On Thursday night, the music world was shattered by the news of Linkin Park lead vocalist Chester Bennington’s suicide. The 41-year-old had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and had reportedly contemplated suicide in his youth after being sexually abused as a child. The singer hung himself in his Los Angeles apartment, where he was later discovered by the police.
Just hours before the news of Chester’s death broke, Linkin Park had released a brand new single called Talking to Myself, not knowing perhaps that it would be the vocalist’s last. And the lyrics of the song have acquired an all the more poignant meaning after Chester’s death, some social media users pointed out.
The lyrics go –
Tell me what I've gotta do
There's no getting through to you
The lights are on but nobody's home (nobody's home)
You say I can't understand
But you're not giving me a chance
When you leave me, where do you go? (Where do you go?)
All the walls that you keep building
All this time that I spent chasing
All the ways that I keep losing you
The truth is, you turn into someone else
You keep running like the sky is falling
I can whisper, I can yell
But I know, yeah I know, yeah I know
I'm just talking to myself
Talking to myself
Talking to myself
Watch the full video here.
Social media users also pointed out how many of the songs Chester sang for Linkin Park, seemed to be a cry for help, and about his loneliness. Paying their tributes to the Numb and In the End hitmaker, fans wrote about how the lyrics of a number of songs seemed to be along the lines of Talking to Myself.
One social media user posted the song Somewhere I Belong, and said:
“Chester Bennington took years of depression and substance abuse, and dealt with it by telling the world what he couldn't tell himself –
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I’ve felt so long
(Erase all the pain till it’s gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I’m close to something real
I wanna find something I’ve wanted all along
Somewhere I belong" (Somewhere I Belong)"
Another one pointed out a number of his songs perhaps hinted at Chester’s struggle.
Condolences continue to pour in from fans as well as fellow musicians. Meanwhile Goalcast posted an old interview with Chester where he talks about depression and telling his therapist he just didn’t want to feel anything.
Chester’s last live performance, The Indian Express reported, was in Birmingham just over a week ago. He performed hits like Papercut and Bleed It Out.
Watch it here.
Chester is survived by his second wife Talinda Bentley and six children.