Johnny Cash Covers

Today I heard a punk rock version of “Ring of Fire,” the June Carter/Merle Kilgore song originally recorded by Johnny Cash. I guess as the release date of the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk The Line” draws near, we’ll be hearing a lot more of his songs on the radio.

I did some research and discovered the cover I heard was done by Social Distortion back in 1990. I must say it gave me a whole new perspective of the song. I was impressed. I was also surprised I hadn’t heard it before. It was fast, energetic and passionate in all the right places as only a punk rock spin can give. I wouldn’t say it was better or worse than Johnny Cash’s version, just different.

When I compare it with Johnny Cash doing the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt” the difference is like day and night. The first time I saw the video, I was blown away. It’s very simply done, shot from the side with Johnny at the piano and June Carter Cash sitting quietly reflective behind him. It reminded me of an Annie Liebowitz portrait for Rolling Stone. As he sings the song, the video shows his life through out the ages, mostly through home movies. The rock stations around here started playing it after he died and I could never hear it without feeling his pain.

The vibrato in his voice speaks of someone who has dealt with pain all his life, but some how kept going in spite of it. The song is about drug addiction, about someone who has caused others around him pain because the pain they have endured. Coming from Johnny Cash, who has experienced drug addiction, personal tragedy, prison, ridicule, heartache and triumphed over all of it, it is powerful, moving and yet heartbreaking.

The Nine Inch Nails version is dark, sinister, and reminds me of a soundtrack to a Tim Burton movie. Where Johnny’s version is passionate and affecting NIN’s version comes across whining like a five-year-old who mashed his finger in the door.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails wrote the song about his heroin addiction after he overcame it. The song has a powerful meaning that Johnny Cash interpreted to fit his style and his life’s pain.Even Reznor was impressed, saying that after seeing the video he felt like the song no longer belonged to him.

I also like the Cash arrangement better, from the way he starts out singing a ballad that turns into a growling protest song to the way he changes the lyrics from “crown of shit” to “crown of thorns.” He changes it from symbol of pity to a symbol of martyrdom.

Different? Better? Worse? I guess it all depends on your perspective and your taste in music.