Sin (song)

Album:Pretty Hate Machine

Length:4:06

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:Sin
Sin (Long)
Sin (Dub)
Sin (Short)

Live:Hate Tour (1990) through Present
Common

File:Axl rose.jpg

Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses wearing a Sin shirt

Sin is the seventh track on the 1989 release Pretty Hate Machine. Obviously, this song is about sex, visceral desires, lust and guilt. Remixes were featured on the Sin single along with a B-side (a cover of Queen's "Get Down, Make Love"). The song is often amped up live to a more danceable version of the song.

Song Credits

• Production: Trent Reznor, John Fryer
• Remix: Keith LeBlanc
• Engineering: John Fryer, Keith LeBlanc, Kennan Keating, Ken Quartarone
• Mix: Keith LeBlanc, Trent Reznor

Appearances

Halos

• Pretty Hate Machine
• Sin
• Closure
• And All That Could Have Been (CD/DVD/VHS)

Other

• Purest Feeling II

Versions

Sin

This is the original album version

Sin (Dub)

This remix is almost completely stripped of lyrics, save for the words "sin," "control," and "lies" scattered throughout the track.

Song Credits

• Remix: Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc

Sin (Long)

At nearly six minutes long, this remix has extended instrumentals.

Song Credits

• Remix: Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc

Sin (Short)

This remix incorporates some of the elements of the "Long" and "Dub" remixes, but it has a more drawn-out outro. This version is used in the music video.

Song Credits

• Remix: Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc

Sin (And All That Could Have Been)

This live version is known for its theremin intro.

Live

Coming soon.

Music Video

A video was released in 1990, using the "(Short)" remix of the song. It was directed by Brett Turnbull. The video features featured two girls dancing with each other at the beginning before cutting to the main focus of the video. A woman, nude except for what looks like straps to spelunking gear and a halogen lamp, walking a shirtless, wrist-bound Trent Reznor with a bag over his head through what looks like an industrial warehouse complex. He is then strapped into a large rotary harness where she spins him throughout the remainder of the video. These scenes are intercut with two young gay lovers who eventually fight and make up, a man and woman wearing ritualistic dressings and dancing, as well as visuals of pierced genitalia (both male and female), all reflecting the song's dark, sexual aspects.

The video was banned from MTV and most major outlets. A partial version of the video can be found on Closure. There were reports that the complete video was shown at dance clubs in the early 1990s and can now be found on the NINternet.

Lyrics

    You give me the reason                        
    You give me control
    I gave you my Purity
    My Purity you stole
    Did you think I wouldn’t recognize this compromise
    Am I just to stupid to realize
    Stale incense old sweat and lies lies lies
    
    It comes down to this
    Your kiss
    Your fist
    And your strain
    It gets under my skin
    Within
    Take in
    The extent of my sin
    
    You give me the anger
    You give me the nerve
    Carry out my sentence
    I get what I deserve
    I’m just an effigy to be defaced
    To be disgraced
    Your need for me has been replaced
    And if I can’t have everything well then just give me a taste
    
    It comes down to this
    Your kiss
    Your fist
    And your strain
    It gets under my skin
    Within
    Take in
    The extent of my sin