Linkin Park: Waiting for the End Meaning
Song Released: 2010
Waiting for the End Lyrics
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
Though the words sound steady something empty's within them
We say yeah with fists...
-
1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:Generally, song interpretations have neither right nor wrong. A song is written by a songwriter based on their real-life situation, in order to share their experience with others that may share the same experience although their situations may vary.
As far as I can see, many of the interpretations for this song is about a destructed relationships between 2 parties. Yes, the song does fit that in, but my interpretation is very much a different situation.
As for my interpretation, it's about yourself regretting about your past, thus leading it to a painful moment in your life.
So, as the starting rap by Mr Shinoda states:
*This verse is a general start-off about the whole song, it starts with; Your thoughts.*
"This is not the end, this is not the beginning.
*For most people, they would say that this sentence is about the middle of the entire process. Yes and no. It is in fact, out of this entire situation that is being referred here, thus neither end nor beginning. Also, this is just to say that the begin and the end was not official, perhaps near end but not the end, beginning was screwed up or the other way round etc.*
"Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision.
But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm.
Though the words sound steady something empty's within them."
*Take note of the word 'riot'. In a riot, it will be chaotic and full of violence. As we know, when we look back to the past in order to understand things from our painful and unwanted situations, our emotions may tend to get mixed up easily, thus, the word 'riot' was used to describe the way of feelings.*
*However, if you listen and examine close enough to these situations, you will realize that, it is not as chaotic as it seems. What was done had already been done, which is why 'empty' is used.*
*Additionally, it may refer to the voice speaking to you inside your head, which keeps on reminding you about the past. But I don't really agree much to this voice interpretation part.*
"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..."
*As a cyber quote had said 'Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.' and I find that this few sentence do match with this quote, because many people leads a battle in their heart, imperceptible to the eyes of others. We may be happy at all times, but nobody knows about our struggles behind these smiles.*
Now for Mr Bennington's verse:
"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."
*This is more like a re-enactment of the situation, where things did not went smoothly at all, a hiccup which he got way out of control, and he simply wished to 'exit' everything and abandon it all out.*
"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."
*You must be wondering what's with the physics added inside. But to be frank, our thoughts and flashbacks struck us very fast, just like 'the speed of light'. In simplicity, paranoia. All the thoughts mashes up and kept on biting you, until you do not know how to control yourself, which is being referred as 'hard to let you go'. The 'you' may also be referring to the past and the occurrences.*
"I know what it takes to move on.
I know how it feels to lie."
*He literally knows how to move on and let go, but he was unable to do it, thus ended up using lies to himself and also to deceive others that everything is going fine.*
"All I want to do
Is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got"
*This few sentences is just to show that he wants to make things perfect instead of having the holes of regrets in life.*
"Sitting in an empty room
Trying to forget the past
This was never meant to last
I wish it wasn't so"
*This is my all-time favorite part of the whole song! As always, due to what we've regretted about the wrongdoings of our life, we tried very hard to let go of the pain, but these thoughts simply kept on coming back again and again and it's like a torture. And in turn, marks a struggle in part of our life. In other words, to 'emo' at a corner.*
And second verse of Mr Shinoda's rap:
"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."
*In the aftermath of the entire rage and chaos (probably referring to the 'riot' mentioned earlier), you are getting sandwiched between situations and yourself. Confusion, lost and regrets fills you up, yet you still continued to do something which you are being oblivious about, whether it was correct or wrong. ('My mouth kept moving but my mind went dead' and 'I thought it felt right but that right was wrong') *
"So I'm picking up the pieces, now where to begin.
The hardest part of ending is starting again."
*Now clarity begins to heal him and he tries to repair and fix on the broken roads and try his best once more to change things (or learning from the painful bite). But the painful thing is to try and walk the same road which he might end up losing control again.*
The remaining verses are somehow the same. But sometimes I may suspect that the last verse of rap is the same as the first was because the person may be afraid to do a change, thus ended everything back in the same way as it once was.
This is my interpretation for this song. Be it, broken love, God Earth Man, loss of brother, living in fear or being tied in asylum, I find a very strong emotional connection between all of them.
Linkin Park always write songs that have broad meanings, so as to share it across people with same experiences instead of just the people whom shared the same situations. The interpretations are the experience(s), not situations. Linkin Park never fails to be my medication!
Thank you for reading, enjoy the song.
GOD bless you all!
:) -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:To me this song is about two people that met and accidentally fell in love. They know they are deeply in love with each other but the other chooses not to be because of reasons that may be from fear of commitment, fear of life changes( other person has children but divorced),fear of falling in love or fear of actually being in love...etc. Because of this the other person is still in love but cannot let go of what has become. Therefore he is "Waiting for the End" of his love for her. "Wish I had the strength to stand" He is weak from being heart broken for a long time. "This is not what I had planned.Its out of my control" He always had good intentions with her and never intended to fall in love with her, but did.
"Flying in the speed of light, thoughts were spinning in my head.So many things were left unsaid. Its hard to let u go".They were so caught up with each other that the other person still in love could not handle or understand the truth to why he/she had left without any explanation this is why it is hard to let go or have any closure."I know what it takes to move on, I know what it feels to lie" Person still in love is lying to him/herself on knowing what it takes to move on because he doesn't know how. "All I wanna do is trade this life for something new,Holding on to what I haven't got" He wants to have a life with her and wants to be with but never had her in the first place. "Sitting in an empty room, trying to forget the past"- self explanatory. "This was never meant to last, I wish it wasn't so." He/she knew there was going to be an end but didn't believe it or didn't know when.But wished it could have never ended. And this concludes my interpretation of this song.
...I've listened to this song countless times and I am still waiting for my End, which I don't think there will ever be. I will always miss my best friend- Of all the billions of people on this great Earth, I am deeply honored my life crossed paths with yours...
Romel -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:I think this song is just about moving on and rebirth in general at the moment you are ready to let go of the old life, yes it does have a reference to a relationship but I think that is just part of the moving on...
-
It's about depression.
"Waiting for the end to come, wishing I had strength to stand"
He's tired of his mental issues
"This is not what I had planned, it's hard to let you go"
He doesn't want to let go of his loved ones after he leaves
"I know what it takes to move on I know how it feels to lie"
He keeps lying he's okay.
He knows how difficult it is for him to keep going
"All I wanna do is trade this life for something new, holding on to what I haven't got" He's tired of what life brings and he's still holding on to some kind of hope or dream to happen
This song can also mean trauma which says it "Sitting in an empty room, trying to forget the past. This was never meant to last"
He's explaining how happiness is temporary and he keeps going back to this room where he feels empty and couldn't see clearly
"All caught up in the eye of the storm"
You know how it feels to be calm and suddenly it goes back to however it was before. It's like going in the eye cyclone and getting out of it, you realize it's worse than it really is.
This song is really powerful to me -
For me this song is about my marriage that is coming to an end. I love my wife dearly but fear she doesn't feel the same. I'm struggling with my emotions but don't want her to stay in an unhappy relationship. I'm literally just waiting for the end to come and wish I had the strength to let her go first. I'm realizing she doesn't love me but the struggle of what to do and how to move on haunts me!!!
-
The person who started off with:
"Generally, song interpretations have neither right nor wrong. A song is written by a songwriter based on their real-life situation, in order to share their experience with others that may share the same experience although their situations may vary..."
I think this is the best interpretation. -
The person who wrote the first interpretation on this song has nailed it. I doubt anyone but Chester himself could have written that better.
-
i have looked at the other interpretation and it has helped me come up with my own.
i had a tough time with putting the beginning rap in the whole concept of lost of some thing.
but i just got it. to me the song seems like a reenactment of a persons inner conflict after he has lost something/someone. where mr shinoda offers the voice telling u to get on with life, while Chester is the part of us that just does not let go. because of fear that they will forget this great thing/person that was once in their life.
the first line " this is not the end this is just the beginning'" is tell like us that that ur in the midst of your life. why are u acting like there is no point in moving. but it not like u have just began either so u have come too far to give up.
then comes saying "Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision
But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm" where he is saying it is you keeping your self down where the voice is the emotion u feel that come like a riot every time u look back.but u only choose to listen to the sad painful emotion (the violent rythem) and even any comfort u give your self feels false (" Though the words sound steady something empty's within them")
so he says " we say yeah fist flying up in the air Like we're holding onto something That's invisible there" following last line these are the false contorts we tell our selves but be are still holding on to the pain. ( "Cause we're living at the mercy of The pain and the fear")
so "Until we dead it, forget it, Let it all disappear." we shall always wait for the end to come. so shinoda is tell u to just let go of the pain and remember the good time and be happy for them.
this is were the other side come in saying that it not my fault for the sadness it is due to outside forces that they cant control. and all the can do is wait till the end comes and takes the pain.( "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....")
the rest of Chester part explains why he just cant let go and that he has tried bet its just so futile.
the mike comes back in the next verse basically saying no matter how dark it may seem just pick up pieces even if it is hard to to start again. ("The hardest part of ending is starting all again.")
and at the end of the song they do a mash up of the fist two verses to illustrate the conflict that u feel when u lost some thing or some one but that is my interpretation -
I can now truly relate to this song because i recently broke up with my girlfriend and its sad. But we still love each other like alot and it took us a week to finally accept each other as not dating anymore but there's still love between us. So for me im still holding on to the fact that i feel theres still a "relationship" between us but its not there in reality. "Im holding on to what i havent got". "and trade this life for something new" is one of my wishes fer something to change that will make us both happy. i know for sure that love is the only thing keeping us from falling apart. She decided to break up with me cause she believed she was a terrible person, and she was always gonna be mean to me and lie to me and that she couldnt be trusted with any guy she met so she supposed that this all meant that she didnt "love" me so she wanted to break up
-
I think that it means that he loves a girl but she does not love him back. He wants to trade his life for something new which means that he does not want to live in this heartbreak anymore and live in another life where he is loved.
-
I think it's all about fear of human being from nuclear war, poverty etc and they want to end these things.
-
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst its all bout this song. wish i have the strength to move on. wish him good luck and may life treat him kind. hes a wonderful man he is. something extra ordinare.
-
i like this song as i can listen to it over and over again. kinda feeling that i have at the moment. its hard to let go if your heart been held by someone, actually i do not know him well in real life. Just follow what my heart told me. crazy i am.
Love hurts and i hate it. -
This song reminds me of a real love story in which both of them wants to be together but they can't.Hope they will come together. -reena
-
This song reminds me of a real love story in which both of them wants to be together but they can't.Hope they will come together.
-
To me, it is about waiting for a good end to come after a fall out or trying to get over a tough time - whatever that maybe. And you feel so trapped and that you can't move and you just want to "trade this life for something new".
-
To me, its not about a relationship.It's very personal. "This is not the end,this is not the beginning"- this point of life is in the middle of it
"Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision
But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm
Though the words sound steady something empty's within them"-Chaos is heard and all,but there is a hollow feeling to the words you hear
"We say yeah with fists flying up in the air
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there"-its a reference to holding on to something intangible,something that doesn't seem real
"Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear
Until we dead it, forget it, let it all disappear" We live in fear of many things,and most of become numb to it and block it out.
"Waiting for the end to come
Wishing I had strength to stand"-waiting for the end of they way this world is,and wishing you had the strength to stand up and face it.
"This is not what I had planned
It's out of my control"-You never plan to end up numb and depressed.You can't control it either.
"Flying at the speed of light
Thoughts were spinnin -
To me, its not about a relationship.It's very personal. "This is not the end,this is not the beginning"- this point of life is in the middle of it
"Just a voice like a riot rocking every revision
But you listen to the tone and the violent rhythm
Though the words sound steady something empty's within them"-Chaos is heard and all,but there is a hollow feeling to the words you hear
"We say yeah with fists flying up in the air
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there"-its a reference to holding on to something intangible,something that doesn't seem real
"Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear
Until we dead it, forget it, let it all disappear" We live in fear of many things,and most of become numb to it and block it out.
"Waiting for the end to come
Wishing I had strength to stand"-waiting for the end of they way this world is,and wishing you had the strength to stand up and face it.
"This is not what I had planned
It's out of my control"-You never plan to end up numb and depressed.You can't control it either.
"Flying at the speed of light
Thoughts were spinning in my head"-The world seems to go by faster than you can see,and your thoughts never stop moving.
"So many things were left unsaid
It's hard to let you go"-The thing you wish you could say or wish you had are hard to let go of inside.
"I know what it takes to move on
I know how it feels to lie"-I know how to get myself out of this rut,but i'm lying when i say i can do it by myself.
"All I want to do
Is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got"-All that you want to do is start your life anew and be in a better place,and quit hanging by a thread.
"Sitting in an empty room
Trying to forget the past
This was never meant to last
I wish it wasn't so"A room that feels empty and trying to forget the pain of the past.This pain wasn't meant to last so long,and you wish it didn't.
"What was left when that fire was gone
I thought it felt right but that right was wrong"-sometimes you lie and say your fine they way you are,but you know deep down you aren't.
"All caught up in the eye of the storm
And trying to figure out what it's like moving on"-Lost in the chaos of life,it's hard to imagine moving on from where you are.
"And I don't even know what kind of things I said
My mouth kept moving and my mind went dead"-Saying something you regret without really meaning to,and feeling like it's you fault.
"So I'm picking up the pieces, now where to begin
The hardest part of ending is starting again"-My favorite part of this song!When your life is in pieces,the hardest part is starting over.
the repetition of the line "holding on to what i haven't got" towards the end sounds like expressing it loudly,that you need something real to hold onto.
That's my personal interpretation.
More Linkin Park songs »
Latest Articles
-
A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park -
Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable -
.jpg)
Dolly, we need you -
The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media -
The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s -
Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)
Trending:
How Seven Artists Got Their Start In The Music Business 
Night of the Zombie Genres: They should be dead, so why aren't they? Just Posted
| Live Forever | anonymous |
| Space Oddity | anonymous |
| Remind You | anonymous |
| You've Got A Friend | anonymous |
| Austin | anonymous |
| Bel Air | anonymous |
| Firefly | anonymous |
| My Medicine | anonymous |
| Orphans | anonymous |
| Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) | anonymous |
| A Whole New World (End Title) | anonymous |
| Eyes Closed | anonymous |
| The Phrase That Pays | anonymous |
| Montreal | anonymous |
| Moonlight | anonymous |
