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| live =[[Self Destruct Warm-upTouring Cycle]] through present}}'''"Reptile"''' is the twelfth track on 1994's ''[[The Downward Spiral (halo)|The Downward Spiral]].'' At 6:52, it is the longest track on the album. In an [http://thetentosaga.com/theninwebpit/axcess.html interview], [[Trent Reznor]] stated that he would have liked the song to have been released as a single. In 2021, a [[Hoaxes_and_jokes#nin.com_Memorial_Day_sale|fake cassette single]] of "Reptile" was put up for sale on the [[nin.com]] store as a joke.

The track "[[She'''s Gone Away]]"Reptile"''' is makes two hidden references to this song: one in the twelfth track on 1994's ''[[Not The Downward Spiral (halo)|The Downward SpiralActual Events]].'' At 6:51physical component (where the "Reptile" lyrics are layered underneath the lyrics of "She's Gone Away"), it is and one in embedded (but unsung) lyrics in the longest track on Apple Music release of "She's Gone Away" (the album. In an [http://thetentosaga.com/theninwebpit/axcess.html interview], Reznor stated that he would have liked lines "she spreads herself wide open to let the song insects in" and "she leaves a trail of honey to have show me where she's been released as a single").

This is the original album version. Characteristic of the band's mid-90s industrial rock sound, it opens with an eerie and quiet machine-like sound collage [[samples|sampled ]] from the film ''Leviathan'', which transitions into an imitative musical composition. The structure, repetitive in nature, contains three distinct but similar sections, all driven by machine-like percussion loops and undulating rhythm guitar and synthesized bass. Two looped mechanical sounds that run through the song are sampled from the film ''Aliens'': a metallic thud from the opening scene immediately after the chamber is cut open, and a pitched-up mechanical sound from the first power loader scene. The choruses reflect a brighter mood with prominent melodic synthesizers and glimpses of guitar. The three sections are joined by two quiet instrumental breaks, a technique used later on "[[Even Deeper]]."The ascending synth melody from 5:13 to 5:20 could potentially be a reference to or an interpolation of "Laura Palmer's Theme" from the television show ''Twin Peaks''. During this same section, there is a looped sample of a woman saying, "Kirk, help?" from the film ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre''. The "gong" sound that appears midway through the track and after the bridge is also used near the end of "[[Hurt (song)|Hurt]]", but the pitch is changed. The synth melody during the outro has the same voicing as that heard during the outro of "[[Last]]". The drums used are the same as on "Fell From Heaven" by Lead Into Gold (a Paul Barker side-project, and one whose music video for "Faster Than Light" features a cameo from Reznor.) This may be strictly coincidence, given that some of the same or similar instruments may have been used, or it could be an actual sample. A reversed version of the track is hidden on side B of the ''[[Not The Actual Events]]'' vinyl.

'''''Running Time: 8:40''''' This version has more loop layering, no intro, and instrumental choruses after the regular choruses."Reptilian" appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese release of ''[[Further Down The Spiral]]'' and as a ''March Of The Pigs'' b-side. 

This live version is an Easter Egg on the DVD version of ''And All That Could Have Been'' and is generally more guitar-heavy than the studio version. Reznor is barely audibly whispering "pig" as the intro fades in, showing that the song's place in the tracklist is between "[[March Of The Pigs (song)|March of the Pigs]]" and "[[Piggy]]." He also adds lyrics during the quiet breaks. It and other hidden content can be found via the "Beneath The Surface" menu hidden on disc two, accessed during "[[Head Like A Hole(song)|Head Like A Hole]]" at the 11:20 mark by pressing 7 (or 6 for some copies) on the remote, then Enter.

The song has always been performed with the beep melody as an introduction, though sometimes without the machine loop collage. During the second quiet bridge, Reznor often sings "please don't hurt me," followed by a desperate cry. Reznor sometimes alters the final line of the first verse to say "a thousand lovers" instead of "a thousand others." During the [[Self Destruct Touring Cycle|Self Destruct tours]], the band would be bathed in green light and reptilian "scales" would be projected onto them. On the [[Year Zero Warm-Up Tour]], the intro was further extended with a more articulate sound and Reznor whispering over it.

This song was also reworked and featured in the [http://www.nin.com/current/radioshows/index.html Boston, Massachusetts radio performance], ([[Peter Murphy]], Reznor, [[Atticus Ross]], and [[Jeordie White]]) on [[2006/06/23 Boston, MA (Radio show)|June 23, 2006]], with its ending transitioning into a cover of "Haunted When the Minutes Drag" by Love and Rockets. The drum loops used in this iteration seem to use the same sound set and a similar beat as those in "[[The Good Soldier]]."

Give init.  Oh, please don't hurt me.

*[httphttps://vimeo.com/9055919 "Reptile" live in Boston, 6.23.06]*[https://archive.org/details/remix-nin-com-audio-02952 "Reptile" (Instrumental) at archive.org]