When he closed the piano and caressed it, the imagery is that he is closing his own coffin on his music and his life. I've seen it said he never opened it again.

Before the release of this video, johnny cash showded it to his daughter. And she asked, "Why does it feel like your saying good bye?" And he replied "Becaise i am."

Trent was a 23 year old kid when he wrote this, and after he heard this he said something to the effect of...I didn't realize I had written this song for Johnny Cash. This song means something entirely different coming from a man who lived a life as full as Johnny. This was his goodbye to all of us. I get emotional every single time I hear it.

I cry Every. Single. Time. I watch this video. And I grew up with the original Nine Inch Nails version (and loved it), but Trent was right - this is Johnny's song now.

Exceptionally powerful song. Johnny cash made it his own. It’s originally a nine inch nails song. Yeah, that’s his wife on the stairs. She wasn’t supposed to be in it, she just came down by her own choice. She died shortly after this was filmed and Johnny passed soon after. The setting was at his museum and the dilapidated state of it was the perfect choice. This was indeed his last performance and recording. Apparently it took a long time to film and he was loosing patience as time went on. Such a sad song, it gets me emotional watching it alone.

One of the greatest covers of all time. Johnny Cash was the GOAT.

The Man in Black lived a hard, often tumultuous life, but he was always genuine. A legend.

Imagine being NIN, and realizing that Johnny Cash, a man entirely capable of creating his own music, decides to use your song to convey the last message he would get to convey during the short time he had on this planet. What a g-d honor.

Written by Trent Reznor several years before as mentioned already. This was the last video Johnny made.He died just a few months later. Trent wasn't too crazy about it when he heard Johnny was going to record it. When he heard and saw the video he reportedly said "This isn't my song anymore. It belongs to Johnny". Powerful stuff, all of it.

This video was named the MTV video of the year. It later was voted the greatest music video of ALL time by MTV. So very very powerful.

Revisiting his entire life in one song, it's beautiful it's heartbreaking its unforgettable. We'll never have another Johnny Cash

His farewell song. He had a long and hard life. His wife His companion, soul mate has passed. He is ready to say goodby.

His health was failing when he recorded this cover of Nine Inch Nails song, Hurt. His wife died 3 months later and he died 7 months later. So yes, it was like a goodbye at the end of his life. Liking your reactions.

This was the song I played for my fathers funeral. breaks my heart, makes me smile and heals my soul. Love you daddy. And Johnny. Thanks Trent! You had know idea what an impact this song would have on the world. Well done.

When Johnny passed the video and the song were No 1 through out the land. What a way to go on Top .

Some reviews at the time this was released complained that his voice was weak. That's kinda the point. Trent wrote it from the point of view of a young person and Johnny sings basically the same song and you get that it's an old man looking back on his life. Johnny was a hell-raiser!

This song was written and first recorded by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Cash is doing a cover of the song but the allusions to drug usage can relate to Cash as well as to Trent because Johnny Cash went through more than one time of being addicted to pills and alcohol. You are correct that the lady in red in the picture on the wall is Johnny's mother and the lady standing behind him on the staircase is his wife June Carter Cash. The snippets of Christ on the cross comes from an album and movie that Johnny Cash did probably 40 years ago, plus or minus 5 years or so. That movie was entitled Gospel Road and they have pulled tiny bits from that movie to incorporate into this video. When Johnny recorded "Hurt", he was about 70 years old and his voice was not quite what it used to be, though it was still good and was EXACTLY what this song needed. There was a time, back in his heyday, when one of every five records sold in this country was by Johnny Cash. I have been a fan of Cash since his very first recording back in 1955 (that's how old I am!) when he came out with his first hit record, Cry, Cry, Cry. If you want to hear Johnny Cash from back in the day, check out "Here Comes That Rainbow Again" or "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". He also has some awesome storytelling songs, "I Hang My Head", "Don't Take Your Guns to Town", "Cisco Clifton's Fillin' Station" to name a few. "Hurt", might make you cry but he also had some humorous songs like "Boy Named Sue" or "One Piece at a Time" or "The One on the Left is on the Right". They will cheer you up as much as "Hurt" might have depressed you. You mentioned that it sounded like this was a goodbye song. A few months after this video was completed, Johnny's wife, June Carter Cash died and about four months later Johnny died. It was in fact the last song Cash ever recorded, so this could indeed be his way of saying goodbye to his fans. BTW, you might get some comments that will say Johnny Cash was once in prison. He never was. He spent a night or two in jail but he was NEVER in prison. He recorded two "prison" albums, one live at San Quentin Prison and one live at Folsom Prison and I think that confused some people into thinking he was actually an inmate at one of those prisons but he was not. Thank you for the reaction to this awesome song by the great Johnny Cash.

It was definitely a “goodbye letter”. It’s a cover but he recognized the story in himself. The movie about Cash is really good, he struggled his whole life with drugs and pissing off everyone around him. This song is a message to people, life is about relationships, family, and not things. Great job my friend.

Johnny Cash was the ONLY one who could’ve covered this song and make it his own. He is the only one to put this degree of respect into it and I’m sure Trent Reznor cried with this cover. Two absolute geniuses 💐

I saw a professional musician's reaction to this, and I believe she pointed out that the chord that just repeats and repeats and repeats during the chorus is MEANT to make you want it to stop. Our minds want the chord to change, but it never does and it's unnerving. Once I heard that, I think of it almost every time.

“I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town, I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, but is there because he's a victim of the times. I wear the black for those who never read”

You are the first reactor that's got it spot on. You realized the picture was his mom, that the woman on the stairs was his wife and that this cover was his was of saying goodbye. I'm very impressed and subscribing because of it.

June was such an angel to him. She pulled him out of so much darkness. He’s a true legend!

I'm a grown ass 27 year old man and this song (specifically this exceptional cover) gets me near to tears every fucking time. Truly an extremely powerful song.

This song was a mirror of his life. He was a amazing artist with a lions share of regrets. His brother died and his father hated him for it. He was a IV drug addict and LOVED ONE WOMAN fiercely. June Carter. Almost lost her because of his addiction. He regrets all the pain he gave her. " you are someone else, I am still right here" .... she died while he was doing this song... she told him "Go back to the studio and get back to work". He would have given anything to relive another life with her and get it right❤❤❤

His daughter said they it sounded like goodbye and Johnny said “It was.” It was the last recording before his death. My dad was from Tennessee and always reminded me a lot of Johnny Cash. 👵🏼☮️❤️🙏🏼

Johnny was very sick when this was recorded and many there didnt think he would be able to finish the sessions, and it was indeed a goodby, he passed soon after. What a musician, and a life well lived. It's amazing he lived as long as he did considering the drug abuse in his early days. RIP Mr. Cash

I ball every time..... He craved his daddy's acceptance...Time is a thief to all of us .... Take lots of pictures, love who Loves you blood or not... We all fall short in life but we have an opportunity to make our wrongs right .... Dont be afraid to fall inlove more than once... Life is Life....we all cry we are happy, mad all of it ...repair what we can and make beautiful memories much respect 🤟💙💜

His beloved wife June died a couple of months after this video,he died around 4 months later.His daughter told him it sounded like he was was saying goodbye and he told her he was.

Hauntingly beautiful. Johnny crushed this cover. He was GIANT!! Rest easy Mr. Cash. You deserve it. And thank you.

They play this song on loop at the end of the walk through of the Johnny Cash museum in Nashville. It is so powerful that I challenge anyone to leave with a dry eye. This man in his 80s took this Nine Inch Nails song and made it an anthem of his painful past. Just amazing, it was the last song he did on an amazing last album.

This is the story of his turbulent life. He died shortly after this. SO powerful. Heartbreaking. It's not just people who died, it's people he estranged with his terrible treatment and behaviour, especially when he was younger and using.

A goodbye letter is absolutely what this song was. That's what his kids said he told them. This was the last song he recorded and both he and his wife died within months of each other, not long after this video was made. Yes, that was his mother in the photo earlier in the video. Johnny battled a lot of drug addiction through his career, especially as a younger man. This song, though written by a young man with a different kind of view, was made Johnny's because of his age and wisdom and lived experience. NIN sang it completely differently and it just doesn't have the same meaning. They were telling the story like it was from the view of current drug addiction. Johnny's feeling behind it is so poignant because he's showing it all stays with you. All the horrible things he did to the people he loved and now they're all gone and he knew he would be gone soon, too. The imagery used was his own life, whereas the images in NIN version is nothing to do with them. They show clips from wars they weren't part of and decaying animals mostly. It just isn't the same song, despite literally being the same! Johnny's version of this song makes me well up every time I listen to it. The NIN version doesn't give me that visceral reaction. It doesn'take me almost feel sick to my stomach, like a weight is dropped in my gut. It sounds 90s cool and comparatively light. This version is deep and dark and sad and, yes, his finally goodbye.

Trent Reznor showed his class and grace by allowing Johnny to cover this song. Much respect!

This song breaks me every time I hear it. Trent Reznor wrote amazing, personal lyrics and Johnny Cash took that song and put it up in the stratosphere with his entire lifetime of experience infused into every single syllable. If this song can't get you to have compassion for people with chemical dependencies I don't know how to reach you.

You’re right about it being a goodbye letter. They both died a few months apart shortly after this video was filmed. This one alway gets me.

The country singers mean more to me as I get older. Maybe it’s nostalgia or maybe I’m just listening harder. Cash and Kris Kristofferson and John Prine could turn a phrase. This song was written by Trent Reznor and it’s genius is how it addresses addiction and regret equally.

Near the end of his career he released some new music. Nobody would play it. In typical Johnny Cash fashion he took out a full-page ad and he took out a full page ad in variety. It was a picture of him flipping the bird. He just wanted to thank everyone in radio for their support

The man lived one of the most legendary lives in the history of humanity. The experiences. The money. The relationships. The late nights. The traveling. The chilling moments only Johnny went through. To end his live giving everything to Christ! To repent and to be forgiven of all the wrong. It’s beautiful!

Cash was a part of the "storyteller" generation of artists. The more songs you hear, the more you'll hear it. Start with "A boy named Sue".

I'm not a fan of every single song Johnny Cash made, but more than some are irreplaceable. I think the old house and flood imagery were from his childhood home. His family/origins were dirt poor cotton sharecroppers. Legend.

I was blessed to get to see Johnny and June live waaay back in the 60's on a Grand Ole Opry tour. Been fan of his since. This is a fitting end to a legendary career, Went out with his boots on.

Cash recorded this in 2002 on his final album. He died in 2003. That is his wife on the stairs who also died in 2003 before he did. This is a cover of a song written by Trent Reznor with the band Nine Inch Nails in the mid-1990s. and it was a song about drug addiction. Cash made it into something more. Reznor was so touched when he heard Cash sing it that he said: "That song isn't mine anymore."

You nailed it - he was saying goodbye. Great reaction!

I knew that this sounded familiar, Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his own soul? Johnny knew what really had worth!

This song is so beautiful and heartrending all at the same time. Johnny Cash is a Legend for good reason and Trent Reznor is a genius and a true poet.

You hit it right on the head with "goodbye letter". His wife June Carter Cash passed away only a few months after the release of this song. Johnny would follow her a couple of months later. This was the last record he released.

This is a cover of the original by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)... you should try that one too

I sometimes listen to sad songs even when I’m not in a bad mood, to cry, because it seems to help me release stress. So I listen to a sad song, let some tears flow as I immerse myself in the lyrics and attempt to feel the pain being conveyed, and after, I actually feel good. Refreshed, even. Interestingly enough, both the original meaning of this song and when Johnny Cash’s rendition transformed it into reflect states of being that I fear. Being a young man with his life spiralling out of control, and being an old man full of regret and sorrow who knows he’s going to die soon.

I'm not sure how Johnny came across the song, but I'm sure he saw it as the perfect song to close his career. Such a powerful cover, and beautifully performed. Nice reaction - thanks

I can't listen to this too many times. I became really depressed after listening to him. He brings that darkness to life.

It's said that when he closed the piano at the end, it has never again been opened. For some reason knowing that makes this even more sorrowful. His daughter Roseanne told her father this song sounded like his goodbye. It was his last recording.

I will fight ANYONE who disagrees with me: Hurt is Johnny Cash's best song BECAUSE it is incapsulating his whole career in one song

This song, by Johnny, came out a few weeks after I lost my best friend from high school due to complications of Type 1 Diabetes. He was 53 years old and left behind a wife and five kids. I cried so hard, like I never have before. This song always makes me tear up, going on 12 years later. "What have I become, my sweetest friend," still stabs me in heart.

I am not much of a cover song guy myself, but this is an amazing cover and the video just adds to it. Watching this man who had such a storied history go through his life, and he was at the end of his life when he made this, just kicks you in the gut

Very deep song with lots of meaning. Johnny Cash was my Daddy’s country singer.

A lot of people call themselves artists that sing but this performance and video are art.

An Absolutely Powerful Goodbye From A Legendary Music Icon...Rest Well Johnny & June🙏❤

The look on June's face while she watches him is heartbreaking. She knows she's losing the other half of her soul. Then she ends up going first...

With all his success, he was still a broken person. Actor, singer songwriter, TV personality..... very humble beginnings. Beautiful lyrics.

This was his swan song. Once June died, he felt like it was time to go.

Thank you for your beautiful emotional support for this song ❣️. It's my mantra, now,in life and I listen to him singing to my very soul 💕. This is a precious goodbye to people you love. I respect every part of this song

If you read this, I recommend listening to all the albums he cut with Rick Rubin known collectively as the American Recordings. Find and read about how Rick sought Johnny out when Johnny had been dropped by Columbia Records and basically had nothing going on. Rick said his vision was Johnny, an acoustic guitar, and the songs Johnny wanted to record before he was gone. "God's Gonna Cut You Down" would be a good beginning, great video on that one too. Great reaction!

His daughter said to him after watching the video, that it was like he was saying goodbye….and he agreed, it was.

He was called The Man in Black

June Carter Cash, his wife and the love of his life died a few months after this was made and he lasted just 4 months without her. I think the video is a cover of a man dealing with addiction and depression and Cash himself had been addicted to amphetamine's since the early 60's, but the final words 'I will find a way', speak to his recognition of the meaning of the great loves in his life; his music, his wife and family.

Beautiful reaction… you totally nailed it 10 out of 10.

One of the best reactions to this song I’ve ever heard. You got it. Thank you for your insight. I subscribed on your wisdom.

This hits even harder when you hear the story of how this song came to be. Loved your reaction.

Love the effective way they use clips of him earlier in his career. The house is a childhood home he visited before they flooded the area.

First time seeing your channel. I like that motto on your intro: "Be You. They'll Adjust." Damn man! That slaps

You are right, this was his goodbye letter. He had a life full of outlaw stuff, drug and alcohol abuse, hurting his wife and family. He got clean and gave his life to Christ. The video shows the struggle of all that and how at the end of your life it’s all worthless. Another excellent and worthy song to explore if his is Man In Black.

I was raised in Johnny... and by that I mean the only family vacations I took was to go to Tennessee to the Grand Old Oort and been to the gates of his house many times in the 70’s 80’s. As a long time fan and growing knowing his life ....this song is the old fame story. He sold his soul, he had to give up what he loved to get where he wanted to be, but in the end, money means nothing and he lost everything at the end. One of the saddest stories ever written. He has so many Jesus references because he made the opposite choice, and regrets it.

You nailed this video. I’ve heard it many times and it elicits strong emotion. You put words to those emotions that make me appreciate this song even more. Thank you.

June Called All Of The Children Before They Watched The Video,, To Warn Them About Being Prepared Emotionally For This One.

While this is a "Nine Inch Nails" song, I can see why it resonated with Johnny. As a child, Johnny's brother was killed in an accident, and his father told Johnny that he wished he had died instead of his brother. He spent many years addicted to drugs but turned his life around with the help of his wife, June Carter Cash. He recorded this song after her death.

I am a fan of your reactions. I found you when you did a Tom Macdonald reaction to Fake Woke. Hurt was a good song when Trent Razor wrote and preformed it. What Jonny Cash did with this song made it a Great song. Jonny has a way of telling a story in a moving way. He does this in so many of his songs.

I grew up listening to Johnny Cash. My mom had every recorded he ever made and my father played and sang his music. He did so many phenomenal songs but this is by far my favorite, even though he didn't write it, it's like it was written about his life. I cried like a baby the first time I heard it.

I'm subscribing because I have watched a few of your vids tonight and you seem to actually listen and watch and sum up the context so well on the songs I have known so well. Thanks for your insight and comments.

This is an amazing Nine Inch Nails cover, thank you whoever donated for it.

Here's the thing Polo, Imma sit here and listen to this even though I'm not a huge fan, because I know the longer I listen , the better for the algorithm. This is how much I love your gig.

after 47 albums- hurt by nine inch nails was the last song he ever did-the man in black knew his time was up- rip LEGEND

I love Cash's cover of this song. I wish you could have heard Nine Inch Nails original version first so you could completely appreciate what he did with this song, but it isn't necessary. Thank you very much for this reaction! I hope you react to more of his songs, he has many greats.

Johnny recorded the song in 2002, releasing it in March 2003. It's a miracle the video was made at all. Between those two dates, the person who made the video heard the song and said it absolutely HAD to have a video. He had a single day to go film, filmed at Johnny & June's home, then at the Cash Museum, which had been closed and neglected since a flood sometime before. They unearthed a film archive while there. The next day, Johnny & June left for the Bahamas. So, the song was released in March of 2003. June Carter Cash passed away May 2003, about 2 months later. Johnny died 4 months after that, in September of 2003. "Hurt" was the last song Johnny Cash ever recorded. For most people, that last image of Johnny closed the cover over the piano keys is him closing the lid on his legacy; but what a way to go out. Johnny Cash had a lot of personal demons; he had a lot of regrets, some unearned and some forgivable. He did drive some people away, so loss is not just from people taken by death. But I don't believe he was able to forgive himself, and I think he did not know peace. Hoping now he has found that peace that others stole from him or he denied himself.

His daughter said the song sounded like it was good by song and Johnny replied it is and later on he passed away, Rumors had it he knew he was dying, and after June passed he just lost the will to live.

Thank you, POLO, for a great review. In my humble opinion, this was Johnny's greatest work. And you did it justice.

This song never fails to set me off, as soon as that chorus kicks in.. I'm gone I read somewhere that his daughter said something along the lines of "why does it feel like your saying goodbye" and Cash replied "because I am" That really hit me!! What a song, and what a video!! For me this song is all about regret, looking back on your life as it's coming to an end! He died not long after this song came out

My empire of dirt - all the "things" we collect through our life - bling, clothes, cars, crap - don't mean a thing when you get closer to your death. THey are no comfort. All you have that you can look back on is your treatment of others, how you relate do those closest to you - those that cared for you. That is it - the only thing that matters at the end.

Johnny Cash is THE MAN- an incredible musician, one of the GREATS

I hope after you heard this song - you did a deep dive into his life, catalog and how important and influential he was his entire life in the field of music.

The man did his utmost best to wreck his life in every way he could with the fame and money that came with it.. June loved him.. and fought for him like a tiger.. finally showing him HER savior, who became his. It was still never easy, and the battle against the dark was life long. 80 years old, and redeemed, but still aware of that dark and pain. Johnny could own that song like not many could. only the second time I've seen this vid... man... intense.

"But I remember everything" That is the hell of being old, at least for me. All the people and things I've lost over the years, I try not to think of it. But it wakes me up at night.

I grew up riding around in a truck with my dad listening to that voice. I was also of the age and temperament to have been a Nine Inch Nails fan. And now I’m Stage 4 Clear Cell Renal Carcinoma. The needle is the drug they feed you and it does tear a hole. The pain becomes familiar. Can’t be killed. But I remember everything, including riding around with dad listening to Cash.

It's literally a goodbye letter. His own kids said, "It sounds like you are saying goodbye." He said, "I am." June died after this was filmed, and he died shortly after it was released. I don't know if there is any science or morality to it, but I have deep respect for spouses who pass shortly after theirs passes. I feel like...true love carries spouses along...much after they were willing to give up. For better, or for worse, that is beautiful and human.

Whoa...actually got some tears there. Made me think too

This may be the finest song every sung.

The song was wrote by nine inch nail he heard it and it sounded like his life so he ask to sign it it was his last song he sang before he passed away

A beautiful, sensitive reaction. I wish I could give it more than a thumbs-up. ❤

He will always be a legend to me. A very humble man ❤

last song he ever did-rip LEGEND