Big Man with a Gun Lyrics

Lyric discussion by VerySmolCheese 

Cover art for Big Man with a Gun lyrics by Nine Inch Nails

I'm pretty certain this is not a literal telling of events for The Downward Spiral. There's no way we go from this god awful evil events to feeling sympathy for the protagonist in the title track and Hurt. I take this song to mean one of 2 things

  1. This is a twisted power fantasy. The protagonist feels worthless and is imagining a scenario in which he has control over someone he feels wronged him

  2. This song is a non-canon event. Instead, it's a song mocking the stereotypical "tough guy." Just mocking the general toxic stereotype/concept that being manly means having a big penis, sleeping with a lot of women, and having a lot of guns.

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Toxic Masculinity