This was the first Nine Inch Nails single, released on September 27, 1989 ahead of the Pretty Hate Machine album. The song finds frontman Trent Reznor recalling a feeling of being up in the clouds, only to have his euphoria foiled as he comes crashing down: he was up above it, but now he's down in it. Reznor has said the lyric was inspired by a recent breakup.
This song found an audience with the industrial crowd, but it was the next single, "Head Like A Hole," that earned Nine Inch Nails a global following. That song got airplay on modern rock radio and won the hearts of techno fans in Europe. In August 1991, the group played the first Lollapalooza, then headed to Europe to tour as the opening act for Guns N' Roses.
On this track, Reznor drew influence from from the 1986 song "Dig It" by Skinny Puppy. Reznor was an opening act for Skinny Puppy at some shows in 1988.
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