# I couldn't believe my eyes or ears! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2003, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241 "2003-03-26T06:37:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Foolonthehill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Foolonthehill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foolonthehill)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/21 "2003-03-27T19:23:01Z")
Saw Cash in Oakdale Ca. at the rodeo grounds a few years ago, right before his health took a real downturn. 200 people, nobody further than 60’ from stage. Very intimate, he spoke conversationally to the crowd. The stage was his Trailer, which opens up. Played for 2 hours with June and Roseanne. Like having an audience with God. He opened with “Get Rhythm” closed with “Will the Circle be Unbroken.” His version of “Bird on a Wire” is to die for. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/22 "2003-03-27T20:03:31Z")
First of all let me say the Cash is brilliant, and his cover of this song has got to be one of the best covers of all time, however, it’s a damn shame that it takes Cash doing a cover to get noticed again. That being said, I’ll never be able to listen to the NIN version the same way again. The House of Cash footage was shot not too far down the road from me. I think the crucifixion footage comes from _The Last Temptation of Christ_, but I can’t be certain since it’s only the crappy download version that I’ve seen of the video. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/23 "2003-03-27T23:11:05Z")
**Otto** , thank you for that video link. I just watched it and I am stunned. It was exquisitely painful. Who directed it? ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/24 "2003-03-28T00:04:37Z")
> [@](#): > > It was found under the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was remastered just for the video. The video is emotionally painful, but that comment, **JSexton** was hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/25 "2003-03-28T03:37:06Z")
That is impressive. I haven’t heard the NIN version and I think that if I did it would probably be a let down. (And I dig NIN, the old stuff anyway) Very haunting song. Cash does look rather old and sad. I’ve always liked his stuff but not enough to go out and buy it. I think I will go pick up whatever album this is on tomarrow. Slee ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/26 "2003-03-28T05:15:04Z")
Wow! I just watched the video. It’s terribly sad: "everyone I know goes away in the end " Just gave me chills. (Though I could have done without the Crucifixion imagery. It went a bit over the top for me.) Great song, though. ---
**Author:** ![modro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@modro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/modro)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/27 "2003-03-28T06:30:08Z")
This song is one of the few occasions where I think the Cover version is far better than the original. Johnny Cash’s version of this song just carries so much emotion, just in the voice, that it just makes the song sound so much more meaningful. Amazing, Currently my favorite song. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/28 "2003-03-28T07:16:40Z")
Johnny Cash is one of a kind. I love his minimalism and his authenticity. There’s never a phony or affected moment in anything he ever does. He does more with his voice and an accoustic guitar than seems possible. He’s a mesmerizing performer. It’s amazing that he can take a NIN song and make them sound like children in comparison. Johnny Cash is someone I’ve grown to appreciate more and more the older I get. I don’t even like country music but I could listen to this guy forever. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/29 "2003-03-28T07:31:18Z")
Cash is god. ---
**Author:** ![kawliga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@kawliga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kawliga)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/30 "2003-03-28T07:41:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by El Elvis Rojo \* > \*\* > One question, though…where’s the footage from Christ being Cruicified from? \*\* I believe the footage is from “The Gospel Road”, a 1973 movie that Cash narrated and co-wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/31 "2003-03-28T13:49:10Z")
[For more comments, see this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=163487) [sub]Interestingly, the search feature didn’t find it when I put “Hurt” into the box without the quotation marks. I’ll have to remember that.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241/32 "2003-03-28T15:37:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vivalostwages \* > \*\ ***Otto** , thank you for that video link. I just watched it and I am stunned. It was exquisitely painful. Who directed it? \*\* It’s directed by Mark Romanek, who did the Joel-Peter Witkin-inspired NIN video “Closer” and “The Perfect Drug.” Among other things, he’s also directed Madonna’s “Rain,” Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson’s “Scream,” Beck’s “Devil’s Haircut,” and Fiona Apple’s “Criminal.” And he wrote and directed _One Hour Photo_. According to the imdb: > [@](#): > > [Romanek]Was so deeply affected by Johnny Cash’s cover of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt”, he offered (and begged) to > shoot the video for free. Upon doing so, he sent the video to Trent Reznor. Reznor was in session with > Zach de la Rocha (of Rage Against the Machine fame) at the time, and they were reportedly so > awestruck emotionally that they had to leave the room and recuperate, Reznor himself being moved to > tears. The video itself features footage of a decrepit Cash at the flood-ravaged House of Cash Museum > interspersed with footage from Cash’s personal collection of himself in his youth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-couldnt-believe-my-eyes-or-ears/164241.md?page=1)