If Johnny Cash covered your song, it became his song.I still wish he had covered one of mine...
His version of Hurt is totally his - I was very surprised to learn it was a cover.
In my opinion, what made Hurt , his, was the video. So much Johnny Cash history in just a few short minutes... but you had to know that history to appreciate it.
These modern hip hop gangsters have nothing on him. Performing inside an actual prison while singing "shot a man just to watch him die" for cheering crowd is kind of dark. His version of Hurt is totally his - I was very surprised to learn it was a cover.