In this new blog series (which I hope to publish weekly) I will take an in-depth look at an individual song; interpreting its lyrics, examining the music and its structure, and placing it into context within the artist’s discography. For the first installment I chose the Nine Inch Nails single “The Day The World Went Away” from 1999′s The Fragile.
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The Downward Spiral was a masterpiece. It received almost universal critical acclaim, sold quicker than hotcakes (it’s been certified platinum four times over), and pushed the socially awkward Trent Reznor into superstardom. Given the album’s suicidal concept and bleak view of humanity, the public was expecting (perhaps even hoping) for Reznor to go the way of Cobain; burn out in a brilliant flame. Needless to say, this situation would be difficult for any artist, and Reznor responded by pushing off the release of new material for as long as possible.
The Fragile
The Fragile wasn’t released until the fall of 1999, over 5 years after the release of The Downward Spiral; essentially an eternity in the recording business. The angst ridden teenagers that bought Spiral and fell in love with Nine Inch Nails graduated high school, then graduated college, and probably got a respectable job in-between the releases of the albums. Reznor hadn’t stayed static himself, for The Fragile was a radical departure musically from its predecessor. Gone were the relentless blasts of industrial noise, heavy metal guitars, hyper-programmed drums, and mechanical glitches of the past. If The Downward Spiral was an album made by machines, The Fragile is an album made by the Earth. Decay is a central theme of the album, and Reznor pursued this theme by using instruments that were flawed by design and even out-of-tune. No song better shows this shift in style better than the album’s first single, “The Day the World Went Away.”
“The Day the World Went Away” was released to the public in the summer of 1999, months
Single album art
before the release of The Fragile and the public’s first glimpse at what the new Nine Inch Nails album would contain. The song is essentially the polar oposite of The Downward Spiral’s lead single (“The March of the Pigs”), emphasizing the differences between the two albums. While “March of the Pigs” began with a lengthy and intense drum pattern, “The Day the World Went Away” features no percussion at all.
The song begins with faint drones, the remnants of the song that precedes it, before a wall of noise hits the listener like a bulldozer. This wall is made up of electric guitars that buzz more than they play individual notes, echoing the production of My Bloody Valentine’s classic album Loveless, which used guitars to create huge droning soundscapes. The intensity of this section builds as a synthesizer is layered on top of the guitars. Just as quickly as this aural assault begins, it cuts off suddenly and returns to the quieter sound of the song’s beginning. Reznor’s delivers his vague lyrics at this point in a rather subdued fashion, and the song slowly disintegrates upon itself as the sole guitar slows down the riff it has been playing until it reaches complete silence.
It is a common belief that this song’s lyrics relate to the death of Trent’s grandmother, and given this information, the first verse seems to narrate a eulogy begin given at a funeral while echoing the album’s theme of things falling apart (“I’d listen to the words he’d say/but in his voice I heard decay”). Despite the huge loss the narrator has suffered, he still seems to be finding some sort of solace (“there is a place that still remains/it eats the fear it eats the pain), and the song is as optimistic as it is melancholic. The lyrics are brief, and consist of only this one verse.
After a second of silence, the song comes roaring back and the wall of guitars returns as a new progression is played. The vocalist eventually returns to the mix, singing a wordless melody that is as chilling as it is catchy. The carless nature of this melody almost suggests that the singer is mocking death itself as he hums “na na nah, na na nah.” The song then falls apart and the instrumental track “The Frail” begins.
“The Day the World Went Away” is an unusual choice for a single, considering the song has only one verse, no refrain, no percussive element, and an extremely unconventional structure. Nevertheless the song reached #17 on Billboard’s Hot 100, perhaps an indication of the public’s interest in the long awaited release of new Nine Inch Nails material. However, “Starfuckers, Inc.” would be far and away the most popular single from The Fragile.
A music video was originally planned to be released for “The Day the World Went Away”, and was partially finished before it was canned. The video was supposedly filmed in black and white, and featured footage of a funeral (further evidence to the meaning of the lyrics). Those involved with the project have stated that the video was canceled because “Trent thought it was too personal, because of the connection of the song with his grandmother.” “The Day the World Went Away” went on to become a live fixture of Nine Inch Nails shows during the Fragility tour that followed the release of the The Fragile, often making its appearance during the encore.
Still image from the unreleased music video
In many ways, “The Day the World Went Away” defines Nine Inch Nails during The Fragile-era due to its focus on organic instrumentation and lyrics that focus on the decay of life. It’s a powerful and enchanting song that is just as powerful today as it was when first released. Listen to it for yourself, and leave a comment if you have something to share about the song!
