It’s the middle of concert season. Band boosters is just $100 short for that field trip. Chair placements have become a month-long affair and the fatigue is real. Everyone has those days. Here is a lesson for them.
Cover Songs
“Good artists copy, great artists steal”. Through Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’s original “Hurt” this lesson will explore and discuss what makes a truly effective cover song?
Nine Inch Nails vs. Johnny Cash
Grades: 8-12 Expected time: 45 minutes Materials: - Recordings of both Nine Inch Nails’s and Johnny Cash’s versions of “Hurt” - Lyrics of the NIN’s version of “Hurt” - Pencil and paper
Sequence:
1) Play NIN’s version of Hurt for the class. While students listen, tell them to consider the following take notes for discussion.
What genre is the song?
What instruments are featured?
What emotions is the song trying to convey?
What story do you think the songwriter, Trent Reznor, was trying to tell?
2) Explain that you are going to play the song again, except this time it’s by a different artist. (Note: there is one significant difference in the lyrics of the two songs. NIN uses “crown of shit” and Johnny Cash uses “crown of thorns” for the third verse). Display the lyrics of the NIN’s version to compare to Johnny Cash while listening.
3) Play Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt”. Have students take notes for discussion.
4) Partner up! Have students compare their findings between the two songs.
5) Circle up for a full class discussion. Explain and discuss the concept of a cover song with the class.
What is a cover song?
What makes an effective cover song?
What do you think the point is where the cover is stealing or when it’s not even the same song anymore?
6) Using their findings of listening to the two different songs as evidence, start the discussion of the covers with the following prompts:
Compare and contrast Johnny Cash’s and Nine Inch Nail’s performance of “Hurt”. How did their different artistic choices change the meaning of the song? How did the artistic choices that they kept the same emphasize a certain meaning in the song? Think about instrumentation, genre and the story they were telling.
Discuss the different lyrical choices of NIN’s “crown of shit” and Johnny Cash’s “crown of thorns”.
To what extent did you think Johnny Cash kept true to the original version of “Hurt”? Do you think it’s okay to take your own artistic direction with a cover of a song? How much can you change before it “disrespects” the original? How much can you keep the same in the cover before you lose your own artistry? Are there any limits to how much you can change or keep the same?
Is Johnny Cash’s cover an effective cover of “Hurt”? What made this performance an effective/ineffective cover? Do you think the changes paid tribute to the original song?
7) At the end of class, have the students write a reflection. What do they think is an effective cover song?
As the good days come and go in the classroom, I’d like to leave you with the following verse to inspire hope (to the tune of “Hurt”):
This lesson will become Your sweetest friend So on long dire days, you’ll know They go away in the end.