The doomed romance of Trent Reznor’s lyrics can often make love sound like a desperate chemical dependency — or make actual drug addiction sound like an irresistible seduction. “The Perfect Drug,” written for David Lynch’s 1997 film, Lost Highway, muddies the waters even more than usual, particularly with Mark Romanek’s absinthe-themed video. Reznor has performed the song live sparingly and reportedly admitted in 2005 that it “probably wouldn’t be in the top hundred” of the tracks he’s written. Still, it’s hard not to get caught up in the adrenaline rush of one of the fastest, most drum’n’bass-influenced songs in the Nine Inch Nails catalog.
I got my head but my head is unraveling
Can't keep control can't keep track of where it's traveling
I got my heart but my heart's no good
You're the only one that's understood
I come along but I don't know where you're taking me
I shouldn't go but you're wrenching dragging shaking me
Turn off the sun pull the stars from the sky
The more I give to you the more I die
And I want you
And I want you
And I want you
And I want you
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You make me hard when I'm all soft inside
I see the truth when I'm all stupid-eyed
The arrow goes straight through my heart
Without you everything just falls apart
My blood wants to say hello to you
My fears wanna get inside of you
My soul is so afraid to realize
How very little there is left of me
And I want you
And I want you
And I want you
And I want you
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
Take me with you
Without you
Without you everything falls apart
Without you
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces
Without you
Without you everything falls apart
Without you
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces
Without you
Without you everything falls apart
Without you
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces
Without you
Without you everything falls apart
Without you
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces