It starts quietly with a dark, uneasy drone fading in from the end of "The Line Begins To Blur," which remains prominently throughout the entirety of the song and swells in volume in time with the simple drum loop (a technique known as sidechain compression.) Reznor's long verse syllables are joined by a percussive yet melodic loop moving with the drum loop, fading away through the simple and repetitious chorus. The second chorus ends and drops out all elements but the drone, which stops swelling quickly and increases in volume until the drum loop enters once more and sets the drone swelling again. This leads into a loud, powerful, guitar-driven coda, its rhythmic pace matching the 16th note pulse evident throughout the track. The guitar riff changes after Reznor's high register singing, drawing this section to a close and leaving the swelling drone and drum loop to crossfade with the introductory soundscape of "Right Where It Belongs."
Beside You in Time
Nine Inch Nails Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sometimes on the side I hear a sound
Places parallel I know it's you
Feel the little pieces bleeding through
And on (and on)
This goes on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
This goes on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on
Now that I've decided not to stay
I can feel me start to fade away
Everything is back where it belongs
I will be beside you before long
And on (and on)
This goes on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
This goes on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on (and on)
And on
Ooh we will never die
Ooh beside you in time
Ooh we will never die
Ooh beside you in time
The lyrics to Nine Inch Nails’s song “Beside You in Time” convey a sense of detachment and loneliness. The first stanza opens with the singer being alone and hearing a sound that they attribute to the presence of another person, but this person only exists in parallel places. The lyrics suggest a feeling of fragmentation or disassociation as the singer feels “little pieces bleeding through.” The repetition of “and on” in the chorus reinforces the idea of a never-ending cycle or a feeling of being stuck.
The next verse suggests that the singer has decided not to stay in the current situation and is starting to fade away. However, the chorus repeats, keeping the cycle going. The final lines, “Ooh we will never die, Ooh beside you in time,” suggest that even though there may be a sense of isolation and detachment, there is a level of comfort in being beside someone, even if it is not in the present moment.
Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of being stuck in a cycle of detachment and loneliness, but with a sense of hope that being “beside you in time” may provide a sense of comfort and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
I am all alone this time around
I feel isolated and lonely in my current situation.
Sometimes on the side I hear a sound
Occasionally, I perceive some noise or disturbance.
Places parallel I know it's you
I am aware of your existence in a different dimension or context.
Feel the little pieces bleeding through
I sense a gradual deterioration or loss of myself.
And on (and on)
The situation persists indefinitely.
This goes on (and on)
The cycle repeats itself endlessly.
Now that I've decided not to stay
I have made a choice to leave my current situation.
I can feel me start to fade away
I sense myself slipping away or losing my identity.
Everything is back where it belongs
All the elements have returned to their proper places.
I will be beside you before long
Soon, I will be with you again.
Ooh we will never die
Our connection will always endure.
Ooh beside you in time
Together, we will exist throughout time.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Trent Reznor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
randy bray
I am all alone this time around
Sometimes on the side I hear a sound
Places parallel I know it's you
Feel the little pieces bleeding through
And on, this goes on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
This goes on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
Now that I've decided not to stay
I can feel me start to fade away
Everything is back where it belongs
I will be beside you before long
And on, this goes on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
This goes on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
We will never die
Beside you in time
We will never die
Beside you in time
JR
This has that terrible and unknown urgency. I can picture a movie in my head of people trying to escape some sort of 'massive unknown'.
"Shit, we have to leave NOW"
"Why?"
"Because it's coming."
"What is?"
"I don't know."
And then time collapses in on itself, and all at once, everyone witnesses something that no living being has ever seen before, nor will ever see again.
OldeManWhithers
I've had a vision for the video to this song in my head for years now. It goes like this:
0:00 - fade in from black
- vacant city street at night
- camera is at street level looking at a building
- the outline of feet and legs can be seen on either side of the screen
0:12 - as the music pulses, so does the picture. Fading to black & back in again with each pulse of the music. Each "visual pulse" is a still frame
- camera moves up vertically and zooms out until we see a disheveled man with a nearly empty fifth of vodka in his left hand (with a wedding ring), a smartphone in his right back pocket, looking up at the top of the building
- camera pans around the man, stopping at his left side, zooming in until only his upper body is in frame. we see trails of tears on his face.
- his head levels, he slowly walks to the building's door, opens it and slowly walks to the elevator in the lobby
- as he approaches the elevator the camera pans around behind him and slowly zooms in to hia right hand, which pushes the "up" button
- the elevator doors open, man walks in to the elevator, the camera follows him in, he hits the button for the higest floor, walks to the back of the carriage and presses his head to the back wall
- camera pans to the left around man, outside of the elevator, and zooms in until only his face (facing away from the doors) and the floor numbers above the doors are visible
- camera pans down and moves down vertically as the man takes his smartphone from his back pocket, unlocks it, and starts to look at pictures of a woman, swiping through them with his thumb
- we now see memories:
- him and the woman meeting
- going out
- getting married
- living together
- woman getting sick
- in a doctors office with scared expressions
- walking in hospital holding hands while she pushes an IV medication stand with the other hand, dressed in a bathrobe, forcing a smile at man
- her in a hospital bed with man kneeling beside it, crying
- man at funeral
- man at home throwing and breaking things
- man slumped on the floor crying
- man trying to go on dates with other women but it never working out
- back to present: camera pans back around to the right and zooms out until his upper body, the elevator doors and the floor numbers
- doors open, man puts phone away, turns around and walks out, as he does the camera follows at his back
- he finds a door to the roof, opens it and climbs the stairs
- as he approches the top of the stairs the camera slows its vertical movement to rest at floor level, following him out onto the roof of the building
- we see his legs but not his hands. as he makes his way to the edge, we see the vodka bottle drop to the ground
- man arrives at the ledge
2:35 - visual pulses stop
- camera moves up vertically and pans down 90 degress to show the man stopped at the ledge of a 40-story tall building, looking down
- with the camera still above him, the man slowly tilts his head all the way back and closes his eyes
- camera moves behind the man so that it is looking up at the sky with him. (we can see the back of his head)
- man and camera follow the same path, simultaneously leaning forward, falling off the ledge
3:08 - visual pulses resume
- camera follows the man as he freefalls to the sidewalk
- sidewalk gets closer and closer with each pulse until we are at ground level
3:40 - visual pulses stop, screen flashes white then quickly fades to black
- man continues falling in blackness, rushing past an occasional beam of light
- camera moves alongside man, we can see his face
- man appears confused and scared, looking all around him
- something grabs his attention off in the distance in front of him
- camera moves to previous popsition behind man
- we see a small light in the center of the frame, slowly getting bigger
- as it gets bigger we see it is the woman, wearing all white and bathed in a white light
- beams of light rushing past them increase in number
- camera moves so it now appears they are hurdling upwards, woman on left, man on right
- she moves in front of him, arms outstretched, smiling
- beams of light rushing past them increase in number
- man reaches out with both arms, smiling, tears running down his face
- they embrace, the man rests his head on her chest and closes his eyes, smiling
- the woman, cradling him, presses her head against his, closes her eyes, smiling
- beams of light rushing past them increase exponentially as the screen whites and fades to black
5:04 - visual pulses resume
- camera zooms out showing the man in a bloody mess on the sidewalk
5:15 - 5:25 - visual pulses fade out
I wish someone would make this video.
The Great Sloth Lord
This song is very quickly approaching my favourite song of all time, I absolutely adore how the song starts off pretty simple with just an backing drum track and synth with somewhat repetitive vocals but then it builds up and once it releases it’s just this pure euphoric feeling as the guitars and all the instruments come together as Trent repeats “Ohhhhhhh we will never die”, “Ohhhhhhhh beside you in timeeeeee” it just becomes like ecstasy and is just purely invigorating to listen too.
David Martinez
Totally agree, perfect description
Sarah Marie
I was driving down the turnpike in the middle of the night 8 years ago when this song came on. My brother had just overdosed and was in the hospital 3 hours away. I didn't know what was going to happen- I was so numb and the monotonous stretch of the highway felt endless. This song captured the manic energy I had, the desolation, the fear and the tedium of the road.
randy bray
I am all alone this time around
Sometimes on the side I hear a sound
Places parallel I know it's you
Feel the little pieces bleeding through
And on, this goes on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
This goes on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
Now that I've decided not to stay
I can feel me start to fade away
Everything is back where it belongs
I will be beside you before long
And on, this goes on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
This goes on
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on
We will never die
Beside you in time
We will never die
Beside you in time
Sean Balfour
Thanks for the lyrics mate
Cryogenics12
My favorite song on this album. Year Zero and With Teeth are underrated.
ryomi613
I think that the progression of trents music has been there for different experiences in different times of each of our lives that we will all have different “favorite albums/songs” and that’s what makes it amazing.
Grammajam
hesitations marks too
Clc))) Noise
I love this song so much but with teeth its clearly not the best Nin album ... not in my top 5
Swamp Hawk
This one is great while driving alone at night.