Johnny Cash: Sucessful or Defeated

Most of you are familiar with the legend Johnny Cash. He is generally considered one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. His music touched millions, and he was a celebrated icon until his final days. And although one would think that success and fame of this magnitude would be the base of a happy life, his last music video ever produced tells us a different message. It is for the song, "Hurt." Mr. Cash covered this song, as it is originally produced by another band, and sings the same lyrics. His version, however, seems more of a self-critical form of poetry that portrays him in a sad state of mind. It is a powerful song. The images in the music video also are powerful, as they go with the lyrics. It starts with showing images of his younger life and follows a chronological order of appearances. It seems to be a slide show of his life. Towards the end is where it becomes touching. With the final lyrics,

"what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt"

it seems as if he's saying that all the fame and fortune accumulated doesn't mean squat in the end of one's life, and that in the end everyone eventually passes away. I like to think that Mr. Cash was being humble, in a sense, and was using this to demonstrate his content with his final days. In my book, he was a huge success and will always be remembered as such.

P.S. I've posted a link below where you can view the video on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go