Mr. Self Destruct

I am the voice inside your head
and I control you
I am the lover in your bed
and I control you
I am the sex that you provide
and I control you
I am the hate you try to hide
and I control you
I take you where you want to go
I give you all you need to know
I drag you down I use you up
Mr. Self-destruct
I speak religion's message clear
and I control you
I am denial guilt and fear
and I control you
I am the prayers of the naive
and I control you
I am the lie that you believe
and I control you
I take you where you want to go
I give you all you need to know
I drag you down I use you up
Mr. Self-destruct
I am the needle in your vein
and I control you
I am the high you can't sustain
and I control you
I am the pusher I'm a whore
and I control you
I am the need you have for more
and I control you
I am the bullet in the gun
and I control you
I am the truth from which you run
and I control you
I am the silencing machine
and I control you
I am the end of all your dreams
and I control you
I take you where you want to go
I give you all you need to know
I drag you down I use you up
Mr. Self-destruct


This is the first track off of NIN's The Downward Spiral. It is one of the best album openers of all time in my opinion. But what interests me here are the lyrics. For some reason I feel that Trent Reznor's lyrics hit to the core of what it means to be enslaved to Sin. I have what may perhaps be an unhealthy obsession with his lyrics and I am always eager to listen to his perspective on the depravity of humankind. Mr. Self Destruct captures the essence of what Sin is: a cancer-like disease that eats away at the life of everything it encounters. Sin is a death-dealing disease that, as this song suggests, takes many forms. And I think Reznor is absolutely correct that this disease will ultimately kill you; it will destroy, consume, and negate all life. The Apostle Paul seemed to believe that Sin brings death (Romans 5:12). I tend to agree with both Paul and Trent on this one: the only goal of sin is to completely destroy that which it encounters; to achieve the self-destruction of its "host."

This song has stuck in my head for a few days and so I thought I might try turning it into a cover. The embedded video is my own version of the song along with a little slideshow that I created. Enjoy.