Songs & Lyrics
I Do Not Want This
“I Do Not Want This” appears on The Downward Spiral (1994) and has returned in setlists across multiple touring eras.
- Record type
- Lyrics available
- Classification
- Official NIN composition
- First record
- Halo 08 · The Downward Spiral
- Known versions
- 2
Song details
About This Song
Two titled versions are documented.
- Classification
- Official NIN composition
- First documented release
- Halo 08 · The Downward Spiral
- Release date
- March 8, 1994
- Track position
- 8
- Running time
- 5:41
- Tempo
- 118 BPM
- Known versions
- 2
Track Credits
- Production
- Trent Reznor
- Mixing Engineer
- Alan Moulder
- Drum Performance
- Stephen Perkins
- Drum Treatments
- Flood and Trent Reznor
Live History
- Performance span
- Further Down The Spiral Tour · Wave Goodbye Tour · Europe + Asia 2018 through Cold And Black And Infinite Tour · Peel It Back Tour
Versions
- I Do Not Want This
- I Do Not Want This (Instrumental)
Sources: NIN Wiki — I Do Not Want This, revision 68136 (reviewed September 28, 2026). NIN Wiki song record
Words
Lyrics
You know how this world can beat you down
I'm made of clay
I fear I'm the only one who thinks this way
I'm always falling down the same hill
Bamboo puncturing this skin
And nothing comes bleeding out of me just like a waterfall I'm drowning in
2 feet below the surface I can still make out your wavy face
And if I could just reach you maybe I could leave this place
I do not want this
I do not want this
I do not want this
I do not want this
Don't you tell me how I feel
Don't you tell me how I feel
Don't you tell me how I feel
You don't know just how I feel
I stay inside my bed
I have lived so many lives all in my head
Don't tell me that you care
There really isn't anything, is there?
You would know, wouldn’t you?
You extend your hand to those who suffer
To those who know what it really feels like
To those who've had a taste
Like that means something
And oh so sick I am
And maybe I don't have a choice
And maybe that is all I have
And maybe this is a cry for help
I do not want this
I do not want this
I do not want this
I do not want this
Don't you tell me how I feel
Don't you tell me how I feel
Don't you tell me how I feel
You don't know just how I feel
I want to know everything
I want to be everywhere
I want to fuck everyone in the world
I want to do something that matters
There really isn't anything, now is there?
Lyrics reproduced with permission for non-profit educational use.
Where it appears