3 Songs Johnny Cash Recorded That Hit Harder Than Anyone Expected

Johnny Cash knew how to perform everything from comedy tunes (“A Boy Named Sue”) to outlaw-leaning country tracks (“Folsom Prison Blues”). He was also a master at performing particularly gut-wrenching, sad country songs. The following three might require some tissues, forewarning.

“Hurt” from ‘American IV: The Man Comes Around’ (2003)

Few can listen to this song and not feel heartbroken. I’m still shocked that this song was originally a Nine Inch Nails track. Johnny Cash, with his well-aged, vulnerable voice, took an industrial rock song and turned it into one of the most heartwrenching tunes about aging and regret ever made. Interestingly enough, Trent Reznor originally said that he thought the idea of Cash singing his song was “gimmicky.” That is, until he heard the cover and saw the music video for the first time.

“I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone,” Reznor said of the song. “Some-f*cking-how that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre [Cash] and still retains sincerity and meaning – different, but every bit as pure.”

“We’ll Meet Again” from ‘American IV: The Man Comes Around’ (2003)

This one always gets me. If you’ve ever suffered from the pain of separating from someone you love, either in a long-distance relationship fashion or because of a breakup, this gem from Johnny Cash with resonate with you. And yet again, it’s a song that Cash didn’t write. It’s a cover of a 1939 ballad by Vera Lynn. That song was originally an anthem of sorts for World War II servicemen who were separated from their families. Cash, a veteran, injected new life into the song in the 21st century.

“Oh, Bury Me Not” from ‘American Recordings’ (1994)

This cowboy folk song (originally titled “Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie”) from the early 20th century has been performed by everyone from The Residents to Colter Wall to Moe Bandy. And it was also covered by Johnny Cash at some point in his career. In fact, he likely performed it on more than a few occasions, evidenced by its inclusion in the 2005 box set titled The Legend. Before that release, though, Cash’s cover of the cowboy tune was recorded in 1993 and included on his career-reviving masterpiece, American Recordings. This is such a hidden gem, and there’s something about it that just stirs up my heart with every listen. Cash really had a gift.

Photo by: Universal Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images