The Wretched

Album:The Fragile

Length:4:21

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:The Wretched
The Wretched (Version)
The Wretched (And All That Could Have Been)

Live:Fragility v1.0 through present

"The Wretched" is the fourth track on the Left disc of The Fragile.

Appearances

Halos

• The Fragile
• Things Falling Apart
• And All That Could Have Been (CD/DVD/VHS)

Seeds

• Collected
• The Definitive NIN - Deep Cuts

Versions

The Wretched

This is the original album version. The vinyl edition of The Fragile has an extended ending, playing out much like it does on And All That Could Have Been: instead of the beat fading out under the melody, it repeats four times and then stops, allowing the melody to repeat once more.

The Wretched (Version)

This remix starts with a very bassy intro before building to a loud, drum-heavy second verse. It eventually breaks down to just a guitar and the lyrics "Now you know/This is what it feels like" before building again towards the end, which drops back to the elements used in the intro along with what appears to be a live version of the end of the song from a concert in the distance.

Song Credits

• Maniputation: Keith Hillebrandt

The Wretched (And All That Could Have Been)

This live version is performed very similarly to the album version. After the chorus is sung the second time, just before the guitar solo, Reznor whispers the lines "There is a place/In the back of mind/Where I used to try/Change"

Live

Coming soon.

Lyrics

    Just a reflection
    Just a glimpse
    Just a little reminder
    Of all the what abouts
    And all the might have
    Could have beens
    Another day
    Some other way
    But not another reason to continue
    And now you’re one of us
    The Wretched
    
    The hopes and prays
    The better days
    The far aways
    Forget it
    
    It didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to
    It didn’t turn out the way you wanted it, did it?
    It didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to
    It didn’t turn out the way you wanted it, did it?
    
    Now you know
    This is what it feels like
    Now you know
    This is what it feels like
    
    The clouds will part
    And the sky cracks open
    And God Himself
    Will reach His fucking arm through
    Just to push you down
    Just to hold you down
    Stuck in this hole
    With the shit and the piss
    And it’s hard to believe
    It could come down to this
    Back at the beginning
    Sinking
    Spinning
    
    And in the end
    We still pretend
    The time we spend
    Not knowing when
    You’re finally free
    And you could be
    
    But it didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to
    It didn’t turn out quite the way that you wanted it
    
    Now you know
    This is what it feels like
    Now you know
    This is what it feels like
    
    You can try to stop it but it keeps on coming
    You can try to stop it but