Terrible Lie

Album:Pretty Hate Machine

Length:4:39

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:Terrible Lie
Terrible Lie (Sympathetic Mix)
Terrible Lie (Empathetic Mix)
Terrible Lie (Closure)
Terrible Lie (And All That Could Have Been)
Terrible Lie (Beside You In Time)

Live:"Pretty Hate Machine" Promotional Tour through Present

"Terrible Lie" is the second track on the 1989 release Pretty Hate Machine and begins directly at the end of "Head Like A Hole" (the end of the latter providing a segue into the beginning of the former).

Meaning

The song is about having a belief in God while wondering about all the suffering (mostly personal/internal suffering) that one goes through in life, about wanting to believe and wanting to be hopeful but being constantly proved wrong by events in one's life. Its "everyman" subject matter and distinct melody make it one of Nine Inch Nails' better known songs and a staple of the live concerts.

Song Credits

• Production: Flood, Trent Reznor
• Engineering: Flood, John Fryer, Doug de Angelis
• Mix: John Fryer, Trent Reznor

Appearances

Halos

• Pretty Hate Machine
• Head Like A Hole
• Closure
• And All That Could Have Been
• Beside You In Time

Seeds

• The Definitive NIN - Deep Cuts
• The Definitive NIN - Heavy Tracks

Versions

Terrible Lie

The second track from the album Pretty Hate Machine, its intro beat bleeds in from the outro of "Head Like A Hole" and pops up occasionally throughout the song. The song is almost entirely synthetic and is extremely layered when compared to most of the other songs on the album.

Terrible Lie (Sympathetic Mix)

Present on the Head Like A Hole single, this version is essentially the same as the album version with a few slight differences such as an unadulterated intro, a bit less layering and different arrangements, as well as a different outro and ending. Due to its similarity to the album version, however, it's often considered more of a "single mix" for the song, which is used as a B-Side to Head Like A Hole.

Song Credits

• Production and mix: Flood, Trent Reznor

Terrible Lie (Empathetic Mix)

Present on the Head Like A Hole single, this version is notably more remixed than the other version, lacking the normal intro and is much more upbeat as well with different arrangements of the main parts of the song, though the flow of the song remains intact. The background noises are much clearer as well and the song is noticeably extended in this version. Some of the lyrics (such as the distorted "Hey God!") are much clearer in this version as well. It also has a different ending as well.

Song Credits

• Production and mix: Flood, Trent Reznor

Terrible Lie (Closure)

"Terrible Lie" is the first song from a live performance shown on Closure. It follows footage from Nine Inch Nails fans and protesters alike as well as backstage footage. The classic "Pinion" intro leads into "Terrible Lie" and a spotlight projects the silhouette of Reznor onto the screen. The band is covered in cornstarch as per usual for the era and Reznor finishes up half singing/half saying "you promised me" into the mike. The video then goes to more fan and backstage footage and is eventually followed by "Piggy." On the DVD leak of this release, an older Lollapalooza '91 performance of this song is featured in the Appendage section, following "Now I'm Nothing." Both are recorded in bootleg-like quality.

Terrible Lie (And All That Could Have Been)

The first song on both the CD and DVD/VHS versions of And All That Could Have Been, the song takes place with just the multi-colored set lighting on and does not have any special motif to it. During certain shots, one can see the sunset through the opening at the top of the stadium. Reznor can be seen wearing cornstarch makeup and mascara during this song, though most of it does not last through "March of the Pigs." The song starts out with the recorded "The New Flesh"/"Pinion" intro typical to the Fragility 2.0 shows, though this is entirely cut off along with the actual intro to the song on the CD version. The song ends with Reznor screaming "You fucking promised me!", before seguing directly into "Sin."

Terrible Lie (Beside You In Time)

The live version of "Terrible Lie," as performed on Beside You In Time, is much moodier than previous versions. During the choruses (during which "terrible lie" is chanted), a previously unheard riff is played by guitar and bass. Also, Reznor seems much more desperate while singing the "Don't take it away from me…" lines in the song. The added "live" solo at the end of the song has also been modified. These changes can likely be attributed to the fact that this is an almost completely new live line up. The music is also much more cleaner and defined than the Fragility tour and on And All That Could Have Been. At the end of the song, the band doesn't play the extended live ending. Instead, they finish the song abruptly, as in the album version.

Live

"Terrible Lie" is often the opening song of Nine Inch Nails shows following an introduction, which may be "Now I'm Nothing" (Lollapalooza '91, NIN/JA 2009) or, often, a manipulated pre-recorded version of "Pinion." The live version typically omits the keyboard and bass harmony for the first half of the first chorus, a feature of the Sympathetic mix. The ending of the song is extended when performed live and is often concluded with Reznor screaming "you promised me," followed by a brief sample of the words "will you forgive me?" heard clearly in this example (from the bootleg Shallow Grave). At the end of the song, the band has been known to cause a little bit of instrument destruction (though not always). During the Live: With Teeth tours, Aaron North plays a short solo during the last few moments of the song. This is a short, three note repeating solo.

Aaron North solo tab

Standard tuning

e|-----------------------------
B|-----------------------------
G|-----------------------------
D|-13-15-16--13-15-16--13-15-16
A|-----------------------------
E|-----------------------------

Lyrics

    Hey God, why are you doing this to me?
    Am I not living up to what I'm supposed to be?
    Why am I seething with this animosity?
    Hey God, I think you owe me a great big apology
    
    Terrible lie
    
    Hey God, I really don't know what you mean
    Seems like salvation comes only in our dreams
    I feel my hatred grow all the more extreme
    Hey God, can this world really be as sad as it seems?
    
    Terrible lie
    
    Don't take it away from me
    I need someone to hold on to
    Don't take it away from me
    I need someone to hold on to
    
    Hey God, there's nothing left for me to hide
    I lost my ignorance, security and pride
    I'm all alone in a world you must despise
    Hey God, I believed the promises, the promises and lies
    
    Terrible lie
    
    You made me throw it all away
    My morals left to decay
    How many you betray
    You've taken everything
    
    Terrible lie
    
    My head is filled with disease
    My skin is begging you please
    I'm on my hands and knees
    I want so much to believe
    I need someone to hold on to
    I need someone to hold on to
    I need someone to hold on to
    I need someone to hold on to
    I give you everything
    My sweet everything

    Hey God, I really don't know who I am
    In this world of piss.

The last two lines only appear in the album booklet for Pretty Hate Machine

It should be noted that the following line was changed on the recording:

    Hey God, I believed your promises, your promises and lies

Previous track - "Head Like A Hole" Track 2 from Pretty Hate Machine Next track - "Down In It"