Things have been pretty stressful of late, for reasons I’ll try to go into sometime in the next few days. But as stressful as things have been for me, they’ve been so much worse for some people close to me, and I want them to know they are always in my thoughts and prayers.
As an avid Linkin Park fan, I’ve always loved their lyrics, and these last few weeks I’ve found myself listening to “Waiting for the End” over and over. I’ve read online where some people interpret this song as being about a soldier heading off to war or about a relationship ending. However, for me, its meaning is more about not letting pain, fear, doubt, and uncertainty take hold of you, about letting go of the bad in order to make room for the good. So it’s with that in mind that I hope these people close to me listen to this song — really listen to it — and embrace even a bit of what it’s about. Because these bad times will come to an end, for all of us. The stress, the uncertainty over which direction life is heading, the fear of what lies ahead, the second-guessing of every decision, the wait for opportunities that have yet to materialize — all of these things will come to an end. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Lyrics*:
[Mike:]
This is not the end, this is not the beginning / Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision / But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm / And though the words sound steady something empty’s within them / We say yeah with fists flying up in the air / Like we’re holding onto something that’s invisible there / Cause we’re living at the mercy of the pain and the fear / Until we dead it, forget it, let it all disappear
[Chester:]
Waiting for the end to come / Wishing I had strength to stand / This is not what I had planned / It’s out of my control / Flying at the speed of light / Thoughts were spinning in my head / So many things were left unsaid / It’s hard to let you go
I know what it takes to move on / I know how it feels to lie /All I want to do / Is trade this life for something new / Holding on to what I haven’t got
Sitting in an empty room / Trying to forget the past / This was never meant to last / I wish it wasn’t so
I know what it takes to move on / I know how it feels to lie / All I want to do / Is trade this life for something new / Holding on to what I haven’t got
[Mike:]
What was left when that fire was gone / I thought it felt right but that right was wrong / All caught up in the eye of the storm / And trying to figure out what it’s like moving on / And I don’t even know what kind of things I said / My mouth kept moving and my mind went dead / So I’m picking up the pieces, now where to begin / The hardest part of ending is starting again
[Chester (till end):]
All I want to do / Is trade this life for something new / Holding on to what I haven’t got
[Mike:]
This is not the end, this is not the beginning / Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision (I’m holding on to what I haven’t got)
But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm / Though the words sound steady something empty’s within them / We say yeah with fists flying up in the air / Like we’re holding onto something that’s invisible there (Holding on …) / Cause we’re living at the mercy of the pain and the fear / Until we dead it, forget it let it all disappear (… to what I haven’t got)
*I bolded some of the lyrics that really resonate with me.
