Today the song 'Hurt' (written by Nine Inch Nails but performed in this version by Johnny Cash) has been going around in my head. I saw just the end of the music video this morning on tv, and it reminded me just how powerful it is.
Candid and intense, it sees The Man In Black perform the song in his home, with no effort made to hide his age or increasing frailty. The poignancy is increased as the performance shots are cut with old images of a young and vital Cash jumping trains and striding the earth. (http://www.nme.com/features/104451.htm)
To me, the video (which you can see if you click in this blog title) is amazing, as you see him, surrounded by all of the possessions he has accumulated over the years, thinking about how little his 'empire of dirt' means (he died soon after recording this). In the end, you can't take anything with you when you die. How much does it all mean to you, when it is only fleeting?
Lyrics for 'Hurt'
I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
the only thing that's real
the needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away
but I remember everything
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
upon my liar's chair
full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
beneath the stains of time
the feelings disappear
you are someone else
I am still right here
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
if I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
Candid and intense, it sees The Man In Black perform the song in his home, with no effort made to hide his age or increasing frailty. The poignancy is increased as the performance shots are cut with old images of a young and vital Cash jumping trains and striding the earth. (http://www.nme.com/features/104451.htm)
To me, the video (which you can see if you click in this blog title) is amazing, as you see him, surrounded by all of the possessions he has accumulated over the years, thinking about how little his 'empire of dirt' means (he died soon after recording this). In the end, you can't take anything with you when you die. How much does it all mean to you, when it is only fleeting?
Lyrics for 'Hurt'
I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
the only thing that's real
the needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away
but I remember everything
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
upon my liar's chair
full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
beneath the stains of time
the feelings disappear
you are someone else
I am still right here
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
if I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
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