The Collector (Live At Rehearsals)
"The Collector" is the third track on the 2005 release With Teeth. It's in a very odd time signature, with the verses in a 3/4-3/4-3/4-4/4 pattern and the chorus in a 4/4-4/4-6/4 pattern. Lyrically, the song seems to address Trent Reznor's insecurities leading up to writing the With Teeth album in regards to him questioning if he would ever write music again, or be able to write sober. In a fan interview, Reznor stated that this was initially his favourite song on the record.
Contents
Song Credits
- Live Drums: Dave Grohl
Appearances
Versions
The Collector
This is the original album version.
The Collector (Live At Rehearsals)
This video appears as additional footage on Beside You In Time. It is set similar to "The Hand That Feeds" video, with Reznor donning a white dress shirt and everyone else wearing dark clothing.
Live
"The Collector" was stated in a fan interview to be Trent's favorite song off of With Teeth. He also stated that whenever he played the song live he "got a lot of blank stares" from the audience. The Collector has been played live on the Live: With Teeth tour.
Lyrics
I pick things up
I am a collector
And things, well things
They tend to accumulate
I have this net
It drags behind me
And it picks up feelings
For me to feed upon
There are times, plenty of times
I wish I could let it go
But they start to breathe
And they start to grow inside me
There are times, plenty of times
I wish I could let it go
But they start to make me think
Things I don't want to know
I'm trying to fit it all inside
I'm trying to open my mouth wide
I'm trying not to choke and
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
I am the plague
I am the swarm
All your hurt sticks on me
And I keep it warm
They make me stay
They won't let me leave
There are so God damned many of them
It gets hard to breathe
I'm trying to fit it all inside
I'm trying to open my mouth wide
I'm trying not to choke inside
I am a good boy and
Will swallow it all
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Every last one
Every last one
Every last one
Every last one
Additional lyrics printed in the With Teeth PDF booklet, but not appearing in the song itself
Are you listening?
Yes I am building
Something bigger than the world
Something terrible
With all of this