The Downward Spiral Lyrics

As recorded by Nine Inch Nails
(From the 1994 Album THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL)
Words and Music by Trent Reznor
Gtr I (E A D G B E) - 'Guitar 1'
Gtr II (E A D G B E) - 'Guitar 2'
Gtr III (E A D G B E) - 'Guitar 3'
Gtr IV (E A D G B E) - 'Guitar 4'
Gtr V (E A D G B E) - 'Synth'
Q=100
N.C.
Gtr I
Wx16
Q. Q. +Q +W Q. Q. +Q +W
||o----------------|------------|----------------|--------|
||o----------------|------------|----------------|--------|
Q. Q. +Q +H.. E E E E H +E +W 4x
|----------------|--------------|------------------|--------o||
|----------------|------------5-|-5-4-7-(7)----(7)-|-(7)----o||
Wx4
Pre-Verse
Gtr II
||o-3-(3)-3-3-3-(3)-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-(3)-|
||o-x-(x)-x-x-x-(x)-x-x-|-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-(x)-|
|-3-(3)-3-3-3-(3)-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-(3)--o||
|-2-(2)-2-2-2-(2)-2-2-|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-(2)--o||
Gtr III
Q E E E E Q E E E E E E Q
||o----------------------|-------------------|
||---7---x--x--x-x---7---|---x--x-x-x-9S8S7--|
||o--7---x--x--x-x---7---|---x--x-x-x-9S8S7--|
||---5---x--x--x-x---5---|---x--x-x-x-7S6S5--|
| Gtr V
| Q. Q. +Q +W
||o-12-----10------(10)--|-(10)--------------|
||o----------------------|-------------------|
Q E E E E Q E E E E E E Q
|--7---x-x--x-x--7---|--x--x-x-x-9S8S7---|
|--7---x-x--x-x--7---|--x--x-x-x-9S8S7---|
|--5---x-x--x-x--5---|--x--x-x-x-7S6S5---|
| Q. Q. +Q +W
Q E E E E Q E E E E E E Q
|-7---x-x--x-x--7---|--x---x-x-x-9S8S7---|
|-7---x-x--x-x--7---|--x---x-x-x-9S8S7---|
|-5---x-x--x-x--5---|--x---x-x-x-7S6S5---|
| Q. Q. +Q +H.. E
Q E E E E Q E E E E E E Q 4x
|-------------------|------------------o||
|-7---x-x-x-x-7-----|--x--x-x-x-9S8S7---||
|-7---x-x-x-x-7-----|--x--x-x-x-9S8S7--o||
|-5---x-x-x-x-5-----|--x--x-x-x-7S6S5---||
| E E E H +E +W 4x
|-------------------|------------------o||
|-------------------|------------------o||
Gtrs III, IV
Q E E E E Q E E E E E E Q
||o----------------------|-------------------|
||---7---x--x--x-x---7---|---x--x-x-x-9S8S7--|
||o--7---x--x--x-x---7---|---x--x-x-x-9S8S7--|
||---5---x--x--x-x---5---|---x--x-x-x-7S6S5--|
| Q. Q. +Q +W
||o-12-----10------(10)--|-(10)--------------|
||o----------------------|-------------------|
Q E E E E Q E E E E E E Q
|--7---x-x--x-x--7---|--x--x-x-x-9S8S7---|
|--7---x-x--x-x--7---|--x--x-x-x-9S8S7---|
|--5---x-x--x-x--5---|--x--x-x-x-7S6S5---|
| Q. Q. +Q +W
Q E E E E Q E E E E E E Q
|-7---x-x--x-x--7---|--x---x-x-x-9S8S7---|
|-7---x-x--x-x--7---|--x---x-x-x-9S8S7---|
|-5---x-x--x-x--5---|--x---x-x-x-7S6S5---|
| Gtr V
| Q. Q. +Q +H.. E
Q E E E E Q E E E E E E Q 4x
|-------------------|------------------o||
|-7---x-x-x-x-7-----|--x--x-x-x-9S8S7---||
|-7---x-x-x-x-7-----|--x--x-x-x-9S8S7--o||
|-5---x-x-x-x-5-----|--x--x-x-x-7S6S5---||
| E E E H +E +W 4x
|-------------------|------------------o||
|-------------------|------------------o||
N.C.
Gtr V
+W +W +W +W
Duration Legend
W - whole; H - half; Q - quarter; E - 8th; S - 16th; T - 32nd; X - 64th; a - acciaccatura
+ - note tied to previous; . - note dotted; .. - note double dotted
Uncapitalized letters represent notes that are staccato (1/2 duration)
Irregular groupings are notated above the duration line
Duration letters will always appear directly above the note/fret number it represents the
duration for. Duration letters with no fret number below them represent rests. Multi-
bar rests are notated in the form Wxn, where n is the number of bars to rest for. Low
melody durations appear below the staff
Tablature Legend
h - hammer-on
p - pull-off
b - bend
pb - pre-bend
r - bend release (if no number after the r, then release immediately)
/\ - slide into or out of (from/to "nowhere")
s - legato slide
S - shift slide
- natural harmonic
(n) - artificial harmonic
n(n) - tapped harmonic
~ - vibrato
tr - trill
T - tap
TP - trem. picking
PM - palm muting
\n/ - tremolo bar dip; n = amount to dip
\n - tremolo bar down
n/ - tremolo bar up
/n\ - tremolo bar inverted dip
= - hold bend; also acts as connecting device for hammers/pulls
- volume swell (louder/softer)
x - on rhythm slash represents muted slash
o - on rhythm slash represents single note slash
Misc Legend
| - bar
|| - double bar
||o - repeat start
o|| - repeat end
*| - double bar (ending)
: - bar (freetime)
$ - Segno
& - Coda
Tempo markers - = BPM(8/16=s8/s16), where s8 = swing 8ths, s16 = swing 16ths