Hurt (song)
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- For the Christina Aguilera song, see Hurt (Christina Aguilera song).
| "Hurt" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Single by Nine Inch Nails | ||
| from the album The Downward Spiral | ||
| Released | 1995 | |
| Format | Promotional CD | |
| Recorded | Le Pig, Record Plant Studios, A&M Studios | |
| Genre | Industrial rock | |
| Length | 25 min 50 s | |
| Label | Nothing Records, Interscope | |
| Producer(s) | Trent Reznor | |
| Chart positions | ||
| ||
| Nine Inch Nails singles chronology | ||
| "Closer to God" (1994) | "Hurt" (1995) | ""The Perfect Drug" Versions" (1997) |
"Hurt" is a promotional single from Nine Inch Nails' remix album Further Down the Spiral (Halo Ten). Originally from 1994's The Downward Spiral, "Hurt" and its remixes were released as a radio-only single to promote Halo Ten the following year. "Hurt" is often hailed as one of Trent Reznor's best, most introspective pieces of songwriting.
In 2002, "Hurt" was covered by Johnny Cash to great critical acclaim; it was Cash's final hit before his death. Its accompanying video, featuring images from Cash's life up to his final months, was named the best video of the year by the Grammy Awards and Country Music Awards.
Contents |
[edit] The song
"Hurt" is a lament that marks the conclusion to the concept album The Downward Spiral. Next to A Warm Place, it is the quietest song on the record. The lyrics are sung over a simple guitar melody, synthesizer and subdued industrial background noise, accompanied by piano and drums during the chorus. After the louder second chorus, the song ends in a blast of electronic noise.
[edit] Alleged concept
With "Hurt", the story behind the concept album The Downward Spiral is brought to a close. Arguably, the protagonist has already killed himself in the album's penultimate title track and is now reflecting on his life. After his escapades ("broken thoughts I cannot repair") involving drugs ("the needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting"), deceit ("my liar's chair"), etc, he realizes that all he has gained is ultimately nothing ("I wear this crown of shit", "my empire of dirt"). The person he's singing to, "my sweetest friend", could be referring to the "Piggy" who "left me here I'm all alone" or "the reason I stay alive" in "Closer". Finally, he speculates whether he would change given another chance.
[edit] The single
Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" was never produced as a commercial single for the public. However, a promotional disc was distributed, containing censored ("clean") and uncensored ("soiled") mixes. The disc, Interscope Records PRCD 6179, is labeled "Halo Ten" though it is not considered an official Halo.
[edit] Track listing
- "Hurt" (Quiet Version - Clean) [5:04]
- "Hurt" (Live Version - Clean) [5:15]
- "Hurt" (Album Version - Clean) [6:16]
- "Hurt" (Quiet Version - Soiled) [5:21]
- "Hurt" (Live Version - Soiled) [5:15]
- "Hurt" (Album Version - Soiled) [6:13]
[edit] The video
The video is a live performance that appears on Closure. This is the same version as the audio recording on Halo 10v2.
A thin cloth screen had been dropped in front of the band on stage, onto which various images were projected. A spotlight was cast on Trent Reznor so that he could been seen through the images. This version most resembles the studio recording with its sample of the same background noise.
There is also an official live recording on And All that Could Have Been, as well as one expected on the upcoming live release Beside You in Time.
[edit] Live performance
During the Outside Tour in 1995, David Bowie sang the song live with Trent Reznor and the Nine Inch Nails band. This featured an original melody and beat, and served as part of a dual act that began each Bowie set.
During the 2005-2006 With Teeth tour, Nine Inch Nails has been playing a toned down version, with only Trent Reznor on keyboard and vocals until the rest of the band comes in for the final chorus.
[edit] Johnny Cash's cover
Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" was released on his 2002 album, American IV: The Man Comes Around. Rick Rubin, producer of Cash's American series and friend of Trent Reznor, suggested the song to Cash. Cash's time-ravaged voice and sparse arrangement lent weight to the song's lamenting tone. The line "crown of shit" was changed to "crown of thorns", removing profanity and referencing Christ.
The cover was given the Country Music Award for "Single of the Year" in 2003. In 2005, Cash's rendition appeared prominently in television commercials for the upcoming fifth season of the F/X television drama, The Shield, as well as being used for one of two tribute videos to Eddie Guerrero that appeared on WWE programming and an episode of Smallville ("Shattered"). It also appeared on the documentary Why We Fight; on British television to play over a concised retrospective video of England's world cup football exit to Portugal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup; as the theme for the annual Australian Rugby League State of Origin competition in 2005; as the background music of a montage (after being played by a prominent character) in the 2004 Irish film Inside I'm Dancing. Fightstar have been known to cover the song live at concerts, and Garbage used the song as their opening music throughout their Bleed Like Me tour. Sevendust performed a cover of "Hurt" for the Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic Live album, dedicated to Johnny Cash. It has recently been used in a Nike ad in Europe.
[edit] Reznor's reaction
In an interview with Alternative Press, Reznor admitted that when Rubin first asked if Cash could cover his song, he was "flattered" but worried that "the idea sounded a bit gimmicky." The power of Cash's cover didn't fully hit Reznor until he saw the video:
- 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. … 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. [Somehow] 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.
Reznor still occasionally refers to "Hurt" as "a song that isn't mine anymore." (Rock Sound article transcribed on the NIN Hotline)
[edit] Other versions of the song
- "Hurt" has been covered by other artists in addition to Cash, including Breaking Benjamin, Sevendust, Placebo (House of Blues, Anaheim, California in 2003), Matthew Good (acoustic tour 2006), and the Razor Skyline.
- Tori Amos frequently sang three or four lines of the song spitefully as an introduction to other songs during her Dew Drop Inn tour in 1996.
- Frank Peterson's musical experiment, "Gregorian", arranged the lyrics into a medieval Gregorian chant.
- Howard Stern had his own version for his show, called "Private Hurt". He played the song while mixing in sound clips from his movie Private Parts.
[edit] References
- ↑ Alternative Press #194. September, 2004.
[edit] External links
- Lyrics of the versions on Halos 8, 10, 12, and 17
- Excerpt from Anthony DeCurtis's interview with Trent Reznor
- Video of the Johnny Cash cover
- discogs.com: Hurt
- Songfacts Entry
