The Downward Spiral
Album · March 8, 1994 · Halo 8 · 16 tracks · 75 min
- 1 4:30
- 2 4:24
- 3 3:54
- 4 2:58
- 5 6:13
- 6 4:58
- 7 5:31
- 8 5:41
- 9 1:38
- 10 3:22
- 11 4:54
- 12 6:51
- 13 3:58
- 14 6:15
- 15 5:00
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16
Dead Souls Cover · Joy Division4:53
- Artwork
- Russell Mills, Gary Talpas
- Also
- Wikipedia
- Read the article ↗
- nin.wiki
- Read the article ↗
- Live
- Songs from The Downward Spiral have been played 5,098 times · most: March Of The Pigs · least: A Warm Place
1 Mr. Self Destruct
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- 225 times · first Aug 27, 1994 · last Mar 16, 2026
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Flood, Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan MoulderMusicians: Trent ReznorTexture generating guitars: Adrian Belew
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The Art of Self Destruction, Part One 5:41 — on Further Down The Spiral (1995), Further Down The Spiral International (Halo 10 V2)
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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 naïve 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 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 need in you for more 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
2 Piggy
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- 465 times · first Aug 27, 1994 · last Jul 12, 2025
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent Reznor, FloodMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan Moulder
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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
3 Heresy
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- 142 times · first Mar 9, 1994 · last Mar 15, 2026
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan Moulder
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Heresy (Blind) 5:32 — on Closer To God (1994), Closer To God (UK), Closer 12" (Version 2), Closer 12" Vinyl Promo
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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 a god up 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 if there is a hell i will see you there burning with your god in humility will you die for this?
4 March Of The Pigs
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- 876 times · first Mar 9, 1994 · last Mar 16, 2026
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan Moulder
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All The Pigs, All Lined Up 7:25 — on March Of The Pigs (1994), March Of The Pigs 9", March Of The Pigs (UK)
- Also on
- March Of The Pigs (UK)·March Of The Pigs (1994)
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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 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 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? the pigs have won tonight now they can all sleep soundly and everything is all right
5 Closer
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- 650 times · first Mar 9, 1994 · last Aug 15, 2025
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Flood, Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan Moulder
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- Also on
- Closer (Cassette)·Closer 12" Vinyl Promo·Closer 12"·Closer To God (1994)·Closer (UK)
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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
6 Ruiner
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- 121 times · first Mar 15, 1994 · last Mar 15, 2026
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent Reznor, FloodMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan Moulder
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you had all of them on your side, didn't you? you believed 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 it 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 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 it 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
7 The Becoming
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- 93 times · first Sept 9, 1995 · last Sept 22, 2022
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent Reznor, FloodMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan MoulderMusicians: Trent ReznorArp 2600 (synth): FloodRing mod guitar: Adrian Belew
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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 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 no escape from this my new consciousness the 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
8 I Do Not Want This
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- 80 times · first Aug 29, 1994 · last Dec 12, 2018
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan MoulderMusicians: Trent ReznorDrum loops: Stephen Perkins
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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
9 Big Man With A Gun
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- 43 times · first Apr 19, 1994 · last Sept 2, 2009
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent ReznorMixed by Sean Beaven, Bill KennedyMusicians: Trent ReznorAdditional guitar: Danny Lohner
- Also on
- March Of The Pigs (UK)
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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
10 A Warm Place
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- 42 times · first Aug 23, 2009 · last Dec 11, 2018
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Flood, Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan Moulder
11 Eraser
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- 303 times · first Aug 27, 1994 · last Aug 20, 2025
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Flood, Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan Moulder
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need you dream you find you taste you fuck you use you scar you break you lose me hate me smash me erase me
12 Reptile
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- 487 times · first Mar 9, 1994 · last Mar 16, 2026
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Flood, Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan Moulder
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she spreads 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
13 The Downward Spiral
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- 133 times · first Aug 27, 1994 · last Jun 11, 2014
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent ReznorMixed by Alan MoulderEngineered by Alan MoulderMusicians: Trent ReznorDrums: Andy Kubiszewski
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he couldn't believe how easy it was he put the gun into his face bang! (so much blood for such a tiny little hole) problems do have solutions, you know a lifetime of fucking things up fixed in one determined flash everything's blue... everything's blue in this world in this world the deepest shade of mushroom blue all fuzzy spilling out of my head
14 Hurt
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- 807 times · first Aug 27, 1994 · last Mar 16, 2026
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent ReznorMixed by Trent ReznorMusicians: Trent ReznorDrums (drum set): Chris Vrenna
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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 this crown of shit upon my liar's chair full of broken thoughts i cannot repair beneath the stains of time the feelings disappear 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
15 Burn
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- 417 times · first Aug 11, 1994 · last Mar 16, 2026
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Written by Trent ReznorProduced by Trent Reznor
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this world rejects me this world threw me away this world never gave me a chance this world gonna have to pay well i don't believe in your institutions i did what you wanted me to and 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 look down at where you're standing flock of sheep all on display with all your lies propped 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? this thing inside of me it screams the loudest sound sometimes i think i could i'm gonna burn this whole world down i never was a part of you i am your savior i am corruption i am the angel of your destruction i am perversion secret desire i am your future swallowed up in fire
16 Dead Souls
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- 214 times · first Apr 19, 1994 · last Dec 11, 2018
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Produced by Trent Reznor
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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 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 calling me