Released September 27, 1999 Label Nothing | Format CD Writer(s) Trent Reznor | |
Genre Industrial metal, alternative metal Length 7:18 (album version)
5:16 (single version) | ||
"We're in This Together" is a three-disc single (also known as "triple single") by industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails for the song of the same name released in 1999. It is the 15th official Nine Inch Nails release and is a single for the album The Fragile.
Contents
Background
According to The Fragile contributor Keith Hillebrandt, "the whole song started from something [Reznor] actually played at the end of another track ... he wrote it up into an entirely new song".
The lyrics seems to be inspired by David Bowie's song "Heroes", such as with the line "You're the queen and I'm the king" and describing two people trying to fight against an ominous and seemingly unstoppable force. Bowie, who is recognized as one of Reznor's greatest influences, is given a special thanks credit in the liner notes of The Fragile.
MTV's Gil Kaufman described the song as "a seven-minute-plus cathartic pop song with somewhat hopeful lyrics over a plodding hip-hop beat, walls of distorted guitars and an eerie slasher-film cricket sound".
Music video
The song's music video was directed by Mark Pellington and released on August 27, 1999. An extended version of the video has since surfaced. Trent Reznor and a large group of black-clothed men are seen running down empty streets, onto a train, and into a field. There are also shots of several elderly people, and a brief scene with a young woman.
The video was filmed in Guadalajara and in the dry lake of Sayula.
Releases
"We're in This Together" was released on a three-part single, which was only available in Europe and Japan; it was not released in the United States. A radio promo with just the album mix and radio edit of the song was released in America as Halo 15 as well.
Disc 1
- "We're in This Together" – 7:18
- "10 Miles High" – 5:13
- "The New Flesh" – 3:40
Disc 2
- "We're in This Together" (Radio Edit) – 5:16
- "The Day the World Went Away (Quiet Version)" – 6:19
- "The Day the World Went Away (Porter Ricks Mix)" – 7:04
Disc 3
- "We're in This Together" (Album Version) – 7:18
- "Complications of the Flesh" (remixed by Danny Lohner) – 6:36
- "The Perfect Drug" – 5:42
Promo
- "We're in This Together" (Radio Edit) – 5:16
- "We're in This Together" (Short Radio Edit) – 4:21
- "We're in This Together" (Album Version) – 7:18
In popular culture
The song was played in the teaser trailer for the 2012 film The Avengers and at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards during the film's win for "Movie of the Year".