This is a song about feeling consumed by nostalgia and your regrets from the past.

Mike Shinoda spilled the beans about a song that Linkin Park wrote and recorded during the Meteora era in 2003, but it wasn’t released until two decades later on February 10th. The literal lost track includes the voice of Chester Bennington, Linkin Park co-vocalist who passed away in 2017.

This is an unforgivingly nostalgic jam that is seasoned liberally with tinges of regret. The lyrics are a retrospective of a time when Shinoda and Bennington were in their mid-twenties, which turned out to be formative years for the two musicians. Unfortunately, only one of the pair would be around to reflect on those times.

The death of Bennington drove the band to a hiatus that has endured to this day. Shinoda confirmed this status in April of 2022, stating that they aren’t working on any new music or tours and they don’t plan to. These sentiments only serve to underline the heartfelt nature of his lyrics in this song.

Although they first recorded the number twenty years prior, “Lost” was released to promote and celebrate the 20th anniversary of Meteora. In a KROQ interview, co-vocalist Shinoda said that even though it wasn’t easy to remember at first after all these years, the lyrical meaning still stuck with him.

According to his recollection, he was inspired by the phenomenon when you look back on your life and it seems to pull you farther and farther as if you’re falling down a rabbit hole.

“The inspiration was looking back on memories that you get sucked into,” Shinoda said. “And you just get immersed in that nostalgia, or good feeling or bad feeling. In the case of this song, I think there was a bunch of not-so-good stuff.

“But it’s bittersweet, it’s a mixed bag. Because there’s good stuff in there, too. Things aren’t black and white or cut and dry. And that’s what I like about the lyrics of the song.”

Shinoda blamed the exclusion of this track from the original version of the album on its particular type of intensity. In particular, the band believed “Lost” sounded too similar to another song from Meteora, “Numb,” both musically and lyrically.

Breaking Down Linkin Park’s “Lost” Lyrics

“Just a scar somewhere down inside of me / Something I can not repair / Even though it will always be / I pretend it isn’t there (this is how I feel)”

These lines emphasize the pain that the narrator feels because of the trauma of his past. He uses the metaphor of a scar to show how it has stuck with him, but it’s deep down inside so not everyone can see.

“I’m trapped in yesterday (just a memory) / Where the pain is all I know (this is all I know)”

The things that hurt him in the past, although only memory, still consume him and take over his entire being.

“I’m lost in these memories / Living behind my own illusion”

Here, he accepts that he isn’t living in reality but instead has become delusional due to his own nostalgic obsession.

“But I’m tired, I will always be afraid / Of the damage I’ve received / Broken promises they made / And how blindly I believed (this is all I know)”

Again, the singer gives in and accepts that the fear and pain will always be with him.

Lyrics

Just a scar somewhere down inside of me
Something I can not repair
Even though it will always be
I pretend it isn’t there (this is how I feel)
I’m trapped in yesterday (just a memory)
Where the pain is all I know (this is all I know)

And I’ll never break away (can’t break free)
‘Cause when I’m alone

I’m lost in these memories
Living behind my own illusion
Lost all my dignity
Living inside my own confusion

But I’m tired, I will always be afraid
Of the damage I’ve received
Broken promises they made
And how blindly I believed (this is all I know)

And I’ll never break away (can’t break free)
‘Cause when I’m alone

I’m lost in these memories
Living behind my own illusion
Lost all my dignity
Living inside my own confusion

I try to keep this pain inside, but I will never be alright
I try to keep this pain inside, but I will never be alright
(I’m lost) I try to keep this pain inside, but I will never be alright
(I’m lost) I try to keep this pain inside, but I will never be alright

I’m lost in these memories
Living behind my own illusion
Lost all my dignity
Living inside my own confusion

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Joseph Hahn / Brad Delson / Mike Shinoda / Robert G. Bourdon / Chester Charles Bennington / David Farrell

Lost lyrics © Chesterchaz Publishing, Nondisclosure Agreement Music, Big Bad Mr. Hahn Music, Pancakey Cakes Music, Rob Bourdon Music, Kenji Kobayashi Music, Songs Of Universal Inc.

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