Trent Renzor's 'Hurt': Song Analysis

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“Hurt” was originally written and performed by Trent Renzor of Nine Inch Nails on the album The Downward Spiral in 1994. This song narrates a life filled with consequences and regrets. Those regrets were drug abuse, getting old and the loss of family. “Hurt” has been recorded by many diverse artists, each artist trying to put their own emotions into the lyrics. Most artists who cover a song attempt to provide an impression on their interpretation while catching the original artist’s intent. The objective of this essay is to focus on three particular artists, Trent Renzor of the band Nine Inch Nails, Johnny Cash, and Sevendust and their particular recording of the song “Hurt”. The original recording of “Hurt” was written and performed by Trent …show more content…

The 71-year-old Johnny Cash recorded an award-winning video to this song just three months before the death of his wife, June Carter, and his own death seven months later. The video chronicled Johnny’s “career of a man who suffered grievous loss and pain in his life, but managed to hang on to the very end with the power of his music and the love of his wife” (Moore). Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” and the way he sings it brings his soul into the song and almost makes it sound like an original piece. Like in the original Renzor recording, Cash begins with a solo guitar and a somber tone portraying the lyrics. Johnny took some of the same elements from Renzor using the deliberate but soft tone with the guitar to create the environment he is in for the listener. Many people can relate to this song’s lyrics and Johnny Cash really brings that out. As this song continues, it builds in tone and tempo, bringing in more instruments to compliment the lyrics and really drive the pain Johnny went through in his life. In the music video, old videos of Cash are used to really stress his life events, along with the main scene of his museum with Johnny playing his guitar, without any make-up or lighting to make him look younger or enhance his appearance. These scenes play right along with the lyrics, showing a picture of a lost family member, bringing in …show more content…

Johnny Cash’s version seems to really fit into the lyrics as a portrayal of his life. Trent Renzor is also giving a portrayal of his own life, but did not seem to capture that raw emotion which Johnny Cash was able to bring out. Each version is imaginative to the listener, but Johnny Cash made it the best due to the emotion and being very authentic which seems to being the listener in to see his life and possibly reflect on their own life. According to Trent Renzor after hearing Johnny Cash’s version, “Tears started welling up, “he said. “I realized it wasn’t really my song anymore. It just gave me goose bumps up and down my spine. It’s an unbelievably powerful piece of work. After he passed away I remember feeling saddened, but being honored to have framed the end of his life in something that is very tasteful” (Lemley, 259-260). All three versions of this song were imaginative, but Cash’s version had the qualities to make it great. Cash’s version was emotional, thoughtful, and authentic. The inflection and sincerity in his voice draws the listener in and puts them in the moment. Sevendust seemed to only make a recording of the song and didn’t reimagine it. Nothing new or inspiring was conveyed other than the use of the tone and instruments to change the style of the music. This

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