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Thread: NIN songs & after death?

  1. #1
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    NIN songs & after death?

    Has TR or NIN written any songs that take place after death, or is it a pointless topic because there is nothing after death and NIN ends it at the moment of death?

    For example... does 'Hurt' take place after he dies or as he is dying? (Gunshot wound from TDS)
    Last edited by snaapz; 05-25-2022 at 12:58 PM.

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    Well, "I'm looking forward to joining you finally" does talk about "after death" topics:



    It seems the lyrics talk about Reznor's grandmother, i think the lyrics are wondering if there's life after death.

    I can relate, i used to live with my grandmother a long time ago...

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    I interpret La Mer as after death:

    [Original Verse]
    Et quand le jour arrivé
    Map touné le ciel
    Et map touné la mer
    Et la mer va embrassé moi
    Et délivré moi lakay
    An rien peut arrêter moi konin la

    [French Equivalent]
    Et il est un jour arrivé
    Marteler le ciel
    Et marteler la mer
    Et la mer avait embrassé moi
    Et la délivré moi de ma caille
    À rien ne peut m'arrêter maintenant

    [English Translation]
    And when the day arrives
    I'll become the sky
    And I'll become the sea
    And the sea will come to kiss me
    For I am going
    Home
    Nothing can stop me now
    https://genius.com/Nine-inch-nails-la-mer-lyrics

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by snaapz View Post
    Has TR or NIN written any songs that take place after death, or is it a pointless topic because there is nothing after death and NIN ends it at the moment of death?

    For example... does 'Hurt' take place after he dies or as he is dying? (Gunshot wound from TDS)
    I've considered "all fuzzy.. spilling out....of.....my.....head....." as the last moment of the protagonist and that Hurt is a retrospective from the other side.

    Perhaps This Isn't The Place? My initial reaction is the living looking upon a lost friend possibly TR directly capturing his thoughts after Bowie's passing, but it seems like it could also be the deceased looking back thinking they'd had more time with their living friend. "Carry me home" feels more like a soul moving on than the living needing an uber from the hospital.

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    I interprest "Every Day is Exactly the Same" as being in hell or purgatory.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ekrekel View Post
    Perhaps This Isn't The Place? My initial reaction is the living looking upon a lost friend possibly TR directly capturing his thoughts after Bowie's passing, but it seems like it could also be the deceased looking back thinking they'd had more time with their living friend. "Carry me home" feels more like a soul moving on than the living needing an uber from the hospital.
    Given the unreleased song "My Dead Friend" may have become "This Isn't The Place", part of this interpretation rings true to me.

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    This one can't be proven lyrically, obviously, but Adrift and At Peace has always struck me as a post-suicidal thing.
    I don't wanna get too much into such a grim topic, but...you know. Fragile album cover, La Mer, etc.

    I'd probably throw The Persistence of Loss in there, and probably Leaving Hope, too.

    SO much of the old pretty, instrumental NIN has this vibe, for me, of like "we almost made it. We tried. But now it's all over, and that's ok."
    Last edited by elevenism; 05-26-2022 at 04:20 AM.

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    Black Noise has the same kind of vibe to me.

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