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Happiness In Slavery

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Revision as of 16:34, 20 February 2007 by Leo3375 (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Album:Broken
Length:5:21
Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM
Versions:{{{versions}}}
Live:Self-Destruct


Contents

  • 1 About
    • 1.1 Appearances
    • 1.2 Versions
    • 1.3 Song Credits
  • 2 Music Video
  • 3 Lyrics
  • 4 External Links

About

""Happiness In Slavery"" is the fifth track on the "Broken" EP.

Appearances

  • Broken

Versions

  • Happiness In Slavery
  • Happiness In Slavery (Fixed)
  • Screaming Slave

Song Credits

  • Production: Trent Reznor

Music Video

Jon Reiss directed the award-winning "Happiness In Slavery" video, which was released in 1992. Shot entirely in black-and-white, the video's stark contrasts and stunning visual effects leave a memorable imprint to the viewer.

SPOLIERS BEGIN A man (played by performance artist Bob Flanagan, 1952–1996) enters a room. He's dressed in a suit and tie and surveys the room before placing a flower in a small vase on a shelf and lighting a candle next to it. He then undresses, carefully folding each piece and placing it on a table under the shelf. Now completely nude, he walks over to a small wash basin, above which is a mirror. He dips a washcloth into the water and cleans himslef, then pauses and looks in the mirror. He then walks over to a strange device in the middle of the room and lies down on it.

Suddenly the device springs to life and the man is in a reclining position. Shackles come down over his wrists and ankles as needles start poking into his hands. He looks on with anticipation and reacts with both pain and pleasure. A clamp and pincer begins to pull at the mans genitalia. More pincers begin pulling at his skin and ripping it out, which seems to be bringing the man an increasing amount of pleasure. Drills emerge and drill into his flesh at various points, with the blood dripping to the floor. The floor seems to be made out of dirt and there is a strange little garden underneath the device that seems to be fertilized by blood.

Finally, grinders emerge and grind at the man's skin. There is a final flurry of pain and ecstasy before he is finally dead. The machine then engulfs the man's body, grinding it into a fertilizer for the garden. The machinery has washed itself and awaits the next victim.

At the end of the video, another man (Reznor), dressed in similar attire, enters the room, and begins the same ritual as the previous man. SPOLIERS END

The video was universally banned due to its extreme violence and full-frontal nudity. There is a rumor that the only part of the video that was not real was the final sequence in which the man is engulfed by the machine. In reality, the poking and pulling were pretty much the only "real" aspects to the video. Reiss is fascinated with hydraulics, and it clearly shows with this video. The blood and gore were created by mashing bananas and mixing them with chocolate. This would look more realistic when photographed in black-and-white.

Lyrics

    Slave screams he thinks he knows what he wants
    Slave screams thinks he has something to say
    Slave screams he hears but doesn’t want to listen
    Slave screams he’s being beat into submission
    
    Don’t open your eyes you won’t like what you see
    The devils of truth steal the souls of the free
    Don’t open your eyes, take it from me
    I have found
    You can find
    Happiness in slavery
    
    Slave screams he spends his life learning conformity
    Slave screams he claims he has his own identity
    Slave screams he’s going to cause the system to fall
    Slave screams but he’s glad to be chained to that wall
    
    Don’t open your eyes you won’t like what you see
    The blind have been blessed with security
    Don’t open your eyes, take it from me
    I have found
    You can find
    Happiness in slavery
    
    I don’t know what I am I don’t know where I’ve been
    Human junk just words and so much skin
    Stick my hands through the cage of this endless routine
    Just some flesh caught in this big broken machine

External Links

[url=http://www.jonreiss.com]Official Website of Jon Reiss[/url] [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Flanagan]WikiPedia entry for Bob Flanagan[/url

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