The Becoming

Album: The Downward Spiral

Length:5:31

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:The Becoming
The Becoming (Still)

Live:Dissonance tour
Performance 2007

"The Becoming" is made from many loops of industrial sounds, showcasing the hard sound from The Downward Spiral. The main body of the song is in a 13/8 time signature before switching to a 6/8 time signature at the breakdown. It then goes back to 13/8 before ending in 6/8, leading into "I Do Not Want This."

A more acoustic version (with Trent Reznor on piano, Danny Lohner on guitar, Jerome Dillon on drums, with drum machine and samples) can be found on Still, with an accompanying video on www.nin.com (YouTube upload).

Meaning

The lyrics describe a man fighting against himself, trying to avoid his "becoming," transforming him into a machine without human characteristics and feelings.

This is a rare example of Reznor directly referencing a name ("Annie") in his lyrics. Usually, he uses ambiguous pronouns. This expresses the need for attachment, the need to interact intimately with another human despite the narrator's extreme attempts to detach himself from the world.

The song begins with industrial noises such as those from a drum machine and what appears to be distorted screams. At the 3-minute mark it mellows into swooshy sounds with ahhing from more emotive voices. There is a final outburst of noise and screaming before fading out with the ahhs again. This song structure is indicative of the struggle between the narrator and the noise/machine.

Song Credits

• Production: Flood and Trent Reznor
• Mixing Engineer: Alan Moulder
• Ring Mod Guitar: Adrian Belew
• ARP2600: Flood

Appearances

Halos

• The Downward Spiral (1994)
• And All That Could Have Been (Deluxe Edition CD; 2002)
• Still

Versions

The Becoming

This is the original album version.

The Becoming (Still)

This version appears on the Still CD, which was Disc 2 of the Deluxe Edition CD of And All That Could Have Been and is currently available through NIN.com.

Song Credits

• Performance: Trent Reznor, Jerome Dillon
• Mix engineering: Alan Moulder
• Engineering: Alan Moulder
• Second Engineering: Leo Herrera
• Programming: Keith Hillebrandt

Lyrics

    I..beat my machine 
    It’s a part of me 
    It’s inside of me
    
    I’m...stuck in this dream 
    It’s changing me 
    I am becoming
    
    The me that you know
    He had some second thoughts
    He’s covered with scabs
    He is broken and sore
    
    The me that you know
    He doesn’t come around much
    That part of me
    Isn’t here anymore
    
    All...pain disappears 
    It’s the nature of
    Of my circuitry
    
    Drowns...out all I hear 
    No escape from this 
    My new consciousness
    
    The me that you know
    He used to have feelings
    But the blood has stopped pumping
    And he’s left to decay
    
    The me that you know
    Is now made up of wires
    And even when I’m right with you
    I’m so far away
    
    I can try to get away
    But I’ve strapped myself in
    I can try to scratch away
    The sound in my ears
    
    I can see it killing away
    All of my bad parts
    I don’t want to listen
    But it’s all too clear
    
    Hiding
    Backwards inside of me
    I feel
    So unafraid
    
    Annie
    Hold a little tighter
    I might
    Just slip away
    
    It won’t give up
    It wants me dead
    Goddamn this noise inside my head