Hurt Music Analysis

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“Hurt” written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, a hit single nominated for the 1996 Grammy for Best Rock Song and conclusion to The Downward Spiral album. When you first look at “Hurt” on its own it seems like a suicide note about someone who is addicted to drugs and decides to give up on life, one critic claimed it to be “a desolate ballad of addiction and isolation” (Nate Chinen, New York Times), but to truly understand the song you must look at the entire album as a story, as the writer Reznor said during an interview for Axcess Magazine, “The order [of the album] was made to work as a climax and then go down a tube. That side has to work as a whole.” (Reznor, Q&A Axcess Magazine) The Downward Spiral begins with “Mr. Self-Destruct”, introducing the antagonist talking to the protagonist, both of with are personalities of the same person. The song opens with the line “I am the voice inside your head / And I control you” (“Mr. Self-Destruct”) and continues to describe the antagonist as the dark force that causes the character to use drugs and sex as a means of escape; establishing the character as severely mentally unstable. The second song “Piggy” the person in a relationship with the protagonist leaves him for someone else, at a point when he needed them most. He lashes out at the person calling them a “pig”. The break up callouses the character as he says “Nothing can stop me now / Because I don’t care anymore” (“Piggy”); this is the first sign of apathy in the character. In “Heresy”, home of the iconic line, “God is dead and no one cares / If there is a hell, I’ll see you there” (“Heresy”). The quote “God is dead” is from the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The protagonist has lost all faith in not only God, but humanity as well. His paranoia leading him to believe everyone is
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