The Day the World Went Away Lyrics
I'd listen to the words he'd say
But in his voice I heard decay
The plastic face forced to portray
All the insides left cold and gray
There is a place that still remains
It eats the fear, it eats the pain
The sweetest price he'll have to pay
The day the whole world went away
[Outro]
Na na nah
Na na na, nah
Na na nah
Na na na, nah
Na na nah
Na na na, nah
Na na nah
Na na na, nah
Na na nah
Na na na, nah
Na na nah
Na na na, nah
Na na nah
Na na na, nah
Na na nah
Na na na, nah
Na na nah
Na
About
Trent Reznor has not explicitly said so, but this song is rumored to be about his reaction to the death of his grandma, Clara, which happened before the recording of The Fragile.
After Reznor’s parent’s divorced when he was 6, he went to live with his grandparents.
A music video for the song was made, but never commercially released. From The Fragile production diaries:
This is the original album version, found on The Fragile. It follows the percussive and aggressive “Somewhat Damaged”, and is one of NIN’s most uniquely structured songs. Musically the opposite of “Somewhat Damaged” in almost every way, it lacks the use of any standard form of percussion, and begins with drones that fade in during the ending of “Somewhat Damaged”. These soon give way to loud, distorted guitars and bass playing a simple five-chord progression. As it repeats, a synthesizer melody enters on top, ascending in intensity and pitch until it drops out along with the guitars. The bass continues playing the progression above the drones while Reznor sings the song’s verse, backed with a distant harmony for the second half. The song features the use of a mandolin in this section, another first for NIN, and it is the mandolin alone that strums a bridge from the end of the verse and into the final section, characterized by a return of the loud guitar and bass playing a new progression, joined by group vocals singing a wordless melody. This all gives way at the end of the phrase to a quiet percussive sound that ends the song, repeating while fading out into the opening soundscape layers of “The Frail”.
The song’s introductory guitar chords are extended by roughly 30 seconds on The Fragile vinyl version.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 2.The Day the World Went Away
- 3.The Frail
- 4.The Wretched
- 6.The Fragile
- 8.Even Deeper
- 9.Pilgrimage
- 10.No, You Don’t
- 11.La Mer
- 12.The Great Below
- 14.Into the Void
- 17.Please
- 19.Complication