Guest blog post by Myles Van Camp, MS
Ever had a song touch you on a deep, emotional level? One of the songs that does it for me is Hurt by Johnny Cash. Hearing the lyrics and feeling the magnitude of what is conveys reaches out and momentarily stops me.
That is the power of music – the ability to elicit strong emotions within you. Music can move you and envelope you in a story, even as it shares a piece of the artist’s life – joys, sorrows, and pain.
The Power of Music: Johnny Cash Hurt Lyrics
The original song Hurt was first written in 1994 by Trent Reznor, designed as a closing track to his visceral album, The Downward Spiral. Hurt has remained a timeless hard rock classic for over twenty years.
Musical artist biographer Martin Huxley notes Hurt is a reference to self-harm and heroin addiction. Trent Reznor’s lyrics are poignant and painful. As a lyricist who struggled with alcohol and cocaine abuse, he artfully conveys his experience. Johnny Cash decided to cover the song Hurt in 2002. Considering his decades-long battle with drug and alcohol addiction, it would seem that he would be the obvious candidate to perform this song.
Right away you hear the sadness, turmoil, and hopelessness in Cash’s voice. You see a man looking for redemption from his life choices, realizing what was once so important isn’t so by the end of the road.
“I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that’s real.”
The song begins as a narrative telling the story of conflicts – the pain that is caused by every thought, decision, and action. He indulged in drugs and suffered the repercussions of his destructive habits. We’re left to wonder did the singer succumb to the destruction of drugs to feel something – anything – during his depression, only to be left with the overall pain and misery of an active addiction? Or is he so lost in sadness at how drugs have destroyed his life that pain is an easier, tangible feeling he can focus on, instead of his other overwhelming fluid emotions?
“The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting. Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything.”
This harsh image clarifies the pain of the first stanza. The addict has to maintain his fix, the only comfort in the familiar sting. Although he attempts to push down painful memories and traumas of the past with something familiar, it never really works.
And that’s the illusion of addiction – that it can be used to avoid or cope with reality. Many addicts use substance to find relief from problems. However, it doesn’t solve the problem but only creates an environment that perpetuates and worsens life problems. This line acknowledges that deceptive paradox.
“What have I become, my sweetest friend. Everyone I know, goes away in the end.”
Life is impermanent. Everyone in the singer’s life, whether friends or family, either move on without him or have died. Life is fleeting and the world continues on. Could the singer be wondering what lasting impact his life choices have left in the world?
Or could this be his exploration of his current reality? How his pain made him search for relief, but that relief got in the way of being the person he wanted to be and having the relationships he wanted to have?
“And you could have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt.”
The singer offers up everything that he has in an attempt to bring those around him closer. However, he knows his addiction and destructive choices will only result in disappoint them. He lives in a world surrounded in pain, and if you enter that world, you will feel the same pain as he does. Is he justifying his loneliness?
“I wear this crown of thorns, upon my liar’s chair. Full of broken thoughts, I cannot repair.”
He continues with the imagery of his empire, describing his crown and throne. While he projects that he has control of his entire life, he knows he deceives himself and others. We can imagine him saying he can quit using anytime, but he and we know it’s a lie. He has created a life based on lies and half-truths – a house of cards.
“Beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear. You are someone else, I am still right here.”
Time passes. The singer becomes aware that the motivations for his actions and decisions aren’t as clear as they once were. Or perhaps as he repeats the using pattern, the pain those actions cause are seem no longer as strong and impactful. But the truth can’t be avoided: others grown and change with time, but he remains the same, perpetually stuck in a cycle.
“If I could start again, a million miles away. I will keep myself, I would find a way.”
Probably the most optimistic stanza of the entire song. He sees where he went wrong. There is still value in who he is – value he could fight for. Even though bad decisions were made and people were wronged, it doesn’t mean he is a lost cause. There is hope to start again, finding a way towards a second chance without losing what make him who he is.
At first glance, this song feels incredible depressing and just about a heroin addiction. However, looking deeper, there are moments of hope. It describes how seeing the truth of one’s own life provides the power to change. There is value to each and every one of us – we can get lost and make mistakes, but no one is a lost cause.
At Life Care Wellness, we know that no one is a lost cause. Our expert therapists can help you find your way back. If you’re in the Chicago area, contact us today. We have counselors in our offices in Glen Ellyn, Jefferson Park (Chicago), and Sycamore ready to help.
Myles Van Camp, MA.
Myles has a Master of Clinical Psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology. He works with children and young adults at Life Care Wellness and particularly enjoys working with life transitions related to school or family. Myles primarily practices narrative therapy and utilizes meditation in his work, with a focus on shaping positive behaviors. He is currently enrolled in the CADC certification program at the College of DuPage and has begun working with the field of addictions, as well.
Johnny Cash Hurt Lyrics:
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 liars 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 will keep myself
I would find a way
