Changes

This is the original album version. It begins with the decending pitch drone that segues in from "[[Sanctified]]" as the piano that dominates for most of the song creeps in. The song is notable for its ambient backing, including conflicting sounds of machinery and nature such as the buzzes, hisses and door slams that accompany the music as well as the ambience of wind and chirping birds buried far behind the "industrial noises." The song itself is fairly straightforward and gets louder as it progresses; notably, Reznor's vocals seem to grow in volume and emotion as the song progresses, the song surging up as it enters the last chorus. After it, the ambience suddenly drops out on the last few lines, draining away and only leaving the chirping birds in the background. The "atmospheric keyboards" in the song are [[samples|sampled ]] from an unused This Mortal Coil session. On the 2010 remastered vinyl edition, the song begins the second side; as such, it lacks the drone guitar at the beginning, simply starting with the lone piano motif before the bass synth joins in and the song proceeds as usual.

A difference from the studio version is the for many years was noticeably louder drums that are persistent in the choruses. The keyboard part is usually played by the bassist ([[Danny Lohner]] and [[Jeordie White]]). During However, since joining the band in 2009, [[Woodstock '94Ilan Rubin]] also plays keyboard and [[Self Destruct Touring Cycle|Self Destruct]], Trent ended the song is played with "I can never have... and you will never, ever, ever understand... how I feel." Since [[Live: With Teeth]], the last chorus has seen an additional rising guitar screechno drums.

During [[Woodstock '94]] and [[Self Destruct Touring Cycle|Self Destruct]], Trent ended the song with "I can never have... and you will never, ever, ever understand... how I feel." Since [[Live: With Teeth]], the last chorus has seen an additional rising guitar screech. The version from the [[Bridge School Benefit]], like all the songs from this particular performance, is performed entirely with string instruments and Reznor on vocals. No synthetics were used at all during this performance, but the arrangements seem to correlate with extended live version of the song played in concert by [[Nine Inch Nails]].

{{Youtube|ZCcmEn7nDxE"Something I Can Never Have" has been covered by a variety of artists. More information can be found [[Covers Of NIN|Clean cover by Flyleaf, appearing on the Underworld Evolution Scorehere]].}}

[[Category:NIN Songs]][[Category:Know The Score]][[Category:Songs With Unused Lyrics]]