Here are the lyrics to just about every NiN song, with some additional info on samples and different versions thrown in. Stars (*) denote lines which do not actually appear in the song (according to trent: "there were some lyrics that i had written that i couldn't fit into the songs as i was combining lyrics with music. i included them because i like them and also because they could be discovered by the person that took the time to read the lyrics.") All of the lyrics were of course written by Trent Reznor, unless otherwise noted.
Halo 05: Broken and Halo 06: Fixed
Halo 08: The Downward Spiral and Halo 10: Further Down The Spiral
Released in 1989, Pretty Hate Machine was NiN's debut album. From it came singles for the songs Head Like A Hole, Down In It, and Sin, as well as an extensive tour and world-wide acclaim for the previously unknown Reznor. Videos were made for Head Like A Hole and Down In It. The original version of the Down In It video contained scenes of Trent's body lying in a pool of blood. During the taping of the video, a camera, which had been attached to a balloon, floated away, and was recovered by someone who mistook the video for an amateur snuff film. An investigation followed. A video is rumored to exist for Sin, and was apparently released to some clubs for a limited time but then pulled due to graphic content. So far this vid has not surfaced on any bootleg tapes. For more info about the albums and singles, see the Nine Inch Nails Discography.
Head Like A Hole Terrible Lie Down In It Sanctified Something I Can Never Have Kinda I Want To Sin That's What I Get The Only Time Ringfinger
god money i'll do anything for you god money just tell me what you want me to god money nail me up against the wall god money don't want everything he wants it all no you can't take it no no you can't take it (no you can't take that away from me) head like a hole black as your soul i'd rather die than give you control bow down before the one you serve you're going to get what you deserve god money's not looking for the cure god money's not concerned about the sick among the pure god money let's go dancing on the backs of the bruised god money's not one to choose no you can't take it no no you can't take it no you can't take that away from me head like a hole black as your soul i'd rather die than give you control head like a hole black as your soul i'd rather die than give you control bow down before the one you serve you're going to get what you deserve *you know who you are* notes: on the domestic "head like a hole" single, the phrase "let's hear it for nine inch nails-- woo, they're good!" on track 11 is from nin's appearance on Dance Party USA. the woman yelling is the show's host.hey God why are you doing this to me? am i not living up to what i'm supposed to be? why am i seething in this animosity? hey God i think you owe me a great big apology terrible lie hey God i really don't know what you mean seems like salvation comes only in our dreams i feel my hatred grow all the more extreme hey God can this world really be as sad as it seems terrible lie don't take it away from me i need someone to hole on to don't take it away from me i need someone to hold on to hey God there's nothing left for me to hide i lost my ignorance, security and pride i'm all alone in a world you must despise hey God i believed the promises, the promises and lies terrible lie you made me throw it all away my morals left to decay how many you betray you've taken everything terrible lie my head is filled with disease my skin is begging you please i'm on my hands and knees i want so much to believe i need someone to hold on to i need someone to hold on to i need someone i need someone i need someone to hold on to i give you everything my sweet everything *hey God* *i really don't know who i am* *in this world of piss* Notes: See also Now I'm Nothing.
kinda like a cloud i was up way up in the sky and i was feeling some feelings you wouldn't believe sometimes i don't believe them myself and i decided i was never coming down just then a tiny little dot caught my eye it was just about too small to see but i watched it way too long and that dot was pulling me down i was up above it now i'm down in it well shut up so what what does it matter now i was swimming in the haze now i crawl on the ground and everything i never liked about you is kind of seeping into me try to laugh about it now but isn't it funny how everything works out ("i guess the jokes on me," she said) i was up above it now i'm down in it i used to be so big and strong i used to know my right from wrong i used to never be afraid i used to be somebody i used to have something inside now just this hole that's open wide i used to want it all i used to be somebody i'll cross my heart and hope to die but the needle's already in my eye and all the world's weight is on my back and i don't even know why and what i used to think was me is just a fading memory i looked him right in the eye and said goodbye i was up above it now i'm down in it rain rain go away come again some other day
it's still getting worse after everything i tried what if i found a way to wash it all aside what if she touches with those fingertips as the words spill out like fire from her lips if she says come inside i'll come inside for her if she says give it all i'll give everything to her i am justified i am purified i am sanctified inside you heaven's just a rumor she'll dispel as she walks me through the nicest parts of hell i still dream of lips i never should have kissed well she knows exactly what i can't resist if she says come inside i'll come inside for her if she says give it all i'll give everything to her i am justified i am purified i am sanctified inside you # i'm just caught up in another of her spells she's turning me into someone else every day i hope and pray that this will end but when i can i do it all again if she says come inside i'll come inside for her if she says give it all i'll give everything to her i am justified i am purified i am sanctified inside you *as surely as the blade's course is run* *maybe my kingdom's finally come* notes: #At this point in this song there is an instrumental section, and in the background is a sample from one of Trent's favorite movies, Oliver Stone's Midnight Express. It is the voice of the main character, reading a letter he is writing to his parents: "Dear Mom and Dad, this is the hardest letter I've ever had to write. I'd hoped somehow to get out of this quickly so that you'd never have to know about it, but that just isn't possible now. I don't know what's going to happen, but what can I say to you? Will 'I'm sorry' make a difference? Will it ease the pain? The shame you must be feeling? Forgive me. Please." In the original version of the song, the line "i am purified" was "i am terrified."
i still recall the taste of my tears echoing your voice just like the ringing in my ears my favorite dreams of you still wash ashore scraping through my head 'till i don't want to sleep anymore come on tell me make this all go away you make this all go away i'm down to just one thing and i'm starting to scare myself make this all go away you make this all go away i just want something i just want something i can never have you always were the one to show me how back then i couldn't do the things that i can do now this thing is slowly taking me apart grey would be the color if i had a heart i just want something i can never have in this place it seems like such a shame though it all looks different now, i know it's still the same everywhere i look you're all i see just a fading fucking reminder of who i used to be come on tell me make this all go away you make this all go away i'm down to just one thing and i'm starting to scare myself make this all go away you make this all go away i just want something i just want something i can never have i just want something i can never have *think i know what you meant* *that night on my bed* *still picking at this scab* *i wish you you were dead* *your sweat and perry ellis* *just stains on my sheets*
i can't shake this feeling from my head there's a devil sleeping in my bed he's watching you from across the way i cannot make this feeling go away i know it's not the right thing and i know it's not the good thing but kinda i want to i'm not sure of what i should do when everything i'm thinking of is you all of my excuses turn to lies maybe God will cover up his eyes i know it's not the right thing and i know it's not the good thing but kinda i want to kinda i want to maybe just for tonight we can pretend it's alright what's the price i pay i don't care what they say i want to i want to *(i'll take my chance tonight)* notes: in the original version, "i'll take my chance tonight" was included in the song.
you give me the reason you give me control i gave you my Purity my Purity you stole did you think i wouldn't recognize this compromise am i just too stupid to realize stale incense old sweat and lies lies lies it comes down to this your kiss your fist and your strain it gets under my skin within take in the extent of my sin you give me the anger you give me the nerve carry out the sentence i get what i deserve i'm just an effigy to be defaced to be disgraced your need for me has been replaced and if i can't have everything well then just give me a taste it comes down to this your kiss your fist and your strain it gets under my skin within take in the extent of my sin notes: #at the bottom of the liner notes to pretty hate machine, writer Clive Barker's name appears under "Ideas and Sounds (with all due respect)". read this quote from barker's short story "In the Hills, The Cities" with the lyrics to sin in mind, and you might see why: Then Judd: "I'm up to here with the churches." "It's a masterpiece." "They're all masterpieces according to that bloody book." Mick felt his control slipping." "Two and a half hours at most -- " "I told you, I don't want to see another church; the smell of the places makes me sick. Stale incense, old sweat and lies..."
just when everything was making sense you took away all my self-confidence now all that i've been hearing must be true i guess i'm not the only boy for you but that's what i get how could you turn us into this? after you just taught me how to kiss you i told you i'd never say goodbye now i'm slipping on the tears you made me cry but that's what i get why does it come as a surprise to think that i was so naive maybe didn't mean so much but it meant everything to me
i'm drunk and right now i'm so in love with you and i don't want to think too much about what we should or shouldn't do lay my hands on Heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car nothing quite like the feel of something new maybe i'm all messed up maybe i'm all messed up in you but this is the only time i really feel alive this is the only time i really feel alive i swear i just found everything i need the sweat in your eyes the blood in your veins are listening to me well i want to drink it up and swim in it until i drown my moral standing is lying down nothing quite like the feel of something new maybe i'm all messed up maybe i'm all messed up in you but this is the only time i really feel alive this is the only time i really feel alive *i can't help thinking Christ never had it like this*
well you've got me working so hard lately working my hands until they bleed if i was twice the man i could be i'd still be half of what you need still you lead me and i follow anything you ask you know i'll do but this one ask of consecration is what i ask of you ringfinger promise carved in stone deeper than the sea ringfinger sever flesh and bone and offer it to me you just leave me nailed here hanging like Jesus on this cross i'll be dying for your sins and aiding to the cause ringfinger promise carved in stone deeper than the sea ringfinger sever flesh and bone and offer it to me wrap my eyes in bandages confessions i see through i get everything i want when i get part of you fingfinger promise carved in stone deeper than the sea sever flesh and bone and offer it to me ringfinger promise carved in stone deeper than the sea ringfinger devil's flesh and bone do something for me *i'm so tired i can't get to sleep* *and the squeaking of the bed is right in time with the song that's repeating in my head* *i just want you to know* *"when i do it, i only think of you."* notes: the original version of ringfinger was called twist. the lyrics above which were not included in ringfinger appeared near the end of twist, spoken very softly. the litte shout right before the final instrumental sequence begins is Perry Farrel.
After a fierce legal battle with TVT Records, NiN's second album (technically an EP) took on an angrier, more aggressive feel. It contained six songs and two bonus songs (the cover of Adam Ant's Physical, and also Suck, a song Trent co-wrote with Pigface). Though no singles were released as halos from this album (see the discography for info on limited edition singles and promo items}, a remix album called Fixed was released, which contained different versions of the Broken songs. Videos were made for all of the songs on Broken, with the exception of Help Me I Am In Hell. The videos were compiled into a Broken movie, which was never released because the content was felt to be too violent for the public. The movie has, however, surfaced on many bootleg tapes, and is not difficult to find.
Pinion Wish Last Help Me I Am In Hell Happiness In Slavery Gave Up Physical Suck
While Pinion does not have any lyrics, here's some sampling info: The "yelling and dissonant guitars" in the background of the song are from the end of David Bowie's "it's no game," from his scary monsters album.
this is the first day of my last days i built it up now i take it apart climbed up real high now fall down real far no need for me to stay the last thing left i just threw it away i put my faith in god and my trust in you now there's nothing more fucked up i could do wish there was something real wish there was something true wish there was something real in this world full of you i'm the one without a soul i'm the one with this big fucking hole no new tale to tell twenty-six years on my way to hell gotta listen to your big time hard line bad luck fist fuck don't think you're having all the fun you know me i hate everyone wish there was something real wish there was something true wish there was something real in this world full of you *i want to but i can't turn back* *but i want to*
gave up trying to figure out my head got lost along the way worn out from giving it up my soul i pissed it all away still stings these shattered nerves pigs we get what pigs deserve i'm going all the way down i'm leaving today come come come on you've gotta fill me up come come gotta let me inside of you come come come on you're gotta fix me up come come gotta let me inside of you still feel it all slipping away but it doesn't matter anymore everybody's still chipping away but it doesn't matter anymore look through these blackened eyes you'll see ten thousand lies my lips may promise but my heart is a whore come come come on you've gotta fill me up come come gotta let me inside of you come come come on you're gotta fix me up come come gotta let me get through to you this isn't meant to last this is for right now i know it's all getting away it comes to me as no surprise i know what's coming to me is never going to arrive fresh blood through tired skin new sweat to drown me in dress up this rotten carcass just to make it look alive come come come on you've gotta fill me up come come gotta let me inside of you come come come on you're gotta fix me up come come gotta let me get through to you this isn't meant to last this is for right now *i wish i could put the blame on you* i want you to make me i want you to take me i want you to break me then i want you to throw me away
This is an instrumental song, there are no lyrics.
slave screams he thinks he knows what he wants slave screams thinks he has something to say slave screams he hears but doesn't want to listen slave screams he's being beat into submission don't open your eyes you won't like what you see the devils of truth steal the souls of the free don't open your eyes take it from me i have found you can find happiness is slavery slave screams he spends his life learning conformity slave screams he claims he has his own identity slave screams he's going to cause the system to fall slave screams but he's glad to be chained to that wall don't open your eyes you won't like what you see the blind have been blessed with security don't open your eyes take it from me i have found you can find happiness is slavery i don't know what i am i don't know where i've been human junk just words and so much skin stick my hands thru the cage of this endless routine just some flesh caught in this big broken machine
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most forgot how it feels well almost no one to blame always the same open my eyes wake up in flames it took you to make me realize it took you to make me realize it took you to make me realize it took you to make me see the light smashed up my sanity smashed up my integrity smashed up what i believed in smashed up what's left of me smashed up my everything smashed up all that was true gonna smash myself to pieces i don't know what else to do covered in hope and vaseline still cannot fix this broken machine watching the hole it used to be mine just watching it burn in my steady systematic decline of the trust i will betray give it to me i throw it away after everything i've done i hate myself for what i've become i tried i gave up *throw it away*
This is a cover of a song by Adam Ant. It can be found on track 98 or track 7 of the Broken cd, or track one of a small 3" cd that came with Broken, all depending on what version of the disc you have (for info, see the FAQ).
I wanna take you baby I wanna take you out I wanna wine and dine you Oh I wanna twist and twist and shout I want you hot in my arms So soft on my bed You get the key to my heart Oh when you wear that sweet dress But you're too physical physical to me You're just too physical physical no to me I want your rough house baby I want this right in your ear You let me feel your danger I let you make this feeling clear here I want the touch of your charms The heat of your breath I wanna say all those things That would be better unsaid No But you're too physical physical to me You're just too physical oh You're too physical for me You're too physical to me You're really jus- just too- just Too really fuck no You're just too physical You're just too physical Too fucking physical No No No No No No No Oh you're too physical Just too physical Just too notes: about thirty seconds into the song, trent can be heard whispering "eat your heart out, steve." this is a reference to steve gottlieb, the manager/owner of TVT records. at the beginning of the original version of the song, adam ant says "eat your heart out - do it. you can't do it, can ya?" throughout the song, recordings of trent's now deceased dog maise barking can be heard. and, at about 3:49 in the song, you can hear in the background a very slowed- down bark, followed by "ow!...fucker!" (also slowed down; you'd have to speed this up with a computer to hear it properly). this is a recording of what happened when maise bit band member sean beavin's hand.
Co-written with Pigface, this song appears as either track 99 or track 8 on the Broken cd, or as track 2 on a 3" cd that came with the Broken cd, all depending on what version of the disc you have (and if you have it on vinyl, you'll find this song on the other side of the record; see the FAQ for more info). At a '94 concert in Portland, Oregon, Trent explained the song like this: "This song is about wrapping your dick in a fly strip, and fucking a cow up the ass with it."
There is no god up in the sky tonight No sign of heaven anywhere in sight All that was true is left behind Once I could see now I am blind Don't want your dreams you try to sell This disease I give to myself How does it feel? How does it feel? She makes it sweeter than the sun I get too tight I come undone I bow my head to confess The temple walls are made of flesh Runs up my arms 'til I'm on track Itches my skin right off of my back I'll heal your wounds I'll set you free I'm Jesus Christ on Ecstacy How does it feel? How does it feel? (whispered:) I am so dirty on on the inside I am so dirty on on the inside I am so dirty on on the inside I am so dirty on on the inside How does it feel? How does it feel? Suck Suck Suck Suck (whispered:) A thousand lips a thousand tongues A thousand throats a thousand lungs A thousand ways to make it true I want to do terrible things to you
The Fixed album was released after Broken, and contained remixes of the songs from the broken album. Remixes were done by Jim G. Thirwell ("fist fuck"), Coil (gave up), Trent Reznor Chris Vrenna and Butch Vig ("throw this away"), PK (happiness in slavery), and Reznor Vrenna ("screaming slave").
In "fist fuck," the phrase "i could feel that way too... i bet you will someday" can be heard in the background. It is from the musical "Showboat," and is spoken by Kathryn Grayson and Ava Gardner 28 minutes into the movie.
Jim Thirwell sampled lots of Timothy Leary for track 5.
NiN's brilliant and critically acclaimed third album tells the story of the descent into suicide. The singles released as halos were March Of The Pigs and Closer. A remix album was also released titled Further Down The Spiral. Videos were made for Closer, March Of The Pigs, and Hurt (live performance). There were two versions of the March Of The Pigs video. The first, which Trent was dissatisfied with and trashed, has not surfaced on any bootleg tapes and only rumors exist of its content. A second version was then made, which featured a live in-studio performance of the song. For more info, check out the faq.
Mr. Self Destruct Piggy Heresy March Of The Pigs Closer Ruiner The Becoming I Do Not Want This Big Man With A Gun A Warm Place Eraser The Downward Spiral Hurt
i am the voice inside your head and i control you i am the lover in your bed and i control you i am the sex that you provide and i control you i am the hate you try to hide and i control you i take you where you want to go i give you all you need to know i drag you down i use you up mr self destruct i speak religion's message clear and i control you i am denial guilt and fear and i control you i am the prayers of the naive and i control you i am the lie that you believe and i control you i take you where you want to go i give you all you need to know i drag you down i use you up mr self destruct (whispered:) you let me do this to you (i am an exit) i am the needle in your vein and i control you i am the high you can't sustain and i control you i am the pusher i'm a whore and i control you i am the need you have for more and i control you i am the bullet in the gun and i control you i am the truth from which you run and i control you i am the silencing machine and i control you i am the end of all your dreams and i control you i take you where you want to go i give you all you need to know i drag you down i use you up mr self destruct notes: the opening drum sequence, which gets faster and faster until the song starts, is from george lucas' first movie, "THX-1138." the main character is watching a scene on television of a man being beaten, and the beating noise is what is heard in mr. self destruct.
hey pig yeah you hey pig piggy pig pig pig all of my fears came true black and blue and broken bones you left me here i'm all alone my little piggy needed something new nothing can stop me now i don't care anymore nothing can stop me now i just don't care hey pig nothing's turning out the way i planned hey pig there's a lot of things i hoped you could help me understand what am i supposed to do i lost my shit because of you nothing can stop me now i don't care anymore nothing can stop me now i just don't care nothing can stop me now *you don't need me anymore*
he sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see he tries to tell me what i put inside of me he's got the answers to ease my curiosity he dreamed up a god and called it christianity your god is dead and no one cares if there is a hell i will see you there he flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line he made a virus that would kill off all the swine his perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain demands devotion atrocities done in his name your god is dead and no one cares drowning in his own hypocrisy and if there is a hell i will see you there *burning with your god in humility* *will you die for this?*
step right up march push crawl right up on your knees please greed feed (no time to hesitate) i want a little bit i want a piece of it i think he's losing it i want to watch it come down don't like the look of it don't like the taste of it don't like the smell of it i want to watch it come down all the pigs are all lined up i give you all that you want take the skin and peel it back now doesn't that make you feel better? shove it up inside surprise! lies stains like the blood on your teeth bite chew suck away the tender parts i want to break it up i want to smash it up i want to fuck it up i want to watch it come down maybe afraid of it let's discredit it let's pick away at it i want to watch it come down now doesn't that make you feel better? the pigs have won tonight now they can all sleep soundly and everything is all right
you let me violate you you let me desecrate you you let me penetrate you you let me complicate you help me i broke apart my insides help me i've got no soul to sell help me the only thing that works for me help me get away from myself i want to fuck you like an animal i want to feel you from the inside i want to fuck you like an animal my whole existence is flawed you get me closer to god you can have my isolation you can have the hate that it brings you can have my absence of faith you can have my everything help me tear down my reason help me it's your sex i can smell help me you make me perfect help me become somebody else i want to fuck you like an animal i want to feel you from the inside i want to fuck you like an animal my whole existence is flawed you get me closer to god through every forest above the trees within my stomach scraped off my knees i drink the honey inside your hive you are the reason i stay alive notes: the opening beat of closer is from iggy pop's "nightclubbing."
you had all of them on your side, didn't you? you believe in all your lies, didn't you? the ruiner's got a lot to prove he's got nothing to lose and now he made you believe the ruiner's your only friend well he's the living end to the cattle he deceives the raping of the innocent you know the ruiner ruins everything he sees now the only pure thing left in my fucking world is wearing your disease how did you get so big? how did you get so strong? how did you get so hard? how did you get so long? you had to give them all a sign, didn't you? you had to covet what was mine, didn't you? the ruiner's a collector he's an infector serving his shit to his flies maybe there will come a day when those that you keep blind will suddenly realize maybe it's a part of me you took to a place i hoped it would never go and maybe that fucked me up so much more than you'll ever know how did you get so big? how did you get so strong? how did you get so hard? how did you get so long? what you gave to me my perfect ring of scars you know i can see what you really are you didn't hurt me nothing can hurt me you didn't hurt me nothing can stop me now
i beat my machine it's a part of me it's inside of me i'm stuck in this dream it's changing me i am becoming the me that you know had some second thoughts he's covered with scabs and he is broken and sore the me that you know doesn't come around much that part of me isn't here anymore all pain disappears it's the nature of my circuitry drowns out all i hear there's no escape from this my new consciousness that me that you know used to have feelings but the blood has stopped pumping and he's left to decay the me that you know is now made up of wires and even when i'm right with you i'm so far away i can try to get away but i've strapped myself in i can try to scratch away the sound in my ears i can see it killing away all my bad parts i don't want to listen but it's all too clear hiding backwards inside of me i feel so unafraid annie, hold a little tighter i might just slip away it won't give up it wants me dead goddamn this noise inside my head
i'm losing ground you know how this world can beat you down i'm made of clay i fear i'm the only one who thinks this way i'm always falling down the same hill bamboo puncturing this skin and nothing comes bleeding out of me just like a waterfall i'm drowning in 2 feet below the surface i can still make out your wavy face and if i could just reach you maybe i could leave this place i do not want this i do not want this i do not want this i do not want this don't you tell me how i feel don't you tell me how i feel don't you tell me how i feel you don't know just how i feel i stay inside my bed i have lived so many lives all in my head don't tell me that you care there really isn't anything, is there? you would know, wouldn't you? you extend your hand to those who suffer to those who know what it really feels like to those who've had a taste like that means something and oh so sick i am and maybe i don't have a choice and maybe that is all i have and maybe this is a cry for help i do not want this i do not want this i do not want this i do not want this don't you tell me how i feel don't you tell me how i feel don't you tell me how i feel you don't know just how i feel i want to know everything i want to be everywhere i want to fuck everyone in the world i want to do something that matters
i am a big man (yes i am) and i have a big gun got me a big old dick and i i like to have fun held against your forehead i'll make you suck it maybe i'll put a hole in your head you know, just for the fuck of it i can reduce you if i want i can devour i'm hard as fucking steel, and i've got the power i'm every inch a man, and i'll show you somehow me and my fucking gun nothing can stop me now shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot i'm going to come all over you me and my fucking gun me and my fucking gun notes: trent reznor has said in interviews that "big man with a gun" is, in part, making fun of gangsta rap.
Although a warm place does not contain lyrics, a very faint voice can be heard at the beginning of the song. This is trent saying "the best thing about life is... knowing you put it together."
need you dream you find you taste you fuck you use you scar you break you lose me hate me smash me erase me
she spread herself wide open to let the insects in she leaves a trail of honey to show me where she's been she has the blood of reptile just underneath her skin seeds from a thousand others drip down from within oh my beautiful liar oh my precious whore my disease my infection i am so impure devils speak of the ways in which she'll manifest angels bleed from the tainted touch of my caress need to contaminate to alleviate this loneliness i now know the depths i reach are limitless oh my beautiful liar oh my precious whore my disease my infection i am so impure
he couldn't believe how easy it was he put the gun into his face bang! (so much blood from such a tiny little hole) problems have solutions a lifetime of fucking things up fixed in one determined flash everything's blue in this world the deepest shade of mushroom blue all fuzzy spilling out of my head notes: the watery noise at the beginning of this song are from "alien."
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 try to kill it all away but i remember everything what have i become? my sweetest friend everyone i know goes away in the end you could have it all my empire of dirt i will let you down i will make you hurt i wear my crown of shit on my liar's chair full of broken thoughts i cannot repair beneath the stain of time the feeling disappears you are someone else i am still right here what have i become? my sweetest friend everyone i know goes away in the end you could have it all my empire of dirt i will let you down i will make you hurt if i could start again a million miles away i would keep myself i would find a way
Further Down the Spiral (halo 10 or halo 10v2) is a remix album of songs from The Downward Spiral. Remixers include Rick Rubin, David Sardy, & David Schiffman (piggy, with dave navarro on guitar), NiN itself (the art of self destruction, part one), members of Coil (the downward spiral), J.G. Thirwell of Foetus (self destruction, part three), and Aphex Twin (at the heart of it all). The imported version of the album contains two excellent remixes of Ruiner and Heresy by NiN's keyboardist Charlie Clouser (as well the live version of hurt featured in the hurt video).
If you listen to track 11 (Erased, Over, Out) in fast forward, you can hear Trent saying "erase me" over and over and over again. This also occurs in Eraser (Denial; Realization) at the beginning and end of the song.
Towards the middle of Self Destruction, Part Two (about 4:30 into the song, right at the end of the quiet segment of the song), the words "Falls wanking to the floor" can be heard right before the music picks up and Trent sings "i am the bullet in the gun." This is David Bowie from the song Time on his 1973 album Aladdin Sane.
During Ruiner (version) on the import version of Further Down The Spiral, a man's voice says "do you believe in miracles?" and then the music stops, and another man's voice says "not really," then the music starts again. The source of this sample is unknown, but believed to be a clip from TV's The X-Files. The man responding would be David Duchovny. However, this is only a guess. Other suggestions are that the man responding is Trent, and the other man is either an interviewer or Danny Lohner. Again, this is all speculation. If anyone knows the source of this sample, please e-mail me.
Originally recorded as a pre-Pretty Hate Machine studio demo, this song was not included in the final version of the album. It was, however, performed live, and it can be found on several bootlegs, including Purest Feeling and Welcome To The Hate Machine.
purest feeling purest feeling well i think i'm gonna push it as far as it will go give in to desire only you will know so tell me all your secrets i'll stick it in your head i wish i could remember everything she said purest feeling purest feeling purest feeling purest feeling well she could be a saviour with everything she does or some kind of punishment for people just like us i don't really believe she understand what's happening to me the sooner that she gets it the better it will be purest feeling purest feeling purest feeling purest feeling i have got to figure it out i just want to know i can't live with it purest feeling
Like Purest Feeling, this song was a studio demo recorded before the release of Pretty Hate Machine. It can be found on the same bootlegs as Purest Feeling.
i can't believe that what i feel is finally happening to me make it hurt and point the finger at my insecurities well i guess i just don't understand about those complexities in your mind and i guess i just don't understand why this world seems so unkind maybe maybe just once i get what's coming maybe maybe just once i get what's coming to me so once again the way you feel you'll never ever stay the same and i'm to blame i wonder just who made the rules up for this game well i guess i just don't understand about what you want and what you need and i guess i just don't understand about why this is how it has to be maybe maybe just once i get what's coming maybe maybe just once i get what's coming to me so go around you say those thousand things you think you have to say look at me and tell me love's not such a hard word anyway well how can you count on me i thought you realized for sure and how can you just believe i thought i deserved a little more maybe maybe just once i get what's coming maybe maybe just once i get what's coming to me oh god what's coming oh god what's coming to me
This was the original version of Ringfinger, and can be found on bootlegs such as Demos and Remixes and Purest Feeling. The Demos and Remixes version of this song is slightly different than the one found on Purest Feeling. These lyrics are from the D&R version, but lyrically, the songs are basically identical (the PF version does not have the whispered segment at the end).
well you've got me working so hard lately working my hands until they bleed if i was twice the man i could be i'd still be half of what you need still you lead me and i follow the small of your back up to your chin over to the tip of your switchblade as you pull it out and you stick it in (twist twist twist) it can go a little deeper (twist twist twist) i'm wearing these chains (twist twist twist) you make it hurt real good (twist twist twist) i love the pain well you just leave me nailed here hanging like jesus on this cross i'm just dying for your sins and aiding to the cause (twist twist twist) it can go a little deeper (twist twist twist) i'm wearing these chains (twist twist twist) you make it hurt real good (twist twist twist) i love the pain wrap my soul in bandages i'm tired of this war go ahead and cut me i can't even feel it anymore (twist twist twist) it can go a little deeper (twist twist twist) i'm wearing these chains (twist twist twist) you make it hurt real good (twist twist twist) but i love the pain (twist twist twist) it can go a little deeper (twist twist twist) i'm wearing these chains (twist twist twist) you make it hurt real good (twist twist twist) i love the pain (twist twist twist) (twist twist twist) (twist twist twist) (twist twist twist) (yells:) Turn it on (spoken very quietly:) is this on? oh i'm so tired i can't go to sleep# and the squeaking of the bed is right on time with the song that's repeating in my head# its uncomforting to remember how you used to like a good fuck every once in a while i just want you to know# "when i do it, i only think of you"# notes: #these lines are printed as lyrics to Ringfinger in the Pretty Hate Machine booklet.
This song, the band's first cover song, was originally performed by Queen (lyrics by Freddy Mercury). This appears on the Sin single (halo 4).
get down, make love get down, make love get down, make love get down make love you take my body i give you heat you say you hungry i give you meat i suck your mind you blow my head make love inside your bed everybody- get down make love get down make love get down make love get down make love every time i get hot, you wanna cool down every time i get high, you wanna go down you say it's enough, in fact it's too much every time i wann get down, get down, make love i can squeeze, you can shake me i can feel, you can break me come on so heavy - then you take me you make love, you make love, you make love, you make love you can make everybody- get down, make love get down, make love every time i get high, you wanna go down every time i get hot you say you wanna cool down you say it's enough, in fact it's too much every time i wann get down, get down, get down make love get down, make love get down, make love get down, make love get down, make love every time i get high, you wanna go down every time i get hot you say you wann cool down you say it's enough, in fact it's too much every time i wanna get down, get down, get down make love notes: the sample at the beginning of the song is from an old viacom cable access show called "Video Psychotherapy." the quote is as follows: "how old were you when you first let a man make love to you? next, who was he? next, how did you feel at the time? next, how did you feel afterward? were you pleased, frightened, ecstatic, disgusted? what did he say, what words did you speak, that's what i want to know, now, tell me, now, now, all of it, now, tell me, yes!" the moaning during the song is sampled from Japanese porno movies.
The phrase "now i'm nothing" started out as a joke, and later became the name of a NiN tour, and then the title of a mini song/intro to Terrible Lie that was performed live only. You can download the song from my files page.
i smashed myself to pieces i am gonna fuck myself up i'm sifting through the ashes of what i have become i gave myself away now i'm nothing i let it slip away now i'm nothing all that i could do is break myself in two but i fucked it all away now i'm nothing wave wave wave wave goodbye wave wave wave wave goodbye notes: after the last "wave goodbye" there is a short instrumental segment, then Terrible Lie begins.
This song was originally by Black Sabbath (frank iommi, william ward, terance butler, and john osborne), but was covered by a band called 1000 Homo DJ's (which included Ministry's Al Jourgenson), with Trent Reznor singing on guest vocals and playing guitar. It was also performed live by Ministry during Lollapalooza '92. One album was released by 1000 Homo DJ's, a four-song ep called "Supernaut" (trent has no part in the other three songs). Apparently it is no longer made, but you can still find it floating around. It is also on the easier-to-find Wax Trax! Black Box compilation, as well as on several NiN bootlegs, including Demos And Remixes, Suck, and Halo 00. You can download the entire Supernaut song from my rare songs page.
("practically every one of the top 40 records being played
on every radio station in the United States is a communication
to the children to take a trip, to cop out, to groove. the
psychedelic jackets on the record albums have their own hidden
symbols and messages as well as the lyrics to all the top rock
songs and they all sing the same refrain: it's fun to take a trip,
put acid in your veins")
i want to reach out and touch the sky
i want to touch the sun
but i don't want to fly
i'm gonna climb up every mountain of the moon
and find a distant man a-waving his spoon
supernaut
supernaut
i've crossed the ocean, turned every bend
i found the crossing near a golden rainbow's end
i've been through magic and through life's reality
i've lived a thousand years it never bothered me
bothered me
supernaut
bothered me
supernaut
"they all sing the same refrain:
it's fun to take a trip, put acid in your veins."
"25 seconds
20 seconds and counting
15 seconds, guidence is internal
12, 11, 10, 9
ignition sequence starts
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1"
got no religion, don't need no friends
got all i want and i got no need to pretend
don't try to reach me, 'cause i'd tear up your mind
i've seen the future and i leave it all behind
supernaut
supernaut
Originally performed and written by Joy Division, this song was covered by NiN and released on the soundtrack to the movie The Crow.
someone take these dreams away that point me to another day a duel of personalities that stretch all true reality they keep calling me keep on calling me they keep calling me keep on calling me when figures from the past stand tall and mocking voices ring the hall imperialistic house of prayer conquistadores who took their share they keep calling me keep on calling me they keep calling me keep on calling me calling me, calling me calling me, calling me they keep calling me keep on calling me they keep calling me keep on calling me
This song appears on the soundtrack to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, an album which Trent also produced. A video was also made. The songs Something I Can Never Have from Pretty Hate Machine and A Warm Place from The Downward Spiral, appeared on the album as well.
this world rejects me this world threw me away this world never gave me a chance this world gonna have to pay life don't believe in your institutions i did what you want me to like the cancer in your system i've got a little surprise for you something inside of me has opened up its eyes why did you put it there did you not realize this thing inside of me it screams the loudest sound sometimes i think i could burn i will kill him where you're standing flock of sheep out on this pay with all your lies fucked up around you i can take it all away something inside of me has opened up its eyes why did you put it there did you not realize something inside of me it screams the loudest sound sometimes i think i could i'm gonna burn this whole world down i'm gonna burn this whole world down i never was a part of you (burn) i never was a part of you (burn) i never was a part of you (burn) i never was a part of you (burn) (continues softly in background) i am your soldier i am corruption i am the angel of your destruction i am perversion sick with desire i am your future swollen eyes of fire notes: in the video, the talking at the beginning says "he was sweet child good birth weight was quiet and kept to himself."
This is a variation of Closer, found on the Closer single (halo 9).
you let me violate you you let me desecrate you you let me penetrate you you let me complicate you i broke apart my insides i've got no soul to sell the only thing that works for me help me get away i wanna fuck you i wanna taste you i wanna feel you i wanna be you just like an animal you can have my isolation you can have the hate that it brings you can have my absence of faith you can have my everything you tear down all my reason you see through what i hide you make me perfect help me get inside i wanna fuck you i wanna taste you i wanna feel you i wanna be you
Written by David Ball and Marc Almond, this is a cover song on the Closer single (halo 9).
("what do your nipples look like")
wherever i go
i take a little piece of you
i collect
i reject
photographs i took of you
well times i passed through
so many faces
so many places
i have got to have a memory
i have never been there
i have never had you
i can't remember
give me your reminder
i collect
i reject
memorabilia
("now girl...only it's flavor...bow down here.")
keychains and snowstorms
the taste of your sweat
the look in your eye
i have been inside you
i know what it feels like
("wet as it is...the whiter the honey")
i collect
i reject
memorabilia
("goodies come in here all day")
give me your reminder
i can't remember
i collect
i reject
memorabilia
This song was made for the soundtrack to David Lynch's movie Lost Highway, which Trent produced. Two other instrumental songs done by Trent Reznor (they are not labeled as nine inch nails songs) called Driver Down and Videodrones (which works as sort of an introduction to The Perfect Drug) also appear on that album. The Perfect Drug was later released on its own remix EP, titled "The Perfect Drug" Versions (halo 11). This EP contains remixes by Meat Beat Manifesto, The Orb, Spacetime Continuum, Plug, and NiN. A Perfect Drug video was made. For tons of Perfect Drug resources including pics, sound samples, info, links, and the unreleased original version of the song, go to my TPD page.
i got my head but my head is unraveling can't keep control can't keep track of where it's traveling i got my heart but my heart is no good you're the only one that's understood i come along but i don't know where you're taking me i shouldn't go but you're wrenching, dragging, shaking me turn off the sun pull the stars from the sky the more i give to you, the more i die and i want you and i want you and i want you and i want you you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you make me hard when i'm all soft inside i see the truth when i'm all stupid-eyed the arrow goes straight through my heart without you everything just falls apart my blood wants to say hello to you my fears want to get inside of you my soul is so afraid to realize how very little there is left of me # and i want you and i want you and i want you and i want you you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug (whispered:) you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug you are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug take me with you take me with you (continues in background) without you without you everything falls apart without you it's not as much fun to pick up the pieces without you without you everything falls apart without you it's not as much fun to pick of the pieces take me with you take me with you without you without you everything falls apart without you it's not as much fun to pick up the pieces notes: #no one's really sure exactly what this line says. but after listening to that segment a hundred or so times, i'm convinced that he says "how very little there is left of me." but not everyone agrees, so here are some other interpertations: "every little word is a lack of me" "how every little bit is left of me" "very little good is left in me" "every little bit is a lack of me" in NiN's remix of the perfect drug on halo 11, some of the back- ground noise is taken from track 7 of the NiN-created soundtrack to the computer game Quake. if you scan in the three bar codes mixed in with the cover art of halo 11 through a bar code scanner, they read: Quake $59.99 Kleenex $5.00 Mentos $0.65
Sources for the information on this page include Nine Inch Nails album jackets, Trent's Prodigy Posts, The Unofficial Nine Inch Nails Homepage, The Nine Inch Nails FAQ, alt.music.nin, my own personal base of knowledge, and various other sources that I can't remember.
I am very interested in the sources of samples from NiN songs. If you know of some that are not on this page, please e-mail me.
Above The Trees: Proudly Serving The Ninternet Since February 2, 1997.
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