Eli Hadden

Professor. Hellmers

English comp 2

9 February 2020

Hurt

“I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel '' one of the first lines in the Song “Hurt” by nine inch
nails. The song is about pain and depression and you can see it in the music videos. In the
music video of Johnny Cash covering “Hurt” You can see the depression in his face as he sings
as the video reflects on his past life and all of the memories. The two music videos of the song
Hurt are a little similar but mostly different because they appeal to two different audiences,
appeal to different rhetorical ideas, but also have similar relations.

Both of the music videos show sadness and depression. Johnny Cash has been through a lot of
pain his whole life. His brother was split in half by a farm machine right in front of him. Cash's
brother was supposed to be a preacher and had a good future ahead of him. Because of this,
Cash's father would always tell him that he should have been the one to die. This led Cash to
experience a lot of depression. Johnny Cash did the cover of this song a month after his wife
passed away. So in the song I don’t think he was faking that sad look I think ever since sense
his wife had passed away he had been depressed.I think singing this song helped Cash express
his depression without being so literal. The purpose of Johnny Cash's cover of the song to me
was a goodbye to the world because he died a month after he released the song. Nine Inch
Nails album was about a story about about a man who commited suicide and this is the last
song of the story and shows all of the pain the man has gone through. He was also living in LA
and in the mansion where Sharon Tate used to live before she was murdered. These deaths
were very important to the lead singer who said this song would always be the final song played
at Nine Inch Nails concerts.

Both of these versions of the song are for different audiences. The original song by NIN appeals
to those who struggle with addiction. It is about realizing consequences and regret. It made
them feel like they weren’t alone and shows them that other people feel the way they do. It
helped people cope with depression also.It is not meant for an older audience, it's meant for
younger people going through tough times. The Johnny Cash cover of “Hurt” appeals to people
who have lost a loved one or struggles with depression. I feel that this one could also be for
younger people because its message to people is to not live with regret and to know that life
comes with consequences. This cover is more emotional to people than the NIN version. His
music video really makes it more touching and easier to understand.

Rhetorically, both versions of the song appeal to people's emotions. The song is very sad and
appeals to people who are hurting and going through bad times. In the Nine Inch Nails version,
the line , “A needle tears a hole, the old familiar pain” appeals to pathos, especially those who
were heroin addicts. You can see it in the music video. The video starts out with videos of
damage and destruction also showing a wounded soldier. I feel that they included it in the video
to symbolize how the writer feels, or maybe to symbolize addiction. Cash's version appeals to
pathos because Cash died a month after his cover was released and Cash had a lot of followers
because of his music. The music video shows videos and pictures of his past experiences with
his wife and other happy times in his life. I think everyone listening kind of thought of it as his
obituary.

In conclusion, the original version of the song by Nine Inch Nails, and the cover by Johnny Cash
both show immense amounts of emotion. They both appeal to those with depression, but the
NIN one also appeals to those who struggle with addiction and the Johnny Cash cover and
music video appeals to those who have lost someone. The song means a lot to people and is
said to be one of the saddest songs in history. Both versions have many similarities and also
many differences. Cash's version is said to be more emotional because the music video is so
sad and because it was released a month prior to his death. The Nine Inch Nails version was
also sad, but the fact that the music video was difficult to follow and to see what was happening,
made it less sad then Johnny Cash's cover.

Works cited

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI

https://youtu.be/PbHz9p7Z4OU