The Only Time

Album:Pretty Hate Machine

Length:4:47

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:The Only Time
The Only Time (Demo)
The Only Time (Closure)

Live:Pre-Hate (1988) through Self-Destruct Tour (1994)
Retired, but parts are used in the breakdown during "Closer" on the Live: With Teeth tour

"The Only Time" is the ninth track on the 1989 release Pretty Hate Machine. It's a rather dancable track about new experiences and indulging in the dirty side of life.

Song Credits

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

Appearances

Halos

• Pretty Hate Machine
• Closure

Other

• Purest Feeling

Versions

The Only Time

This is the final album version.

The Only Time (Demo)

An early version of the song found on Purest Feeling.

The Only Time (Closure)

This live version begins with Reznor explaining that "this is a song about fucking."

Live

Last performed during the Self-Destruct Tour, the song has pushed its way back to the surface, the melody being used for an interpolation/breakdown during the final verse of "Closer" on the Live: With Teeth tour. It is unclear if it will be played live again, though.

Lyrics

    I’m drunk
    And right now I’m so in love with you
    And I don’t want to think too much about what we should or shouldn’t do
    Lay my hands on Heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars
    While the Devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car
    Nothing quite like the feel of something new
    
    Maybe I’m all messed up
    Maybe I’m all messed up in you
    
    But this is the only time I really feel alive
    This is the only time I really feel alive
    
    I swear
    I just found everything I need
    The sweat in your eyes the blood in your veins are listening to me
    Well I want to drink it up and swim in it until I drown
    My moral standing is lying down
    Nothing quite like the feel of something new
    
    Maybe I’m all messed up
    Maybe I’m all messed up in you
    
    But this is the only time I really feel alive
    This is the only time I really feel alive
    
    I can’t help thinking Christ never had it like this