Hurt

Length:6:13

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:Hurt
Hurt (Quiet)
Hurt (Live)

Live:Self-Destruct through present

About

Hurt is the final track from 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.

Appearances

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

Versions

Hurt
Hurt (Quite)
Hurt (Live)
Hurt (And All That Could Have Been)

Song Credits

Production and Mix: Trent Reznor
Drums: Chris Vrenna

Covers

Hurt has been covered by a variety of artists, such as Matthew Good, Peter Murphy, and Sevendust. The song gained 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.

Music Video

The video is simply tour footage of Trent Reznor singing behind the projection screen, with the image in the screen being featured prominently. This 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.

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 my crown of shit
    Upon my liar’s chair
    Full of broken thoughts
    I cannot repair
    Beneath the stain 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