In 2002, American country singer
Johnny Cash covered the song for his final album during his lifetime,
American IV: The Man Comes Around. Its accompanying video, featuring images from Cash's life and directed by
Mark Romanek, was named the best video of the year by the
Grammy Awards and
CMA Awards, and the best video of all time by
NME in July 2011. The single contains a cover of
Depeche Mode's "
Personal Jesus" as a B-side. Cash's cover of the song had sold 2,148,000 downloads in the United States as of March 2017. Cash's cover is widely considered one of his best works. In 2017,
Billboard ranked the song number four on their list of the 15 greatest Johnny Cash songs, and in 2021,
American Songwriter ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Johnny Cash songs.
Background When Reznor was asked if Cash could cover his song, Reznor said he was "flattered" but worried that "the idea sounded a bit gimmicky." He became a fan of Cash's version, however, once he saw the music video.
Mike Campbell (acoustic guitar) and
Benmont Tench (piano, organ,
Mellotron) of
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played on the track.
Smokey Hormel also played guitar on the track.
Music video The music video was directed by former Nine Inch Nails collaborator Mark Romanek, who sought to capture the essence of Cash, both in his youth and in his older years. In a montage of shots of Cash's early years, twisted imagery of fruit and flowers in various states of decay, seem to capture both his legendary past and the stark and seemingly cruel reality of the present. Much of the video is in a style deliberately reminiscent of
vanitas paintings, thus emphasizing the lyrics' mood of the futility and passing nature of human achievements. According to literature professor Leigh H. Edwards, the music video portrays "Cash's own paradoxical themes". 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. In July 2011, the music video was named one of "The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos" by
Time. It was ranked the greatest music video of all time by
NME. It was ranked the second best music video by
Rolling Stone Magazine in July 2021. The house where Cash's music video for "Hurt" was shot, which was Cash's home for nearly 30 years, was destroyed in a fire on April 10, 2007.
Awards • The Johnny Cash cover was given the
Country Music Association award for "Single of the Year" in 2003. It ranked as
CMT's top video for 2003, No. 1 on CMT's 100 Greatest Country Music Videos the following year (and again in 2008), and No. 1 on the Top 40 Most Memorable Music Videos on
MuchMoreMusic's
Listed in October 2007. The song is also Cash's sole chart entry on the
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it hit No. 33 in 2003. In June 2009, the song was voted No. 1 in UpVenue's Top 10 Best Music Covers. • "Hurt" was nominated for six awards at the
2003 MTV Video Music Awards, winning for Best Cinematography. With the video, Johnny Cash became the oldest artist ever nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.
Justin Timberlake, who won Best Male Video that year for "
Cry Me a River", said in his acceptance speech that the
MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video should have gone to Cash. • The music video won the 2004
Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. • In May 2010, 'Hurt' was voted the fifth most influential video of all time by
MySpace. • In October 2011,
NME placed it at number 35 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". • In a 2014 survey conducted by the
BBC the UK public voted the Johnny Cash version the second greatest cover version (of any song) of all time.
Track listing •
European CD single • "Hurt" – 3:38 • "
Personal Jesus" – 3:21 • "
Wichita Lineman" – 3:06 • "Hurt" (music video)
Charts Certifications ==Other versions==