The Perfect Drug Lyrics

[Verse 1]
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
And 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

[Pre-Chorus]
And I want you
And I want you
And I want you
And I want you

[Chorus]
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug
You are the perfect drug
The perfect drug
The perfect drug

[Verse 2]
You make me hard when I'm all soft inside
I see the truth when I'm all stupid-eyed
Your arrow goes straight through my heart
Without you everything just falls apart

(Take me with you) Without you
Without you everything falls apart
(Take me with you) Without you
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces

(Take me with you) Without you
Without you everything falls apart
(Take me with you) Without you
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces

(Take me with you)
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces
(Take me with 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
It's not as much fun to pick up the pieces

Embed

About

Genius Annotation

“The Perfect Drug” was written for the Trent Reznor produced Lost Highway soundtrack in 1997. Although it does not appear on any Nine Inch Nails album, it was released as an official EP entitled *Halo 11, The Perfect Drug Versions. The EP contains 5 remixes of the song.

The only full-length version of the song can be found on CD 3 of *Halo 15, We’re In This Together, as even the Lost Highway Soundtrack contains an edited version.

The song had never been played live until 2018, since then it has been performed live multiple times, before then it was presumed to have not been played because of the drum solo as well as Trent Reznor’s dislike for the song.

The Mark Romanek directed music video was inspired by the art of Edward Gorey and allegedly depicts the story of a man addicted to absinthe whilst mourning the death of his son.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Nine Inch Nails say about "The Perfect Drug"?

Genius Answer

The only thing I think I really don’t like that much is “The Perfect Drug” song. It was one of those things where you have a week to do a track for a movie, the mindset that you kind of adapt in that situation, or I did, was “let’s go in and experiment and see what happens, and it’s not, you know, whatever comes out of it, it’s not the end of the world”. And I think what came out of it, married with a bloated, over-budget video, feels like… the last thing that I would play to somebody if they said play me, you know, the top hundred songs you’ve written, that probably wouldn’t be in the top hundred. I’m not cringing about it, but it’s not my favorite piece
- Trent Reznor

Who produced “The Perfect Drug” by Nine Inch Nails?

When did Nine Inch Nails release “The Perfect Drug”?

Who wrote “The Perfect Drug” by Nine Inch Nails?