Johnny Cash, cover songs, and bargaining with God

I promise all those things go together.

A while ago I encountered Johnny Cash's cover version of 'Hurt', originally by Nine Inch Nails. You kind of need to watch the video clip to understand what I'll be rambling on about later, so please take a minute to do so:







The Nine Inch Nails version seems like it's about drugs, depression, nihilism etc (all in a day's work for Trent Reznor, I suppose, although the all-powerful knowledge depository says that the meaning of the song is 'disputed'). What I found interesting is that Cash's version completely changes the meaning of the song when you watch the video. While it seems like he's addressing a bunch of different people with the lyrics of the song (his former selves and his wife included), some of the imagery makes it clear that he's also addressing God. In that sense Cash has turned the song into a prayer. A tiny grammar change illustrates the point being made in the video:

and You could have it all, my empire of dirt;
I will let You down. I will make You hurt.

I found this reinterpretation powerful, because Cash isn't apologising or asking forgiveness for letting God down (at least, not explicitly). He's promising to let God down.  It is a certainty. He's illustrating the bargain we make with God, which goes something like this:

"Let us exchange promises, Lord. You will take me as your child; love me, sustain me, teach me, and ultimately sacrifice yourself for my benefit. In return I can offer you foolishness, ignorance, pride and betrayal. Your every good gift I will take and turn to evil ends unless you show me otherwise. Your sacrifice I will scoff at and forget about unless you remind me constantly. I will let you down. I will make you hurt."

If you are a Christian this is the bargain you make with God every day. And it is the bargain that God accepts from you every day, without fail, knowing that you cannot but let him down.

In another contractual metaphor, here's how my favourite band had it:

I had a rusty spade, but I'm not the fighting sort;
if I were Samson I would have found that harlot's blade
and cut my own hair short!
Then in a market dimly lit, I come casually to pay;
You see my coins are counterfeit,
but You accept them anyway.

Lots of people say you can't bargain with God. You can't, not in the traditional sense; we've got nothing to offer, although we try and pretend otherwise. But that's not going to stop God accepting our feeble terms.

What a wondrous thing that is.