Hurt- Johnny Cash

For this blog I decided to look at one of my all time favorite songs: Hurt by Johnny Cash, and especially this one verse that stands out to me.
This was originally performed by Nine Inch Nails.  I prefer this cover not only because I love Johnny Cash, but because he does something really great with the lyrics.
There's a stanza in the original song that goes:

I wear this crown of shit
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

In Cash's version, this verse goes:

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

The rest of the lyrics are the same, but I thought that difference did something crucial for my understanding of this song. Because, gross, crown of shit? That's just nasty. Crown of thorns, besides being less gross, has biblical undertones and is an allusion to Jesus' suffering. While yes, Cash was a born-again Christian, this change doesn't come across as evangelical in the slightest. Instead, it alludes to feeling martyred and finally being beaten. The song is called "Hurt" and is about addiction, pain, being at rock bottom.

It's touching to see Cash perform this song, since he covered it shortly before his death. You can hear the world-weariness as he sings, "What have I become, my sweetest friend? Everyone I know goes away in the end."

If you haven't heard it yet, go listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aF9AJm0RFc