In an interview published in ''VIVA 2'' Magazine[http://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/display/827], Reznor revealed the source of its title: "The way that I couldn't cope with [the death of his grandmother] was by not addressing it or having the courage to write anything. And it took that realization to turn it around and by writing about it and expressing, I felt better about it, I felt like I could see through it. The way out is through. That's where the song title came from because I thought that the way out was skirting the issue and walking on the curb."
[[Image:Twoit tracksheet.png|thumb|Screen capture of the tracking sheet for "The Way Out Is is Through" track sheet published on [[from nin.comcirca The Fragile era. It reveals the original track title, "Anomaly."]] during ''[[The Fragile (halo)Image:TWOIT full track sheet.png|thumb|The Fragile]]'' era.Full track sheet]]
[[Image:Doom-ep-1-epilogue.jpg|thumb|''DOOM'' end screen text]]Its working title, as revealed by a picture of its tracking sheet on [[nin.com]], was "Anomaly." There is a corresponding fan theory that both names are a reference to the 1993 video game ''Doom'' - the level "E1M8: Phobos Anomaly". Upon beating that level, the player is met with a text screen that includes the phrase "Looks like you're stuck on the shores of Hell. The only way out is through."