Johnny Cash Music video analysis

Hurt

As the music video begins it is evident from the very start that the images and camera shots used cut to the beat of the music. An example of this is the opening montage of objects such as Christ and fruit decaying which appear on the screen and cut away in accordance to the music itself. The majority of the music video is Johnny Cash in his house, which looks highly expensive, surrounded by decay in the form of fruit and food and dour figurines such as Christ dying on the cross. This could be symbolic of how Johnny’s life has always been full of darkness and death something the lyrics of the song relates to. Therefore it is evident that in this particular music video Johnny is telling the story of his life through the lyrics.

The shot then changes to a close up of Johnny playing his guitar symbolising the idea that Johnny’s life has always been full of music, this also mirrors the song itself as it is a song about life and in Cash’s' case music is and has been his life. The fact Johnny is wearing black in this shot is symbolic as he is known by all as the man in black. This particular convention used in the music video may have been used in keeping with Cash’s' public persona this being someone who always does unconventional things. The black clothes however have a strong connection with the song as it is about grief and heartbreak things highly associated with the colour black as it is a mourning colour.

Johnny cash is singing away from the camera almost like an interview style, this also fits in with the classic convention of making a music video a story. This is because by making the video have an interview feel to it ,it is almost like a last confession of Johnny’s as the lyrics talk of ill made decisions and broken regrets and he is conveying this to the audience. However as he is not breaking the forth wall it deepens the story as such a convention suggests he is so ashamed of his behaviour he cannot bear to bear all to everyone and look them in the eyes .Through the use of synthetic light which lights up the guitar and his face it clearly highlights where are attention should be as the song is very emotional and painful we have to look at Johnny’s face to clearly see this.

 
The camera then switches to a shot of the American flag implying that Johnny cash is proud of being American. Therefore a personal touch has been allowed to be added to the music video. the video then displays footage of the House of Cash which is a museum dedicated to his life’s work. The footage shows close ups of broken records and basically a place gone to pure waste. This poses the symbolic question has his star light gone to? This is further implied by the close up of a sign saying closed to the public.

As Johnny sings the line "I remember everything" a parallel between the lyrics and the music video appears once more as a flashback sequence follows, full of archive footage of Cash through his years at home and at work. Suggesting that he still remembers all of the life he has lived both public and private. This then changes to a side close up of Johnny performing now and then a quick flashback to Johnny in his prime with his children .This may have been done to show how far Johnny has really come and what he has turned into , who it seems through the lyrics of the song is a broken man.

The line that continues the song "everyone goes away in the end" brings the image of his mother in a photo frame into focus in close up form in order to signify the fact that he truly has lost people around him in his persona life. The shots that follow are of Cash performing and on his TV to show how much Johnny Cash actually had and like how the song states it has been all for nothing because it means nothing to him and now he is left in this sad state. The use of integrated images of broken records may also have been used to mirror how like his records he too is broken "I will make you hurt".

As the video begins to focus on his life now , in his mansion this particular footage relates to the lyrics about his "Empire of dirt" and how we "can have it all" because the rotting foot and the dusty artefacts show he cares very little for it as does not look after any of it. However as Johnny is eating by himself it signifies actually it is all he has got to show for his life. The proceeding shot of Cash on a chair mirrors the song once more "liars chair" this clearly shows that Cash has related the song to himself , and he is the one who has let everyone down and he who sits on the liars chair. Also the line "My sweetest friend" is also related to him as a camera shot of his wife coming into view is shown this being a connotation of how he has put her through nothing more than absolute grief and heartbreak through the abuse of drugs and alcohol over the years.
 

As the song reaches its peak Johnny Cash pours wine all over his table, the connotation of red wine being the blood of Christ. This suggests that like Christ this Johnny Cash’s' last supper and his life is coming to an end and he has no one like Jesus had no disciples when he died. He is just alone. These shots cut away to an image of Christ on the cross and then Johnny also on a cross again mirroring the similarities between the two and giving the connotation of Johnny being at his end to.

The montage then begins to speed up at a faster pace as Johnny shakes implying all this pain and hurt he speaks of has left him damaged and shaken. The music video then shifts to the feel of a man reflecting on his life as footage of his past moves on and of the screen to the beat of the music once more. Finally ending with his first TV performance signifying this was a key moment in Johnny’s life. The music video ends with the lights fading and Johnny closing the piano symbolic of Cash’s life coming to an end and like the light he is fading away. The stroking of the piano symbolises Cash feels it is the end and knows it as the screen fades to black.