she shines
in a world full of ugliness
she matters
when everything is meaningless

fragile
she doesn't see her beauty
she tries to get away
sometimes
it's just that nothing seems worth saving
I can't watch her slip away

I won't let you fall apart

she reads the minds of all the people that pass her by
hoping someone can see
if I could fix myself I'd -
but it's too late for me

I won't let you fall apart

we'll find the perfect place to go where we can run and hide
I'll build a wall and we can keep them on the other side
...but they keep waiting
...and picking

it's something I have to do
I was there too
before everything else
I was like you


Lyrics submitted by thewhitepony33

The Fragile song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

89 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +6
    General Comment

    This is a complicated song because of the roles. To put it simply, the protagonist is not real. Trent is speaking in first person as the hero he wishes he had, and "she" is actually Trent himself. He had hoped for a hero since the very first song "Somewhat Damaged", and was let down when he felt he didn't get one. He dreamt up this character to act out and the woman he loves is actually what he wishes he meant to someone else. It's tricky, but it works because Trent was waaay too broken to write a love song, he didn't love anyone (he couldn't feel anything!). But he wanted to [be] loved (understood), and this was his way to expressing it. It's all imaginary. Queue the next couple songs, now it should start to make a lot of sense.

    bloodbringeron February 01, 2013   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    Review for "Just Like You Imagined" :

    Crap, i didn't think that "Just Like You Imagined" wouldn't have a review on this site. Well, this song is the point at which Trent's grandmother dies. It simply reeks of sadness and anger. The song culminates in a massive scream, in which Trent's sadness turns completely into rage. This song marks the beginning of the remorseful end of Left, where Trent feels alone and reaches out for his grandmother.

    On a side note, i feel so much admiration for a man that is willing to pour his whole heart and soul into an albumn.

    Fuck all those boy bands and shitty pop bands out there. The Fragile is a work of art that they could never hope to achieve.

    zambaion April 16, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    This song keeps me from falling apart when I'm in a dark place. Literally. I feel depressed and I listen to this song, and know that everything will somehow come out all right.

    Miserymachineon November 11, 2010   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    This is the song I cry to when I'm falling apart. It's a comfort, it makes me feel like there's at least ONE person out there in the world that cares about me, even if I've never met him & probably never will. Yes, I'm a pathetic fangirl who secretly imagines being Mrs. Reznor, but I like to pretend he wrote this just for me. It's about watching someone he loves slip further & further away into hurt and sadness, and being determined to save her & hold her up when she's breaking down. This song, unlike most of his others, is about loving someone eternally & unconditionally. It's the most powerful love song I've ever heard.

    I'm actually planning to get "I won't let you fall apart" tattooed on my wrist in the Sin font, how cheesy is that? Lol...

    Cenobyteon October 01, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    its basically about a girl (person) who dosnt see that they are just as important as the others (the adored society like preps and the ones who "fit in") and soo negative thoughts occur to her making her someone isolated and desperate to escape life... and trent or being there for her saying i was there and i got passed it all and "i wont let u fall apart" because you can getover it...... bassically i think its a song towards the depressed and its a message saying dont worry things will work out

    MissVladTepes17on May 20, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I don't think many people can truly identify with the feelings and events that inspired this album and this song. The beauty of Nine Inch Nails, and what the most loyal fans have discovered time and time again, is that you can apply life to Reznor's music and make your own meaning without deflating the beauty of the music. "I won't let you fall apart." That is uplifting, that is powerful and is something many of us have needed to hear at one time in our lives.

    nin49on February 11, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think its about a girl who is changing in a negative way, or has stopped caring about themselves because they think they're nothing. The guy is watching her fall apart and is trying to save her because he sees her as so much more then she sees herself. He's been there, and he doesnt want her in the same place he is.

    EmpireOfDirt NINon April 19, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ugh...one word... BEAUTIFUL!!!! this is one of there most amazing songs and really ya don't have to look at it thru a guys point of view... b/c my bestfriend < which is a girl > told me this song reminds her of me! after i heard the song i fell in love with it and feel it is the most beautiful song.

    twiztidtiffon May 08, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    MissVladTepes17 hit the nail on the head!!! she is soo true!!!

    Nothingman3001on May 20, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love this song.. i relate to it on a personal level.. and i enjoy the fact that trent could write this song in the way he did.. he has a flawless view of the outside world..

    xMorbidFallxon May 29, 2002   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Album art
Trouble Breathing
Alkaline Trio
While the obvious connections with suicide or alcoholism could be drawn easily, more subtly this song could be about someone who views the world through a negative lens constantly and how as much as the writer tries to show the beauty in the world, this person refuses to see it. It's one or another between the rope and the bottle. There is no good option for this person. They can't see it. Skiba sings it in a kind of exasperated way like He's tired of hearing this negative view constantly and just allowing that person to continue feeling the way they feel knowing he can't do anything about it. You can hear it when he says maybe you're a vampire.
Album art
Another Love
Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.