Hurt (song)

Album:The Downward Spiral

Length:6:13

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:Hurt
Hurt (Instrumental)
Hurt (Quiet)
Hurt (Live)
Hurt (with David Bowie)
Hurt (And All That Could Have Been)
Hurt (Beside You In Time)

Live:Further Down The Spiral Tour through present

"Hurt" is the final track on The Downward Spiral.

Meaning

The meaning of this song is entirely debatable. Some may interpret this as a depressing suicide note, while others may find it to describe someone finding a new lease on life.

It should be noted that the lyric "A million miles away" is referenced in both the songs 1,000,000 and All The Love in the World, and the suicidal themes surrounding the songs, especially "1,000,000," may indicate a connection.

Covers

Hurt has been covered by a variety of artists, such as Tori Amos, Matthew Good, Peter Murphy, and Sevendust. The song gained a new wave of popularity in 2002 when it was famously covered by Johnny Cash, at the recommendation of producer Rick Rubin. This caused a lot of confusion for the audiences of Cash, who generally weren't familiar with the work of Nine Inch Nails, often resulting in miscrediting the song to Cash. In Cash's version, the line "crown of shit" is changed to "crown of thorns," but is otherwise unchanged.

Song Credits

• Production and Mix: Trent Reznor
• Drums: Chris Vrenna

Appearances

Halos

• The Downward Spiral
• Further Down The Spiral
• Closure
• And All That Could Have Been (CD/DVD/VHS)
• Beside You In Time

Seeds

• Collected
• The Definitive NIN - The Singles

Other

• Hurt (CD promo)

Versions

Hurt

This original album version uses slightly distorted guitars and disrupted noise loops, adding a ragged aesthetic. The song suddenly climaxes towards the end, while the final lyrics are whispered over the noise. A drone follows, and ends the song and the record. The promo contains six different mixes of versions of "Hurt:" an uncensored and censored mix of the Quiet version, live Closure version, and album version. Save the uncensored album version, all five others have different mixes of the drone ending.

Hurt (Instrumental)

Released by Reznor via his remix.nin.com account, this unmastered instrumental version is identical to the album version, save the lack of vocals.

Hurt (Quiet)

The only real difference between this remix and the original is that the guitar sound is much cleaner and the climax towards the end is less drastic. There is also much less static filling the song's atmosphere. This version appears only on the US version of Further Down the Spiral and was later included on The Downward Spiral 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition.

Song Credits

• Remixed by Trent Reznor

Hurt (Live)

This live version is found on the UK edition of Further Down The Spiral and in video form on Closure and The Downward Spiral 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. In this version, the guitar is replaced with a piano. Reznor moans melodically and quietly after the noisy ending fades away, and the faint sounds of "The Downward Spiral's" introduction can be heard fading out.

Hurt (And All That Could Have Been)

The guitar is again replaced by piano in this performance, and a vocal harmony is added to the chorus.

Hurt (Beside You In Time)

This live version starts with Reznor singing the vocal part and playing the piano melody solo on a keyboard. Jeordie White joins in on bass for the first chorus, and the rest of the band joins during the second chorus.

Music Video

The video is simply tour footage of Reznor singing behind a scrim. This video was released after a fully produced music video was scrapped. Both the scrapped studio video and the final live video were directed by Simon Maxwell. The live video can be found in the Dualdisc edition of The Downward Spiral and also on Closure. Behind-the-scenes footage of the fully produced music video can be seen in the "Appendage" footage on the Closure DVD leak.

Live

"Hurt" is one of the most commonly played live songs throughout all eras. It is normally played towards the end of the main set, though it was featured during the mid-set slow section of the Self Destruct Tour.

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
    You could have it all
    My empire of dirt
    I will let you down
    I will make you hurt
    
    I wear this crown of shit
    Upon my liar's chair
    Full of broken thoughts
    I cannot repair
    Beneath the stains of time
    The feeling disappears
    You are someone else
    I am still right here
    
    What have I become?
    My sweetest friend
    Everyone I know
    Goes away in the end
    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

In the final recording, the line in the second verse is changed to:

    The feelings disappear

External Links

• "Hurt" live music video
• "Hurt" music video and covers

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