Rock was originally protest music, so no one is surprised by the songs of famous bands in which they oppose certain social and political events taking place in the modern world. One of these compositions is the track “The Hand That Feeds” from Nine Inch Nails. This article on Blimey is devoted to the history of its creation.
“The Hand That Feeds” is commonly seen as an attack on the US government with its aggressive and often hypocritical foreign policy. However, many believe that she criticizes the cruelty prevailing in the modern world in general. How songwriter Trent Reznor explains the meaning of the song, I don’t know, but his “love” for George W. Bush (more on that in a moment) is suggestive.
“The Hand That Feeds” is heavily influenced by The Kinks, of which Trent Reznor is a fan. Actually, the main riff of the track is a slightly modified version of the melody of the song “You Really Got Me”.
“The Hand That Feeds” was released as the first single from “With Teeth” in March 2005. In the Nine Inch Nails release numbering system, it is numbered Halo 18. The song has climbed high in the charts in different countries. It reached its highest position on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, which the composition topped for five weeks. On the UK Singles Chart, “The Hand That Feeds” peaked at number seven, which was the group’s best achievement.
The scandal surrounding Nine Inch Nails’ supposed performance at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards received widespread publicity. The band was supposed to play “The Hand That Feeds” in front of a huge banner with the image of President George W. Bush, but the channel’s management did not like this initiative. In response, NIN pulled out of the show and the Foo Fighters played instead.
Trent Reznor said, “Obviously, the portrayal of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me.” In turn, MTV explained their decision in this way: “… we experienced inconvenience because of their speech, built around a partisan political statement.”
But the members of the Nine Inch Nails group did not abandon the idea of u200bu200bwith a portrait of the president and repeatedly used it. For example, at a concert in Jacksonville, Florida, a photo of George Bush was shown behind the band, who gradually turned into John McCain.
In 2006, “The Hand That Feeds” was nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Hard Rock Performance”, but the song “BYOB” by the rock band System of a Down won the award.
The music video for “The Hand That Feeds” was directed by Rob Sheridan. Ien Inaba was working on another video, but it wasn’t completed because the band members didn’t like the plot. The plans also included the release of an animated video, but the project did not come to fruition.
Interesting Facts
- “The Hand That Feeds” is featured in the computer games Rock Band, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, as well as in the trailer for the feature film Little Red Riding Hood.
Lyrics of The Hand That Feeds by Nine Inch Nails
You’re keeping in step
In the line
Got your chin held high and you feel just fine
Because you do
What did you say
But inside your heart it is black and it’s hollow and it’s cold
And keep in line
You proudly raised your head and feel great
‘Cause you do what
What are they telling you
But inside your heart is blackness, emptiness and coldnessChorus:
Just how deep do you believe?
Will you bite the hand that feeds?
Will you chew until it bleeds?
Can you get up off your knees?
Are you brave enough to see?
Do you want to change it?
How strongly do you believe?
Will you bite the hand that feeds?
Will you gnaw it until it bleeds?
Are you able to get up off your knees?
Are you brave enough to see?
Do you want to change that? What if this whole crusade’s
A charade
And behind it all there’s a price to be paid
For the blood
On which we dine
Justified in the name of the holy and the divine
Farce,
And have to pay the price
For the blood
Which we eat for lunch
Justified in the name of god and saints So naive
To keep holding on to what I want to believe
I can see
But I keep holding on and on and on and on
Keep holding on to what I want to believe
I understand,
But I keep going and going and going Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
Will you get on your knees
