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The Line Begins To Blur

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Album:With Teeth
Length:3:44
Tempo:87 BPM
Versions:The Line Begins To Blur
The Line Begins To Blur (Instrumental)
The Line Begins To Blur (Beside You In Time)
Live:Live: With Teeth through NIN 2013 Festival Tour
NIN + QOTSA Tour
NIN 2022

"The Line Begins To Blur" is the eleventh track on the 2005 release With Teeth. The track leaked in February of 2005, along with "Getting Smaller" and "The Hand That Feeds".

The last three songs on With Teeth seem to describe the protagonist's views of the world and the way things are going in it, i.e., the way he would like things to be going. In this track, he expresses how what he believed, along with that which he believed in, is changing, shooting off in radical directions. He speaks as if it was destined to be this way, as if he saw it coming all along. This song, along with "Beside You In Time" and "Right Where It Belongs" can almost be seen as a prequel to Year Zero, as they speak about corruption in man's heart, and the world changing, revealing something not before seen ("The Line Begins To Blur" definitely seems to lead up to the Resistance Theory, and Trent Reznor's struggle coping with a world that has completely devolved around him, as the chorus says, "As far as I have gone/I knew what side I'm on/But now I'm not so sure/The line begins to blur… ").

Contents

  • 1 Song Credits
  • 2 Appearances
    • 2.1 Halos
    • 2.2 Other
  • 3 Versions
    • 3.1 The Line Begins To Blur
    • 3.2 The Line Begins To Blur (Instrumental)
    • 3.3 The Line Begins To Blur (Beside You In Time)
  • 4 Live
  • 5 Lyrics

Song Credits

  • Live Drums: Dave Grohl

Appearances

Halos

  • With Teeth
  • Beside You In Time

Other

  • The Definitive NIN - Heavy Tracks - online playlist(s); not on original Seed release

Versions

The Line Begins To Blur

This is the original album version. Dave Grohl's live drums and loud, distorted bass begin the song, its rhythmic stomp augmented by distortion loops that give the effect that the listener's speakers are crackling from the volume. Reznor's vocals are elongated yells through the verses, which contrast with the melodic, guitar-driven chorus. Simple in its structure, the song features a second verse and chorus before moving into a coda driven by a melodic lead guitar line and Reznor's wordless vocal accompaniment. The layering and vocals during this last section are reminiscent of The Fragile. Its final cymbal hit crossfades with the drone of "Beside You In Time."

The Line Begins To Blur (Instrumental)

Running Time: 3:48

Released exclusively through Apple Music.

The Line Begins To Blur (Beside You In Time)

This live version can be found on the Beside You In Time DVD. It remains very faithful to the original sound and structure. The guitar solo is played an octave higher when compared to the album version and previous live shows.

Live

"The Line Begins To Blur" made its live debut on March 23, 2005 and was played at the vast majority of Live: With Teeth shows until the 2006 summer tour. The chorus lyrics were often changed from "I knew what side I'm on" to "To know what side I'm on." This is seen on Beside You In Time.

"The Line Begins To Blur" continued to make rare appearances until the NIN + QOTSA Tour. It was revived again for the NIN 2022 tour.

Lyrics

    There are things that I said I would never do
    There are fears that I cannot believe have come true
    For my soul is too sick and too little and too late
    And my self I have grown too weary to hate
    
    The more I stay in here
    The more it's not so clear
    The more I stay in here
    The more I disappear
    As far as I have gone
    I knew what side I'm on
    But now I'm not so sure
    The line begins to blur
    
    Is there somebody on top of me?
    I don't know, I don't know
    Isn't anybody stopping me?
    I don't know, I don't know
    Well I'm trying to hold my breath
    Just how far down can I go?
    I don't know, I don't know
    I don’t know
    
    As I lie here and stare
    The fabric starts to tear
    It's far beyond repair
    And I don't really care
    As far as I have gone
    I knew what side I'm on
    But now I'm not so sure
    The line begins to blur

In the final recording, the third verse slightly changes to:

    Well I'm trying to hold my breath
    I don't know, I don't know
Previous track - "Sunspots" Track 11 from With Teeth Next track - "Beside You In Time"
Retrieved from "https://www.nin.wiki/index.php?title=The_Line_Begins_To_Blur&oldid=59357"
Last edited on 15 November 2022, at 12:39
  • This page was last edited on 15 November 2022, at 12:39.
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