“Hurt” is a song written by a man who is Johnny Cash’s junior by some 40-plus years, performed by a band in a genre with such vastly different target audiences that I can’t believe on first blush that Cash, or many of his circle, would have come across naturally.
So I wonder, who first introduced this song to him? He probably knows at least a little something about the modern biz, but that would include what sort of music NIN usually plays. Who thought that this particular tune would be a good one to introduce to him, or where did he hear it?
Cash has tackled other admirably unexpected choices of recent vintage, including “Rusty Cage” by Soundgarden and Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” I think it’s great that he has not adopted some narrow-minded old-music-is-the-only-good-music kind of attitude.
also impressive when you realize that Johnny is a Conservative Christian but one who has had to be honest about his open public batteles with his own personal demons
I meant to add that he has long had an affinity with the dark side of music. Heck he defended Eminem’s '97 Bonnie & Clyde by appealing to the long American musical tradition of the murder ballad & then did one of his own
You can blame that on collaborating with producer Rick Rubin.
Rubin also helped Cash become more accessible to younger audiences by having Cash do duets with Nick Cave and Fiona Apple.
Don’t forget that Cash is naturally musically open-minded, and always has been. His song “What is Truth?” (which, admittedly, I don’t really like, but still,) recorded in 1970, confirms what I’ve read about him in many interviews and biographies. Cash is a huge class act.
The old man turned off the radio
Said, “Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways”
Said, “it looks to me like they’ve all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child”
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries “What is truth?”
and:
*The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you’re calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world’s wakin’ to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it’ll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find
“What is truth?” *
And before anybody has a cow, I didn’t transcribe the whole song, just the relevant parts.
