In August of 2003, shortly before his death, Johnny Cash sat down for an interview with MTV’s Kurt Loder. In the heavy mood of the interview, you can almost feel the sense that Johnny knows his life is nearing the end, and he even admits as much.
“Oh, I expect my life to end pretty soon; you know. I’m 71 years old. I have great faith, though. I have unshakeable faith; I’ve never been angry with God. I’ve never turned my back on God, so to speak. I never thought God wasn’t there. I knew that He is my counselor; He is my wisdom. All the good things in my life come from Him.”
Of course, he was 71-years-old, had just lost his wife June Carter, and continued to etch his name in country music history forever with “Hurt,” a song originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails. The song really took on a life of its own, and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor even famously said that the song didn’t belong to him anymore after Cash’s iconic cover.
But throughout his final interview, he talks about marriage, his record deal, personal battles, and his music career in general. It’s no secret that Cash was often times at war with himself, a constant struggle between the head and the heart, the angel on his one shoulder… and the devil on the other.
He said it best by saying:
“Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.”
Nevertheless, those two personalities molded him into one of the greatest singers, songwriters, and performers the country music world had ever seen. A music and pop culture icon, a man that transcended country music.
And when asked if he had any regrets, he took it back his faith:
“I used to, but I don’t… I forgave myself. When God forgave me, I figured I’d better do it too so everything is all right now.”
He discusses working with Rick Rubin on American Recordings, stating that it was some of his best work to date. As he continues to open up to Loder, he delivers a strong word of advice on independence to everybody, no matter who you are:
“You can’t let people delegate to you what you should do. When it’s coming from way in here, you know? I wouldn’t let anybody influence me into thinking I was doing the wrong thing by singing about death, hell, and drugs.”
Throughout the interview, you can see that Cash is at peace with himself, even though his deep cut of “Hurt” may have speculated otherwise.
He also added his secret to a happy marriage:
“Separate bathrooms.”
Check it out, this is a must see:
And of course, the draw dropping video to “Hurt:”
