That said, Cash absolutely fuckin nailed that cover. I think it's way more emotional than the original. I'm sure Trent was proud as fuck at what Cash did to his song.
I know it's not a popular opinion but I don't think Johnny cash understood Trents original meaning of the song and turned it into a self aggrandizing song. Especially the change from "I wear this crown of shit" to "I wear this crown of thorns".
It just doesn't hit like the NIN version which clearly came from a very personal place.
Exactly this. It also lacks the gravity of an entire concept album preceding it and two minutes of static death sounds at the end. It's a sanitized cover of a song that shouldn't be sanitized.
I think it's similar, I think the thorns are the pain of regret that he wears for all that he has done. The crown of shit is similar in that it's worthless, he's a king of nothing.
He absolutely did and it's an unpopular opinion because you're positing that a song man who'd been in the business for 50 years couldn't understand the meaning.
I'm old enough to have bought Downworld Spiral on release day, and I think Reznor wrote that song for Cash. It just took him and the the rest of us 20 years to realize it.