Hurt

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

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

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 - Trent Reznor

Written by Trent Reznor and first performed by Nine Inch Nails on their 1994 Album, 'The Downward Spiral' (which features the rather excellent track, 'A Warm Place').

The Nine INch Nails version doesn't really do much for me, but Johnny Cash's version from his 2002 album 'American IV: The Man Comes Around', which is mostly comprised of covers of other people's songs, is mind-bogglingly good, in a low key, sort of depressing kind of way.

You can listen to it on YouTube by visiting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go