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 a friend of Reznor’s, suggested the song to Cash. The line “crown of shit” was changed to “crown of thorns”, not only removing profanity from the lyrics, but also more directly referencing Christ. The cover was released on a single with the B-side “Personal Jesus”, a cover of the Depeche Mode single.
The cover was given the Country Music Award for “Single of the Year” in 2003. It ranked as CMT’s top video for 2003, #1 on CMT’s 100 Greatest Country Music Videos the following year, and #1 on the Top 40 Most Memorable Music Videos on MuchMoreMusic’s Listed in October 2007. As of July 2008, the single occupies the number one spot on Rate Your Music’s Top Singles of the 2000s. The song is also Cash’s sole chart entry on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it hit #33 in 2003.
The music video won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. The house where Cash’s music video for “Hurt” was shot, which was Cash’s home for nearly 30 years, was destroyed in a fire on April 10, 2007.
Teresa