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| album = ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]]'' (Left)
| length = 3:31
| BPM = 80| versions = Pilgrimage<br>Pilgrimage (Alternate Version)| live = [[Live: With TeethSpring Arena Tour]]<br>[[Performance 2007]] through present
}}'''"Pilgrimage"''' is the ninth track on the Left disc of ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]].'' It is an instrumental track in a 3/4 time signature.
The "Buddha Boys Choir", credited for background chants on this track, was actually (in addition to [[Keith Hillebrandt]], [[Clint Mansell]] and Steve Duda) comprised of [[Nothing Studios]] employees and local New Orleans band Deadhandsystem. The name they were given in the liner notes comes from Igor's Buddha Belly across the street from from the studios.
==Recording==
The end of the song features an entirely synthetic marching band arrangement. Its creation was revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone:[http://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/xart78.shtml]
<blockquote>"It shouldn't have taken place," Reznor says sheepishly. "The track was done. But at the end, I said, 'That's such a bizarre theme. What would it sound like played by a marching band going down the street?' A week later" - he nods in the direction of one of the studio's king-size Macintosh computers - "there's a band marching through the song. It's all on synthesizer." New Orleans, of course, is a city full of marching bands. "It would have been easier to get a band than it was to do it the way I did," Reznor admits, grinning.</blockquote>
==Song Credits==
*Additional Marching Percussion: [[Steve Duda]]*Chanting: [[The Buddha Boys Choir]]*Trumpet: [[Cherry Holly]]
==Appearances==
===Halos===
*''[[The Fragile(halo)|The Fragile]]''*''The Fragile Instrumental''*''[[The Fragile: Deviations 1]]''
==Interpretation=Seeds===The song "Pilgrimage" presents a turn in the musical harmony of ''The Fragile.*'' From the soft and melodic sounds of "[[Even Deeper]]" to the hardhitting riffs and lyrics of "[[No, You Don't]]" and the hollowness of "[[La Mer]]" and "[[The Great BelowDefinitive NIN - Heavy Tracks]]," "Pilgrimage" represents a battle, a turning of the tides. Whereas the album starts with the protagonist in the depths of a depression, whether it be emotional, physical, or both, leading up to this point the lyrical content and general mood of the songs is dark, reflective and introspective, leading into "Pilgrimage" representing his will to battle the fears and pains inside him, and continuing on through "No, You Don't." The mood then changes again from proactive to passive with the songs "La Mer" and "The Great Below," almost seeming to state that he tried to battle his demons, but then fell back into the pit he started in. On the Right side of ''The Fragile,'' this momentum repeats itself, starting with the pains of emptiness and then gradually building to self confidence, only to slump back to where he originally started with "[[Ripe]]."
==Versions==
===Pilgrimage===
This is the album version. Its abrasive guitar riff fades in from the end of "[[Even Deeper]]," joined at each repetition by new layers of mechanical synthesizers and percussion layers. These layers are soon subsumed by the main theme, played on synthesizers. After its repetition, the layers halt to simply a distorted guitar playing the same riff, which is then joined by drums, bass synth, and wordless vocal melodies. These layers soon crossfade with a return of the main melody, played this time on brass instruments accompanied by marching drums that fade in. Eventually, the horn and synth layers stop, leaving only known versionthe marching drums to repeat and stop suddenly, leading into the opening ambient pad of "[[No, You Don't]]. " On the vinyl version, the song does not fade in at the start, rather beginning with the guitar riff and building at its natural mix volume. ===Pilgrimage (Alternate Version)==='''''Running Time: 3:04''''' Released on ''The Fragile: Deviations 1''. Also known as "Pilgrimage" (Alt) when it was originally released on Apple Music as part of ''The Fragile Instrumental''. This is a noticeably higher volumevery different mix, though the arrangement is very close to the album version. Its intro, like the vinyl version, does not fade in.
==Live==
"Pilgrimage" has been used live an as an introduction song tape on the [[Live: With Teeth]] Summer Amphitheater Tour ]] and the [[Performance 2007]] tour.
{{Succession box
| title=[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]] Left (CD), Side C (Vinyl)
| before=[[Even Deeper]]
| after=[[No, You Don't]]
| track=9}}
[[Category:NIN Instrumentals]]