but that is now something that I _have_ heard someone say.