Changes

}}'''"La Mer"''' is the eleventh track from the Left disc of ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]].'' It begins with piano chords accompanied by standup bass and is then accentuated by drums playing a jazz rhythm and e-bow guitar. This is one of the few songs by [[Nine Inch Nails]] that is played with almost all acoustic instruments. It consists of a 3/4 time signature superimposed over a 4/4 time signature. Its main melodic elements and bassline are taken in a different direction with "[[Into The Void (song)|Into The Void]]."

The song itself was conceived during a very dark period in Reznor's life. When [[2009/06/03 Mansfield, MA|on stage]] in 2009 he disclosed that he had rented a house at the time on an ocean with the external intent to write some music, but in reality had attempted suicide there. This song was the only song to come out of that time and place. He still feels strange playing it live because it serves as a reminder of this dark period in his life.

This is the original album version. It begins with piano chords accompanied by standup bass and is then accentuated by drums playing a jazz rhythm and e-bow guitar. This is one of the few songs by [[Nine Inch Nails]] that is played with almost all acoustic instruments. It consists of a 3/4 time signature superimposed over a 4/4 time signature. Its piano theme is also used at the end of "[[We're In This Together (song)|We're in This Together]]." On ''The Fragile'' vinyl, the introductory piano chords and standup bass are repeated one extra time before the solo begins over top, and the ending denouement is slightly longer, featuring more spoken samples. Because of this, the transition into "[[The Great Below]]" is also slightly different than the CD version.

This live version is a pure instrumentaldoes not feature the speech samples, and [[Robin Finck]] plays the introductory melody normally played on piano with a guitar playing the xylophone partukelele.