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Acoustic Cover Of “Hurt” – Johnny Cash
By Peter | November 26, 2009
This acoustic cover is actually a Nine Inch Nails song that Johnny Cash covered. It sounds ludicrous that Johnny Cash would cover a band like NIN, but it really does work. He cleaned up a few parts of it, but he more than does it justice; and this is probably another of those acoustic covers that’s better than the original (even thought that’s just my opinion, it’s no doubt shared by many people).
It was a great song when Nine Inch Nails performed it. Perhaps it’s just something about Johnny Cash that intensifies a song, but his interpretation really is beautifully haunting. The track was released right at the end of his life – after suffering for years from autonomic neuropathy, which was brought on by diabetes, Cash was hospitalized in 1998 with pneumonia. This spate of illness damaged his lungs, and his next two albums were of an entirely sombre note. “Hurt” being the stand-out track from “American IV: The Man Comes Around”.
If you want to learn more about Cash’s (extraordinarily interesting) life, Wikipedia as usual has an in-depth amount of information. (Just as an unrelated aside, Wikipedia is currently in the middle of its annual fund-raising. They’re not supported by ads or any other corporate means and rely on donations to support the site. I’ve already made my donation this year, and I absolutely encourage anyone who can spare a few $s to support this great resource.)
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