Tear Jerker / Linkin Park

A lot of Linkin Park's discography can be quite saddening, to say the least, especially after Chester Bennington's suicide.

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• Some of the songs from the band's pre-debut days:
  • "Carousel," from the Hybrid Theory EP, tells the stories of a depressed woman and a male drug addict, who, despite the narrator's best efforts, refuse any and all help and trap themselves in cycles of self-destruction. Doubles as Nightmare Fuel due to the sparse, creepy instrumentation backing vocals that slowly grow in aggression.
  • "She Couldn't," an unreleased demo from this era, is aimed at those who have lost a friend (reason unspecified, but strongly implied to be suicide) and feel immense guilt about it. The five-minute serenade reassures the listener that it's not their fault.
• If you count "Ground Xero" under the Linkin Park umbrella, it's also pretty sad, although more in a nostalgic sense. As you might know, Mark Wakefield was the original vocalist of Linkin Park (then known as Xero), who eventually left the band because he developed a strong stage fright that held them back during live performances. This solo demo shows a lot of Mark's thoughts and regrets about his time in Xero, including his desire to reclaim his childhood dreams of singing in a band, but also the acceptance that such a thing will never happen again.
  Can you chase the rainbow / to find its end?
  Take me to your Ground Xero / back again
• "In The End", especially how it sounds after Chester's suicide.
  I tried so hard and got so far
  But in the end, it doesn't even matter
  I had to fall, to lose it all
  But in the end, it doesn't even matter
• For as much as it gets used in memes, “Crawling” has become pretty heart-wrenching in the wake of Chester’s suicide. Knowing how much he was struggling, the lyrics read less as angst-ridden first-world problems, and more as his genuine struggle to keep control of his depression, and fear that he held no control over it.
  • Especially for anyone who’s struggled with mental illness or addiction, some of the lyrics can hit pretty hard.
    Against my will, I stand beside my own reflection
    It’s haunting, how I can’t seem
    To find myself again, my walls are closing in
    I’ve felt this way before, so insecure
• "Breaking the Habit" was written by Mike Shinoda before he met Chester Bennington, about a close friend of his and his struggles with drugs.
  • Reportedly, Chester related to the lyrics so much that he was reduced to a blubbering mess after first reading them.
• "Hands Held High" can pump one up, yet make one feel bad.
  • Well, considering who it was written about, this was inevitable.

• "Leave Out All the Rest" talks about how the narrator had a nightmare where they died and yet the world wouldn't care. After the narrator wakes up, they have a moment of deep thought, and heeds their friend/companion to always remember them for their good deeds when the day they actually die arrives, as while it'll still hurt to think or talk about it, it's a person's good deeds what will leave the best impact when they ascend to a better life.
  When my time comes,
  Forget the wrong that I've done,
  Help me leave behind some,
  Reasons to be missed...
  Don't resent me,
  And when you're feeling empty,
  Keep me in your memory,
  Leave out all the rest, leave out all the rest...
  • Following Chester's suicide, the song hits even harder. On the bright side, given the fan response to the unfortunate incident (with many pouring out forgiveness for him), it's safe to say Chester has been, and will always be, remembered for the better.

• The chorus part of "Burning in the Skies" is sad enough, but it hits even harder after Chester's death:
  I'm swimming in the smoke
  Of bridges I have burned
  So don't apologize
  I'm losing what I don't deserve
  • The music video, which depicts the ordinary lives of people just before a nuclear bomb hits, isn't exactly uplifting.

• "Waiting For the End." A song that profusely apologizes for any bad blood caused by what is presumably an outburst from the singer, pleading for the listener to move on.
• "The Catalyst".
  God save us everyone, will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns...

• The bridge part of "In My Remains" contains two simple sentences being repeated, yet it is enough to make people feeling pain in their hearts. Listening to Mike and Chester singing that part while being accompanied by instruments played in minor key clearly has different feels compared to just reading the lyrics itself.
  Like an army, falling.
  One by one by one.
• "Roads Untraveled" can definitely bring back some memories. Doubles as a Heartwarming Moment.
• The music video of "Castle of Glass" opens with a boy being informed that his father died at war.
  • The video ends with that same boy, now a man, giving a young girl the exact same news.
• "I'll Be Gone" from Living Things is already sad enough... that is, until you listen to "Primo", the original demo iteration. There's a haunting certainty in the lyrics overall that isn't present in the final version (such as the usage of "when I'm gone" rather than "I'll be gone"). Whereas "I'll Be Gone" describes someone who has to leave their home behind, "Primo" implies that the singer never viewed the world as their "home" in the first place. The way the bridge resolves is heartbreaking, especially in light of Chester's death.
  Tell them I couldn’t help myself
  And tell them I was alone
  Tell them I was the only one
  And there’s nothing that can stop me
  from going home.
• “Powerless” from ‘Living Things’ certainly applies for this, describing someone desperate to help a loved one, but instead stuck with nothing that can be done.
  And you held it all
  But you were careless to let it fall
  You held it all
  And I was by your side
  Powerless...
• "Until It's Gone," "Drawbar," "Final Masquerade," and (though rather YMMV, and this applies only to the quiet, subdued sections of the song at the beginning and end of the song, respectively, in which Mike is singing) "A Line in the Sand," all of which from The Hunting Party.
• The title track to One More Light, especially in light of Chris Cornell's death and especially especially in light of Chester Bennington's suicide.
  Who cares if one more light goes out?
  In a sky of a million stars, it flickers, flickers
  Who cares when someone's time runs out?
  If a moment is all we are or quicker, quicker
  Who cares if one more light goes out?
  Well, I do.
  • Chester's scream of "I do" after the second chorus (at 3:18) — so distant it's almost inaudible — is heart-shattering.
  • The song only grew more emotional when performed live on Jimmy Kimmel, explicitly as a tribute to Cornell. Not only were many in the audience openly crying, but Chester himself got choked up near the end.
  • The song's music video, which consists of clips of Chester being himself: a nice, loving, and kind singer mixed in with footage of him singing the song with the band during a live performance, all while the fans are surrounding him (something he'd always do) surrounded by their glowing light. And then the final slate by the band.
    Chester, You ignited a flame of passion, laughter, and courage in our hearts. We will miss you, brother.
    - Joe, Mike, Brad, Dave, and Rob.
  • Add to the fact the video ends with the hexagon LP logo◊, which now is missing a side, representing Chester's absence. That logo at one point was their YouTube logo.

• The song/video for "Heavy" shows how much Chester was destroyed inside from depression before his passing. Many fans could relate to his pain from this song especially though we could never have predicted how deeply he felt that pain and how it wasn't just an angry guy song. It was a warning/cry for help from a seriously hurting man. The lyrics almost read like the suicide note he never left.
  • "Holding Onto Children", a mashup with the 1995 trance song "Children" by Robert Miles (who himself died of cancer two months before Bennington's suicide), makes one feel especially sorry for the kids Bennington left behind.
• "Sharp Edges," a child is told by his future self to try and lead a better life than he will.
  Put your nose in paperbacks
  Instead of smoking cigarettes
  These are years you're never getting back
  • This is the last track on One More Light, and thus, Chester’s last vocals for Linkin Park.
  • And despite that, this is still one of more uplifting songs on the album.
• "Talking To Myself" is a song about how someone wants to help a loved one but knows how futile is it since the said loved one keeps rejecting their help.
  • It can also be a Fridge Tearjerker in light of Chester's death since Mike and Brad are two of the co-writers of the song.
    • Specifically, according to Chester Bennington himself, it's a song written about Chester and his battle with depression.
• The Linkin Park and Friends - Celebrate Life in the Honor of Chester Bennington memorial show. Dear god where to start?
  • The first full song performed? "Numb"... but with it playing as an instrumental with a lone microphone, with the audience singing it instead.
  • Mike giving a small speech before singing "Shadow of the Day" with Ryan Key of Yellowcard, he visibly struggles to say the words "when Chester passed".
  • Mike performing "One More Light", and obviously struggling to not cry. Also him performing "Looking for an Answer", the then-new song he wrote while dealing with Chester's death.
  • blink-182 actually performing "I Miss You" — fitting.
  • The band even performed archival footage of Chester performing "New Divide", and everyone was in tears at that point.
• Mike's EP Post Traumatic, made to cope and as a direct response to Chester's passing, is this by default. While it was eventually extended to a full album, the initial three songs feel like the rawest sonic form of his fragmented thoughts six months after losing Chester.
  • Most notably, "Over Again" explicitly discusses the fact that he Never Got to Say Goodbye to Chester, his frustration about people asking him about the future of the band, and the fact he still hasn't gotten closure on Chester's death. And that's not even mentioning the music video, with its aggressively shaky camerawork mirroring what had to be Mike's erratic mental process...
    Sometimes, we don't say goodbye once.
    We say goodbye over and over and over again...
• "Lost", a previously unreleased track released as a single for the 20th anniversary re-release of Meteora. Not only is hearing Chester's voice again on previously unheard material after about six years ripe for a whole slew of emotions, but the lyrics, as per usual for LP early 2000s output, don't take it easy, especially the bridge:
  I try to keep this pain inside, but I will never be alright

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