"The Day the World Went Away" 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 ...

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 ...

, released on July 20, 1999, as the lead single from their third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

'' The Fragile'' (1999). The song was the band's first top-forty hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 17, which remains their highest-ever position on the chart.

Background

"The Day the World Went Away" contains no drums. It was the only single credited to Reznor to reach the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 until " Old Town Road" hit number one in 2019. The song was a staple in the encore during the Fragility tour, and has been performed in many shows since. The compact disc single contains three songs: the original version and a "quiet" remix of "The Day the World Went Away" and " Starfuckers, Inc.", another song from '' The Fragile''. The 12" vinyl single replaced "Starfuckers, Inc." with another version of "The Day the World Went Away", this one remixed by the electronic music duo Porter Ricks. The main version of the title track featured on the single is approximately 30 seconds shorter than the version found on ''The Fragile'' and features slightly different vocals. The version of "Starfuckers, Inc." featured on the single is almost identical to the album version, except that this version ends with the sound of

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popula ...

yelling "Goodnight!" to a cheering crowd. The yelling and crowd cheering are sampled from a

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

concert recording. The opening to "Complication", the track which follows "Starfuckers, Inc." on ''The Fragile'', can be heard faintly alongside the crowd noise, augmented to sound like part of the concert. The flower depicted on the cover of the single is a

Kangaroo paw Kangaroo paw is the common name for a number of species, in two genera of the family Haemodoraceae, that are native to the south-west of Western Australia. These rhizomatous perennial plants are noted for their unique bird-attracting flowers. ...

Music video

200px, Trent Reznor in "The Day the World Went Away" music video. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

was made for the song, but never released. Still images that were used on the official NIN website indicate that the video takes place at a

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...

. An alternate video for the song, using live audio and a combination of live and original footage, is included as an Easter egg on the second disc of the '' And All That Could Have Been'' DVD.

In popular culture

A remixed version of the song was featured in the third theatrical trailer of ''

Terminator Salvation ''Terminator Salvation'' is a 2009 American military science fiction action film directed by McG and written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris. It is the fourth installment of the ''Terminator'' franchise and serves as a sequel to '' Termi ...

''. It is also used again in the television series ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no le ...

'', from the episode of the same name. The song is featured in the 2012 video game '' Spec Ops: The Line''. An orchestral version arranged by Ramin Djawadi was used in the trailer for the fourth season of ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...

''.

Formats and track listings

CD single

Nothing Records /

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner ...

INTDS-97026 #"The Day the World Went Away" (single version) – 4:03 #" Starfuckers, Inc." (long) – 5:24 #"The Day the World Went Away (Quiet)" (remixed by

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 ...

) – 6:20

12" single

Nothing Records / Interscope Records INT12-97026

Side A

#"The Day the World Went Away" (single version) – 4:01 #"The Day the World Went Away (Quiet)" – 6:20

Side B

#"The Day the World Went Away (Porter Ricks)" – 7:04

Charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

References

External links

Nine Inch Nails' official siteThe Day The World Went Away
at the NinWiki
"The Day the World Went Away" (US CD5")
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

.com
"The Day the World Went Away" (US 12")
at

.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Day The World Went Away, The 1999 singles Ambient songs Art rock songs Nine Inch Nails songs Nothing Records singles Song recordings produced by Trent Reznor Song recordings produced by Alan Moulder Songs written by Trent Reznor 1999 songs