‘Hurt’: Who Did It Better, Nine Inch Nails Or Johnny Cash? —The Daily Earworm

When Trent Reznor wrote and recorded ‘Hurt’ under his Nine Inch Nails moniker in 1995, he knew he had a hit on his hands. Little did he know that he would not be the last musician to make a hit out of the song. Eight years later, country legend Johnny Cash got his hands on the eerie, depressing masterpiece and found success as well. Both versions were nominated for awards, and both landed in the Top 10. So, who did it better? Today’s Daily Earworm takes a look at both versions and attempts to answer that question.

The Original: Nine Inch Nails

Reznor added “Hurt” as the last song on Nine Inch Nails‘ 1994 album The Downward Spiral. It was released as a promotional single the following year to critical acclaim. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song in 1996, and it reached #8 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart and #8 on Canada’s Rock/Alternative chart.

Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” Cover

Cash recorded his cover of Reznor’s eerie opus in 2002 for his 67th and final studio album, American IV: The Man Comes Around. When Reznor heard that Cash wanted to do “Hurt,” he was flattered. When the CD arrived, and he listened to the recording of a song that had real personal meaning to him, it, well…hurt. When he watched the video weeks later, he cried. Here are his thoughts on the subject in an Alternative Press interview:

“Rick Rubin has been a friend for a long time, and he called me asking how I felt about Johnny covering ‘Hurt.’ I was flattered, but frankly, the idea sounded a bit gimmicky to me. I really didn’t put much thought into it, as I was working on something at the time and was distracted.

A few weeks later, a CD shows up with the track. Again, I’m in the middle of something and put it on and give it a cursory listen. It sounded… weird to me. That song in particular was straight from my soul, and it felt very strange hearing the highly identifiable voice of Johnny Cash singing it. It was a good version, and I certainly wasn’t cringing or anything, but it felt like I was watching my girlfriend f–k somebody else. Or something like that.

Anyway, a few weeks later, a videotape shows up with Mark Romanek’s video on it. It’s morning; I’m in the studio in New Orleans working on lack De La Rocha’s record with him; I pop the video in, and… wow. Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps… Wow. I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine anymore.

Then it all made sense to me. 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. Some-f—–g-how 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. Things felt even stranger when he passed away. The song’s purpose shifted again. It’s incredibly flattering as a writer to have your song chosen by someone who’s a great writer and a great artist.”

–Geoff Rickly interview of Trent Reznor for the Alternative Press

Cash’s version of the song charted in the U.S. in 2003, 2005, 2012, and 2016. It reached as high as #9 on Billboard’s Alternative Digital Song Sales chart, #9 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart, and #22 on the Country Streaming Songs chart. The single was certified gold, and it won the Country Music Association award for Single of the Year in 2003. Cash’s video for “Hurt” won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. It was nominated for six MTV Music Awards in 2003 and won for Best Cinematography.

So, Who Wins?

While both Cash’s and Nine Inch Nails‘ versions of “Hurt” were excellent, this is not a hard choice. Reznor said it himself—the song no longer belongs to him. He may have written it, but Cash owns it now.

The Daily Earworm is a daily column that tells the stories, from the historic to the lesser-known, of some of the music industry’s greatest songs, albums, and artists. Here are some other music tales that you may find interesting:

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