Nine Inch Nails

The Fragile

Duration: 4:35 • BPM: 143 • ninwiki
Appearances
The Fragile (September 21, 1999)
The Fragile (Definitive Edition) (December 22, 2016)
Live
Performed 62 times
First time: April 27, 2000
Last time: August 20, 2025
Versions
Still:
The Fragile (Deconstructed) (2002) (5:12)
Personnel
Composer(s):
Trent Reznor
Lyrics
she shines
in a world full of ugliness
she matters
when everything is meaningless

fragile
she doesn't see her beauty
she tries to get away
sometimes
it's just that nothing seems worth saving
i can't watch her slip away

i won't let you fall apart

she reads the minds of all the people as they pass her by
hoping someone can see
if i could fix myself i'd—
but it's too late for me

i won't let you fall apart

we'll find the perfect place to go where we can run and hide
we'll build a wall and we can keep them on the other side
…but they keep waiting
…and picking…

it's something i have to do
i was there, too
before everything else
i was like you