In honor of Linkin Park returning to music with a brand new single “The Emptiness Machine” and an album, we are revisiting some of the band’s most iconic tracks from their discography. In this article, we are deep-diving into a staple track “In The End” from 2000.
Linkin Park released their debut studio album ‘Hybrid Theory’ in 2000 and immediately shot into mainstream success. Linkin Park’s lead vocalist, Chester Bennington, didn’t even believe that “In The End” should be included in the album. He later recalls this sentiment as “how wrong could I have possibly been?’
“In The End” was released as the fourth and final single on LP’s debut studio album ‘Hybrid Theory’ on October 9, 2001, almost a year after the album’s release on October 24, 2000. While the ‘Hybrid Theory’ album peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 Chart and was certified 12x Platinum by RIAA, “In The End” reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and was certified 10x Platinum by RIAA. Globally, the song has sold over 15 million copies and is ranked among the top 100 most-streamed songs on Spotify.
The music video for “In The End” was released along with the single in 2001. The same video uploaded to YouTube in 2010 has accumulated over 1.8 billion views as of now.
The song has become a staple in Linkin Park’s performances and a fan-favorite ever since its release.
Listen to “In The End” by Linkin Park
Linkin Park “In The End” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
In essence “In The End” talks about failures in life that we all endure. Failures are part of life and can be found in any aspect of the journey. So, the song can easily be associated with relationships, work, goals, growth, and more.
Linkin Park’s former lead vocalist, Chester Bennington endured a very destructive childhood from the age of seven. At this age, he was sexually abused by an older male friend. Fearing society’s reaction, he chose to keep this hidden and the abuse continued until he was thirteen. Chester’s parents divorced when he was eleven years old. He was bullied in school for being skinny and ‘looking different.’ His mentality was taken a massive hit at this time and he was driven towards alcohol and drugs. He later revealed that at this age he wanted to end everything. As an adult, Chester continued with his alcoholism and substance abuse until about 2011 when he swore them off. However, he had struggled with depression most of his life. All of these demons cumulated in Chester’s suicide in 2017 at the age of 41. These lyrics hit differently knowing how a man was broken at a very young age and no matter how much he tried, in the end, it was all in vain.
Verse 1
In the first verse of the song, Mike Shinoda delivers his powerful rap verse on the impermanence of everything. Time countdowns at every fleeting moment with or without us realizing it. From the moment we are born, we are only inching towards that one certainty in life–death.
The clock ticks life away, it’s so unreal
The singer says he tried to hold on to some moments that he felt strongly about. But, these are nothing you can freeze in time. They will be burned in their memory–never to be relived again.
In the last line of the verse, the singer hints at a relationship “I wasted it all just to watch you go.” In the case of a breakup, it can easily feel like the time and energy you spent on the relationship is just wasted away. It constitutes a time in your life spent for ‘nothing.’ While this is not entirely accurate, at the end of the day, you part with a special person and even the memories left from them seem to feel like a burden.
Pre-chorus
In the pre-chorus of the song, we hear more about the feeling of defeat after giving their best to a cause–in this case, a relationship. Now that everything has crumbled down, the singer is only left with the memories of a time when he tried so hard to make it.
Chorus
The infamous hook.
I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn’t even matter
These lyrics hint at existential nihilism — a philosophy that states that life has no objective meaning or purpose. You are born into this world. You go through your life–maybe even becoming the most powerful person in the world, accumulating mass amounts of wealth–but in 70 years, you are likely one with the soil. So, does it even matter how much we try to ‘make it’ in this world? But is it also worthwhile to have no objectives or goals in life while you do live it?
The chorus doesn’t necessarily say that trying doesn’t matter in life. The lyrics do say that his efforts did yield good results i.e. ‘got so far.’ However, in the grand scheme of things, this ‘so far’ seems irrelevant.
Verse 2
In the second verse, we hear more lyrics hinting at a failed relationship. Mike Shinoda talks about how he was constantly put down during their relationship yet he endured them in hopes of a better future. Looking back, he is surprised that these efforts lasted this far. It was doomed to fail. Things have changed so much since their beginning. Now they are just strangers living under the same roof. But did they really even know each other that well? If they did, would they end up in this situation?
Bridge
The bridge of the song is performed by Chester Bennington. These lyrics talk about a person who is exhausted after giving all he could and still failing.
Is it better to have tried and failed or not tried at all, knowing that we all turn to dust in a short span of time?
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.