Reptile
Reptilian
Underneath The Skin
Reptile (And All That Could Have Been) DVD
Liar (Reptile Demo)
"Reptile" is the twelfth track on 1994's The Downward Spiral. This song is characteristic of the band's early 90s "industrial" sound, as it opens with an eerie, quiet machine-like sound collage that transitions into a nearly identical-sounding musical composition. Allegedly, it is a sample of a machine that slaughters pigs, though no sources have been found that indicate this.
The lyrics seem to be directed towards an old cohort of Trent Reznor's, possibly a woman with whom he had some sort of relation.
Contents
Song Credits
- Production: Trent Reznor
- Mixing Engineer: Alan Moulder
Appearances
Halos
- March Of The Pigs
- The Downward Spiral
- And All That Could Have Been (DVD)
Versions
Reptile
This is the original album version.
Reptilian
Coming soon.
Underneath The Skin
Coming soon.
Liar (Reptile Demo)
Relatively the same as the version that found its way onto The Downward Spiral throughout the intro and verses, however the chorus is somewhat altered featuring a dancier beat and different vocals layered over.
Reptile (And All That Could Have Been)
This live version is an Easter Egg on the DVD version of And All That Could Have Been.
Live
The song has always been performed with the beeps as an introduction. During the breakdown, Reznor sings "please don't hurt me" followed by a desperate cry. Recently on the Year Zero Warm-Up Tour, the intro is further extended with a more articulate sound and Reznor whispering over it.
This song was also featured in the Boston, MA radio performance, (Peter Murphy, Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jeordie White) on June 23, 2006.
Lyrics
She spreads herself wide open to let the insects in She leaves a trail of honey to show me where she’s been She has the blood of reptile just underneath her skin Seeds from a thousand others drip down from within Oh my beautiful liar Oh my precious whore My disease my infection I am so impure Devils speak of the ways in which she’ll manifest Angels bleed from the tainted touch of my caress Need to contaminate to alleviate this loneliness I now know the depths I reach are limitless Oh my beautiful liar Oh my precious whore My disease my infection I am so impure