The Big Come Down

Album: The Fragile (Right)

Length:4:12

Tempo:81 BPM

Versions:The Big Come Down
The Big Come Down (Instrumental)
The Big Come Down (Beside You In Time)

Live:Fragility v2.0 through Wave Goodbye
Tension 2013 Tour
NIN + QOTSA Tour through NIN 2014 Latin America Tour
Europe + Asia 2018 through present

"The Big Come Down" is the ninth track on the Right disc of The Fragile.

Remix contest nin.com page

Remix contest application interface

Its layers were published, in a Shockwave application by a company called Beatnik, for a NIN.com remix contest during The Fragile era. The winner was a user named Merkury. There was also a snippet remix for demonstration purposes (running 1:12) that may have been done by Trent Reznor.

Appearances

Halos

• The Fragile
• The Fragile: Deviations 1
• Beside You In Time

Seeds

• The Definitive NIN - Deep Cuts

Versions

The Big Come Down

This is the original album version. A unique track in the NIN canon, it features a loud and bombastic drum loop with odd percussion sounds, synthesized bass, and an oddly-tuned acoustic-sounding guitar riff played on a Parker Fly guitar utilizing its piezo pickup.[1] Reznor's vocals in the verses are abrasively yelled, contrasting with the melodic singing in the pre-choruses and choruses, a pattern that would be used again in "The Line Begins To Blur" and "Head Down". The chorus is backed by organ chords, while the bridge descends into ambient synthesizers and loops before exploding back into the song with a new synthesized melody. The song ends suddenly, segueing immediately into "Underneath It All".

The Big Come Down (Instrumental)

Running Time: 4:05

Released exclusively through Apple Music, then later on The Fragile: Deviations 1, the entire song runs at its original tempo of 83 BPM. All vocals are removed, and the synth melody/solo after the bridge features additional guitar parts layered with roaring crowd sounds.

The Big Come Down (Beside You In Time)

Reznor is highly energetic in this particular performance. As well, the lead guitar part in the original album version is replaced with a more heavily distorted/fuzzed part, though still played on a Parker Fly. During the guitar solo, Aaron North scrapes his guitar against his amp cabinet, creating a controlled feedback sound.

Live

"The Big Come Down" made its live debut on April 3, 2000. It has been performed sporadically since the Fragility tour, with the Lights In The Sky Tour the only one it could properly be considered a regular on. During the Tension 2013 Tour, this song featured backing vocals by Lisa Fischer and Sharlotte Gibson.

Lyrics

    There is a game I play
    Try to make myself okay
    Try so hard to make the pieces all fit
    Smash it apart
    Just for the fuck of it
    
    Bye bye oooh
    Got to get back to the bottom
    Bye bye oooh
    The big come down isn't that what you wanted?
    Bye bye oooh
    Find a place with the failed and forgotten
    Bye bye oooh
    Isn't that really what you wanted now?
    
    There is no place I can go there is no way I can hide
    It feels like it keeps coming from the inside
    
    There is a hate that burns within
    The most desperate place I have ever been
    Try to get back to where I'm from
    The closer I get the worse it becomes
    The closer I get the worse it becomes
    
    There is no place I can go there is no place I can hide
    It feels like it keeps coming from the inside

Previous track - "I'm Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally" Track CD:21, Vinyl: 23 from The Fragile Right (CD), Side F (Vinyl) Next track - "Underneath It All"