By Ron F. Hale Raw emotion swept over me the first time I saw and heard Johnny Cash’s video rendition of “Hurt,” a song first recorded by Nine Inch Nails in 1994. Seeing the now frail Cash singing the ghostly opening lyrics made me feel just a hint of the heartache that made the “Man in Black.” 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   The eerie medley and montage of a life-time of photos and film clips of Johnny along with his unmistakable voice helped rank the video one of the “The 30 All-Time Best Music Videos” by Time. There was a hopeless day in 1967 that Johnny literally crawled into a deep dark cave to die.  The accumulated pain and shame of a decade of doing drugs, popping pills, ruined relationships, while always riding the rapids of whiskey river brought him to the mouth of Nickajack Cave on the Tennessee River north of Chattanooga. All his “uppers” had turned to “downers,” but Johnny wasn’t blaming anyone but himself. He knew that he had been his own worst enemy. The “Man in Black” would die in total darkness that … [Read more...]