When it was first formed by three high school friends and some other hand-selected musicians, the band that was later to become Linkin Park performed under the name Xero. When it was hit with turnover of some of the members, the band recruited vocalist Chester Bennington to join the band and changed its name to Hybrid Theory and then later to Linkin Park (in homage to Santa Monica’s Lincoln Park with the spelling chosen to allow the band to create linkinpark.com as its website). The band struggled to get a record deal but was finally successful after a couple years and the album Hybrid Theory was released in 2000. The rest, as they say, is history as Hybrid Theory launched the band to international stardom. With its combination of nu metal and rap metal done is a catchy fashion that is perfect for radio play, Linkin Park quickly built an enormous fan base. The band has gone on to expand its musical horizons and incorporate different styles of music into its songs but its popularity has never flagged. Its heavy and yet catchy sound mixed with cutting edge lyrics not only get its fans to sing along to the music but to be inspired by the songs as well. Here are the best 5 lyrics by Linkin Park.
5. “Breaking the Habit” (2003): “I don’t know what’s worth fighting for/Or why I have to scream/I don’t know why I instigate/And say what I don’t mean/I don’t know how I got this way/I’ll never be alright/So I’m breaking the habit tonight”. Is this song about putting a drug addiction behind or is it just about freeing oneself from anything that is a destructive force trying to prevent happiness? One of the reasons why this song is so good is that the lyrics are powerful but still vague enough that it can have different meanings for different listeners. Either way, everyone can relate to taking action that inevitably will destroy happiness and then having to find their way out of the bad situation of their own creation.
4. “Leave Out All the Rest” (2007): “I’m strong on the surface/Not all the way through/I’ve never been perfect/But neither have you.” These lines bring to mind the old adage “Fake it until you make it.” The singer is saying that the strength that he shows is only surface deep, a brave face that he keeps on for the world to see, but that he is vulnerable inside. He is coming to grips with the idea that it is okay to be imperfect because no one is perfect.
3. “In the End” (2000): “Time is a valuable thing/Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings/Watch it count down to the end of the day/The clock ticks life away.” Time is both a gift and a curse as captured in these lines. This song speaks to the ephemeral nature of life in that our accomplishments do not amount to much after our lives come to an end but the time that we have is a thing that is to be treasured. Sometimes it is the effort that counts, not the result.
2. “Crawling” (2000): “Without a sense of confidence and I’m convinced that there’s just too much pressure to take”. A lack of confidence can be a dangerous thing and the world often seems to do its best to ensure that self-confidence is destroyed. In this song, the singer seems to be searching for himself amidst a world that does not want him to be an individual and the confidence that he lacks threatens to crush him. A stance of one against the world is common in many of the band’s songs and is a theme that its fans can relate with.
1. “Numb” (2003): “And I know/I may end up failing too/But I know/You were just like me with someone disappointed in you”. Everyone feels the pressure to become something that they are not to please others or simply to fit in and these lines speak to that feeling as well as the realization that no one is perfect. Even those who are applying the pressure to change you is not trying to make you perfect but to simply make your flaws a in line with their own.
5. “Breaking the Habit” (2003): “I don’t know what’s worth fighting for/Or why I have to scream/I don’t know why I instigate/And say what I don’t mean/I don’t know how I got this way/I’ll never be alright/So I’m breaking the habit tonight”. Is this song about putting a drug addiction behind or is it just about freeing oneself from anything that is a destructive force trying to prevent happiness? One of the reasons why this song is so good is that the lyrics are powerful but still vague enough that it can have different meanings for different listeners. Either way, everyone can relate to taking action that inevitably will destroy happiness and then having to find their way out of the bad situation of their own creation.
4. “Leave Out All the Rest” (2007): “I’m strong on the surface/Not all the way through/I’ve never been perfect/But neither have you.” These lines bring to mind the old adage “Fake it until you make it.” The singer is saying that the strength that he shows is only surface deep, a brave face that he keeps on for the world to see, but that he is vulnerable inside. He is coming to grips with the idea that it is okay to be imperfect because no one is perfect.
3. “In the End” (2000): “Time is a valuable thing/Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings/Watch it count down to the end of the day/The clock ticks life away.” Time is both a gift and a curse as captured in these lines. This song speaks to the ephemeral nature of life in that our accomplishments do not amount to much after our lives come to an end but the time that we have is a thing that is to be treasured. Sometimes it is the effort that counts, not the result.
2. “Crawling” (2000): “Without a sense of confidence and I’m convinced that there’s just too much pressure to take”. A lack of confidence can be a dangerous thing and the world often seems to do its best to ensure that self-confidence is destroyed. In this song, the singer seems to be searching for himself amidst a world that does not want him to be an individual and the confidence that he lacks threatens to crush him. A stance of one against the world is common in many of the band’s songs and is a theme that its fans can relate with.
1. “Numb” (2003): “And I know/I may end up failing too/But I know/You were just like me with someone disappointed in you”. Everyone feels the pressure to become something that they are not to please others or simply to fit in and these lines speak to that feeling as well as the realization that no one is perfect. Even those who are applying the pressure to change you is not trying to make you perfect but to simply make your flaws a in line with their own.
