The Man in Black

'Been listening to Johnny Cash, and stumbled upon his cover of NIN's (Nine Inch Nails) "Hurt." The lyrics, penned and sung with teenaged angst by NIN, is transformed into the lament of a broken old man by Cash, with terrible beauty.


Hurt

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.
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.
And you could have it all,
my empire of dirt.

I will let you down.
I will make you hurt.

I wear this crown of thorns
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.
And 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.


Director Mark Romanek made the song into a video that was subsequently nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards, including video of the year. It won the award for the best cinematography. Click here or on the image to download the video.




IMHO, I find the song more powerful without the accompanying video, but maybe that's just me with my vivid imagination.

Based on the life of Johnny Cash, the movie, "Walk the Line," is due to be released this friday, Nov 18, 2005.



It stars Reese Witherspoon as Cash's second wife, June Carter. While I cringed at her role in "Legally Blonde," she is very alluring in this movie.