When I first heard that song I thought (as I often do), "Oh, you hurt yourself to see if you could feel! You poor, whining bitch, go fuck yourself." And that's still the feeling I get when I hear him sing it. Go fuck yourself.
That guy is fine for what he does, whatever you call that scratchy useless shit, but he'll never carry the weight that someone like Cash does. Because he'll never have the experiences in his life to give his music or his voice any of that soul or power. It's not his fault that he's hollow, but he is. Compared to his peers, he's good, and really, I like his philosophy and a lot of the things I've heard him say. But you can't compare that cranky little whisp to any old school singer. There is no comparison to be made.
The Cash cover of his song proves that now and forever, and it says all that needs to be said about that. He didn't give that song to Cash, Cash took it.
FTW