Chords + Lyrics | Hurt
Intro
| Am | C Dsus2 | Am | C D | Am |
Verse 1
||: C Dsus2 | Am | C D | Am :||
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.
| C Dsus2 | Am | C D | G |
Try to kill it all away. But I remember everything.
Chorus 1
||: Am7 | Fadd9 | C | G :||
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.
| Am7 | Fadd9 | C |
I will let you down, I will make you hurt.
Instrumental 1
| Am | C Dsus2 | Am | C D | Am |
Verse 2
||: C Dsus2 | Am | C D | Am :||
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’m still right here.
Chorus 2
||: Am7 | Fadd9 | C | G :||
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.
Outro
| Am7 | Fadd9 | C | G |
If I could start again, a million miles away.
| Am7 | Fadd9 | C | Am |
I would keep myself, I would find a way.
Hurt Chords: A Breakdown of the Verse and Chorus Progressions
The chords in Hurt are certainly not difficult.
Verse
The verse is just this:
| C (I) Dsus2 (II) | Am (VI) |
Occasionally, that Dsus2 is a D, making us question whether it’s actually in the key of G, moving IV – V – II instead of I – II – VI in the key of C.
Chorus
The chorus is in the key of C, moving VI – IV – I – V, like this:
| Am7 (VI) | Fadd9 (IV) | C (I) | G (V) |
Or is it in the key of G, moving II – bVIIx – IV – I?
Mixing two keys like this (only one note differs between C and G) is a great songwriting trick—it creates tension.
If you want to explore this modal interchange further and get TAB for how to play it, check this part of the lesson: Hurt – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’ve got the TAB down, a simple chord chart will be enough to remember how to play it. Here’s one I made for you.
Hurt Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
It’s so clever how Hurt starts with an Am, then moves to C and Dsus2 during the intro, only to land back on Am when the verse begins.
This is such a simple shift, yet it’s all that’s needed to wake the listener up.
If you’d like to download the chord chart, here’s a PDF: Hurt chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro—here’s a link to that file: Hurt chord chart iReal Pro. With the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
However, the sound of this part is closely tied to using open-position chords, so if you change that, you change the song.
Hurt TAB | Course Preview
In the course, you get TAB for all sections of Hurt, carefully arranged to suit solo acoustic performance.
As a preview, here’s the chorus.
The last single released in Johnny Cash’s lifetime
Originally written by Nine Inch Nails, it was Rick Rubin’s idea for Cash to cover it for his final studio album, American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002).
Six months after Hurt was released as a single, Johnny Cash passed away.
The album as a whole is well worth a listen, capturing Cash’s voice in a way unlike anything before—far removed from how he was initially perceived when first rejected by Sam Phillips.
As shown in the film Walk the Line, Sam pushed Johnny to dig deeper and inject more emotion into his voice.
His debut recording began in 1954(!), and by 2002, it’s safe to say Johnny Cash had truly mastered his craft. I suppose releasing 97 albums helped!
Hurt Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Hurt (Johnny Cash) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: