Blog on the Lillypad
Monday, October 06, 2003
 | More on 'Hurt' Video
Johnny Cash's final video, "Hurt," is a masterpiece. This is one of those times when I am thankful for a cable connection. It plays easily. You can get it from any of the following sources, though you may have to hunt around each page for the link: |
| I've got the MP3 for listening right here, but I'm telling you, the video part is haunting and forms an integral part of the song. Cash's final song is utterly truthful, very sad, and yet not bitter. It moves hauntingly over images of decay and age (including Cash himself) and is interspersed with clips of him as a younger, stronger man. It is filled with regret but not bitterness; humility in the face of his own frailty and yet dignity. Images of Christ being nailed to the cross seem to indicate Cash's recognition of his own sin and conversion, but you may have to watch it a few times to put the images together. In telling us a hard truth about our own mortality, Johnny Cash once again tells it in song, directly, with poignant honesty and simplicity. |  |
