"Gave Up" is a song by American

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

band

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

. Written by frontman

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

and co-produced by

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

, the song serves as the sixth track of Nine Inch Nails' 1992 EP, '' Broken''. The song is noted for its multiple music videos and became a concert favorite during the band's live performances.

Music and lyrics

The song is noted for its aggressive tone, fast tempo and heavier use of guitars, in contrast to Reznor's

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

-oriented previous songs from the album ''

Pretty Hate Machine ''Pretty Hate Machine'' is the debut studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by TVT Records on October 20, 1989. Production of the record was handled by NIN frontman Trent Reznor and English producer Flood, amon ...

''. The song also features prominent use of Mellotron MKIV, which was previously owned by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' deceased frontman

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. Robotic vocal effects are also present in the song. Lyrically, the song addresses the themes of isolation,

belongingness Belongingness is the human emotional need to be an accepted member of a group. Whether it is family, friends, co-workers, a religion, or something else, some people tend to have an 'inherent' desire to belong and be an important part of somethin ...

self-hatred Self-hatred is personal self-loathing or hatred of oneself, or low self-esteem which may lead to self-harm. In psychology and psychiatry The term "self-hatred" is used infrequently by psychologists and psychiatrists, who would usually describe ...

and

agony Agony may refer to: Concepts *Pain, anguish, or struggle, especially precededing death *Suffering of intense degree, relating to physical or mental suffering *Passion (Christianity), also called the Agony of Christ *Agony in the Garden, Christ' ...

. Reznor's

angst Angst is fear or anxiety (''anguish'' is its Romance languages, Latinate cognate, equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin). The dictionary definition for angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insec ...

-filled lyrics in this song, such as "After everything I've done I hate myself for what I've become" was regarded as a solidification of his status as "the dark lord of doom."

Music videos

Three different videos exist for "Gave Up". One is footage of the band featuring

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

recording the song at the Le Pig studio at

10050 Cielo Drive 10050 Cielo Drive was the street address of a former luxury home in Benedict Canyon, in the west-central part of the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, bordering Beverly Hills, where three members of the Manson Family committed the Tate ...

, the site of where the infamous

Tate murders Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

took place. Another is footage of the band performing the song live (directed by

Jon Reiss Jon Reiss is a film producer and director, and an author. He has made the feature film ''Cleopatra's Second Husband'' (1998) and the documentaries '' Better Living Through Circuitry'' (1999) and '' Bomb It'' (2007). He has directed music vi ...

), and one is the original footage of the finale to the ''Broken'' movie.

In popular culture

The song was extensively played during the shooting of the '' Lost Highway'''s bowling alley scene, by the demand of the director

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

.Donnelly (2005), p.25

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Official Nine Inch Nails website
{{authority control 1992 songs Nine Inch Nails songs Songs about suicide Songs written by Trent Reznor Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Song recordings produced by Trent Reznor