Released: August 27, 2021

Songwriter: Trent Reznor Greg Kurstin Atticus Ross Halsey

Producer: Atticus Ross Trent Reznor

[Verse 1]
Oh, the loneliest girl in town
Is bought for pennies a price
We dress her up in lovely gowns
She's easy on the eyes
Her soul is black and it's a fact
That her sneer will eat you alive
And the buyer always brings her back
Because all she does is cry

[Chorus]
So take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don't give a damn
Ask for forgiveness, never permission
Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don't givе a damn
It's in the blood and this is tradition
Ooh-ooh

[Verse 2]
Oh, the loneliеst girl in town
Was bought for plenty a price
Well, they dress her up in golden crowns
His smile hides a lie
She smiles back, but it's a fact
That her fear will eat her alive
Well, she got the life that she wanted
But now all she does is cry

[Chorus]
Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don't give a damn
Ask for forgiveness, never permission
Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don't give a damn
It's in the blood and this is tradition

[Bridge]
You can't take it back, it's good as gone
Well, flesh amnesiac, this is your song
And I hope what's left will last all summer long
And they said that boys were boys, but they were wrong

[Chorus]
Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don't give a damn
Ask for forgiveness, never permission
Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don't give a damn
It's in the blood and this is tradition
Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don't give a damn
Ask for forgiveness, never permission
Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don't give a damn
It's in the blood and this is tradition

[Outro]
(It's good as gone)

Halsey

Halsey is the stage name of New Jersey singer Ashley Nicolette Frangipane. It is an anagram of her first name and reference to the Halsey Street subway stop and street in Brooklyn where she used to live. The bio on her website

I am Halsey. I will never be anything but honest. I write songs about sex and being sad."

Halsey was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 17. This has greatly influenced her creative process from the start of her career. Songs like “Control” and “Gasoline” explicitly delve into her psychological and emotional battles. Manic, Halsey’s third album and arguably her rawest and most emotionally vulnerable, was written in a fully manic state rather than a depressive one.