Leaving Hope
"Leaving Hope" is the final song of The Fragile era, closing off Still. The piece shares its name with Trent Reznor's former music publishing entity. A source for both uses of the name is potentially the film Pumpkinhead, which features a sign using the phrase. Reznor and company noted the influence of horror cinema on previous works, adding to the likeliness of this source.
In December 2005, Reznor granted a gratis license to an advertising agency to use the song in a public service announcement to promote a mental health hotline for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. The song was also used by Coil with Black Sun Productions on a track entitled "All This Has Always To Be Filmed. The Cameraman Has To Wear A Black Leather Coat." from the album The Plastic Spider Thing: Coil Remixed.
Song Credits
- Performance: Trent Reznor
- Mix engineering: Alan Moulder
- Engineering: Alan Moulder
- Second engineering: Leo Herrera
- Programming: Keith Hillebrandt
Appearances
Halos
- And All That Could Have Been (Deluxe Edition CD; 2002)
- Still (2002)
Versions
Leaving Hope
This is the only version available. It is a slow-paced, layered instrumental with an extended fadeout at the end. It uses a synthesizer pad built from samples of Reznor's voice, also utilized in "The Frail." It also features swarming tones that may be processed e-bow guitar, and the pre-outro has single harmonic guitar notes with a very hammered sound, as though the strings are being tapped with a drumstick or similar object.
Live
"Leaving Hope" has never been played live.