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
[Chorus:]
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
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar’s chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
[Chorus:]
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
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
Érdekességek a dalról:
This song is about realizing consequence and regret. It sends a powerful message that we should all proceed through life wisely, because there is nothing worse than being stuck with a label, a pain, a sickness, or a death.
Cash played this over 100 times before he recorded it. He called it “The best anti-drug song I ever heard.”
Rick Rubin, who produced Johnny Cash’s cover, says of this song in the October 2004 edition of Vanity Fair: “It’s a strange song. I mean, the opening line is, ‘I hurt myself today…’ And then the next line is, ‘To see if I still feel.’ So it’s self-inflicted. It’s such a strange thought to open a song with.”
songfacts.com
Vocabulary:
crown of thorns – töviskorona (bibliai utalás)
