According to an interview with his daughter at youtube.com/watch. "Cash stared his own mortality right in the face." Although the song was originally written by Trent Reznor of NIN, Cash obviously related to the song in a very real way and June assisted him as he prepared his family for the video. The following is my interpretation...Johnny Cash was suffering with Diabetic Neuropathy, which is an extremely painful and progressive disease. The pain manifests as a burning pain that feels as though your extremities, usually the legs and feet, are on fire. It is a result of nerve damage caused by Diabetes. Another complication of Diabetic Neuropathy is numbness of the toes and eventually the feet. However, the burning "nerve pain" is still there. You could cut your toe open and wouldn't know it because there is no feeling. To me this song represents that Johnny Cash was suffering. May he rest peacefully now. The pain is gone.
I hurt myself today, (cut my toe, maybe)
to see if I still feel, ( Is it numb yet? )
I focus on the pain, ( It burns so bad. It's all I can think about. )
the only thing that's real,
The needle tears a hole, ( Diabetic Shots Daily)
the old familiar sting,
try to kill it all away, (Try not to think about it )
but I remember everything,
what have I become,
my sweetest friend, ( June Cash Carter )
everyone i know,
goes away in the end, ( Everyone is mortal and will die, he knew he was dying )
and you could have it all, (He would give up all of his material possesions if it would alter the course)
my empire of dirt,
I will let you down, (Because I am going to die)
I will make you hurt, ( and you are going to hurt )
I agree with "DillyNews 02-21-2009" regarding good nature(Superego)and evil nature(Id)for the following verse;
I wear this crown of thorns,
upon my liars chair,
full of broken thoughts,
I cannot repair, ( we've all done and said things we cannot change )
beneath the stains of time, ( A marriage that has lasted for many years has gone through many changes)
the feelings dissapear,
you are someone else,
I am still right here, ( But, we love each other and I am still right here )
if I could start again,
a million miles away,
I will keep myself, ( Does this mean he will sing again or just stay true to hiself? )
I would find a way,
According to an interview with his daughter at youtube.com/watch. "Cash stared his own mortality right in the face." Although the song was originally written by Trent Reznor of NIN, Cash obviously related to the song in a very real way and June assisted him as he prepared his family for the video. The following is my interpretation...Johnny Cash was suffering with Diabetic Neuropathy, which is an extremely painful and progressive disease. The pain manifests as a burning pain that feels as though your extremities, usually the legs and feet, are on fire. It is a result of nerve damage caused by Diabetes. Another complication of Diabetic Neuropathy is numbness of the toes and eventually the feet. However, the burning "nerve pain" is still there. You could cut your toe open and wouldn't know it because there is no feeling. To me this song represents that Johnny Cash was suffering. May he rest peacefully now. The pain is gone.
I hurt myself today, (cut my toe, maybe) to see if I still feel, ( Is it numb yet? ) I focus on the pain, ( It burns so bad. It's all I can think about. ) the only thing that's real,
The needle tears a hole, ( Diabetic Shots Daily) the old familiar sting, try to kill it all away, (Try not to think about it ) but I remember everything,
what have I become, my sweetest friend, ( June Cash Carter ) everyone i know, goes away in the end, ( Everyone is mortal and will die, he knew he was dying )
and you could have it all, (He would give up all of his material possesions if it would alter the course) my empire of dirt,
I will let you down, (Because I am going to die) I will make you hurt, ( and you are going to hurt )
I agree with "DillyNews 02-21-2009" regarding good nature(Superego)and evil nature(Id)for the following verse;
I wear this crown of thorns, upon my liars chair, full of broken thoughts, I cannot repair, ( we've all done and said things we cannot change )
beneath the stains of time, ( A marriage that has lasted for many years has gone through many changes) the feelings dissapear, you are someone else, I am still right here, ( But, we love each other and I am still right here )
if I could start again, a million miles away, I will keep myself, ( Does this mean he will sing again or just stay true to hiself? ) I would find a way,
Wow. Great analysis.
Wow. Great analysis.