Happiness in Slavery is a song.
`` Happiness in Slavery '' is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their debut extended play ( EP ) , Broken ( 1992 ) . The song takes its title and refrain from Jean Paulhan 's preface to Pauline Réage 's 1954 erotic novel Story of O. `` Happiness in Slavery '' peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart . The song 's music video was almost universally banned for its depiction of Bob Flanagan being tortured by a machine . The track was sampled for `` Centipede '' by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad , appearing on their 1997 live album No Sleep 'till Bedtime .