Linkin Park - Kurgan Vantheemsche
Linkin Park
Lyrics
Question: How does Linkin Park use "Somewhere I Belong" and "Breaking the Habit" to promote help and bring awarness to mental illnesses.
The song "Somewhere I Belong" was written by Chester Bennington who was the lead singer. The way the song was written was influenced by Chester Benningtons life which involved a lot of drug abuse, depression, and anxiety. His experiences hevily influenced the song with the title "Somewhere I Belong" being repeated all throughout the song. The line reflects Chester Benningtons search for a place where he can call home and feel safe. The repeating of the line represents his desire to find this place. This is what a lot of people experience and deal with when struggling with depression allowing those who struggle with this to find help and relate to the song. The line "I will never know myself until I do this on my own" acts almost as a guide. With the line describing Chester Benningtons need to learn about himself. With this usually being a good way to learn about oneself.
Next In "Breaking the Habit" was written by Mike Shinoda who is the co-lead vocalist. This song is based on Shinoda's friend who struggles with drug abuse. Due to the song being based on Shinoda's friend it brings awareness to the addictions and drug abuse that can come from depression and other mental illness. The line "I dont know why I instigate and say what I don't mean" from the song "Breaking the habit" resembles this song entirely. With the line being about how he doesnt know why he does what he does and its just a habit where the song then goes on to talk about breaking the bad habits. The bad habits in question can be anything from drug abuse, alcaholism, and more. This all allows people who struggle with these issues to know they arent the only one and they can break the habit.
Prompt 1: What words, phrases, use of language, images particularly struck you? Why?
The line "I wanna heal, I wanna feel, what I thought was never real" in "Somewhere I Belong" struck me the most. This is due to how much meaning it carries behind it. With the words describing the desire to heal and feel the same way before depression and mental illness. The weight of the lyrics suprising me the most and how well the song conveys emotions. Then in the song "Breaking the Habit" the phrase "Clutching my cure, I tightly lock the door" describes a depressent or stimulant that is described as a "Cure". This caught me off guard after reading the lyrics because I had never caught that line while listening. But the way the song describes the substance as a way to cure or solve the problem.
Prompt 2: Write a brief paragraph explaining how does the point-of-view shape your understanding of the songs or message.
The first song "Somewhere I Belong" was written by Chester Bennington and is made to be from his point-of-view. Knowing that its from his perspective changes how the song is read. Such as the song being about Chesters desire to fit in and feel like himself. Then in "Breaking the Habit" the point-of-view is based off Mike Shinoda's friend who struggled with drug abuse. This makes all the words have more impact. Such as the line "Clutching my cure" means a drug when thinking about Shinoda's friend. This changes the meaning of the song depending on if you know why the song was written.
Works cited:
Genius. “Linkin Park – Breaking the Habit.” Genius.com, genius.com/Linkin-park-breaking-the-habit-lyrics.
Genius. “Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong.” Genius.com, genius.com/Linkin-park-somewhere-i-belong-lyrics.
The question that was asked in this blogger was "How does Linkin Park use "Somewhere I Belong" and "Breaking the Habit" to promote help and bring awareness to mental illnesses." A quote from the blogger that I thinks show this is " The line "I will never know myself until I do this on my own" acts almost as a guide. With the line describing Chester Benningtons need to learn about himself." (Kurgan Vantheemsche). This helps show signs of the band bringing awareness to mental health showing with themes of self isolation. Often when people struggle with mental health issues they will often keep it to themselves cause for many seeking help makes them feel like a burden. A quote from the song that I helped show the theme of bringing awareness to mental health is "I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long" ("Somewhere I Belong"). Showing that even when they feel like they can't ask for help they still want to get better. They suffer in silence but still hope for better days. They don't want o suffer but they also don't want to feel like a burden.
ReplyDeleteFor the other song Breaking the Habit a quote from the blogger made a good point with "The line "I dont know why I instigate and say what I don't mean" from the song "Breaking the habit" resembles this song entirely. With the line being about how he doesn't know why he does what he does and its just a habit where the song then goes on to talk about breaking the bad habits." (Kurgan Vantheemsche). This shows that the song brings awareness to mental health with the recognition of unhealthy hobbits and that they should change these habits. Recognizing that their is a problem is the first step in fixing it. The line that really stuck out to me was "I don't know what's worth fighting for Or why I have to scream" (Breaking the Habit). It shows how exhausting the struggle with mental health can be. Sometime it can feel like struggling to keep your head above water isn't worth the fear of drowning.
The question is "How do the songs “Somewhere I Belong” and “Breaking the Habit” by Linkin Park bring awareness to mental illness”. I think it is a good portrayal or encasement of what a bad mental state with mental illness is. In the song “Somewhere I Belong” the lyrics “I wanna heal, I wanna feel, What I thought was never real” this shows that the person is in a poor state of mind and they just want to escape their feeling of pain which highlights the state a person with mental illness can be in. In the song “Breaking the Habit” the lyrics “Clutching my cure, I tightly lock the door, I try to catch my breath again, I hurt much more than anytime before, I had no options left again”. This shows that the person is in an attempt to escape from his state of mind by ending their life, which brings forward how having mental illness can lead to a dark place.
ReplyDeleteHi Kurgan! You have a pretty solid anylsis, short and to the point. The only advice I would say is to rely more heavily on "Breaking The Habit" to support your analysis and maybe fix a little bit of odd wording. I think that these songs bring awareness to mental illnesses by simply talking about it and the effects of it. I would also leverage the writer and co-writer of these songs commting suicide while writing about it. It is sad but it is a clear effect of mental illness. In the song "Breaking the habit" there are many strong examples of depression that would make the listener think such as, "So I'm breaking the habit, I'm breaking the habit tonight (...) Clutching my cure, I tightly lock the door, (...) I'll paint it on the walls,(...) I'll never fight again"(Linkin Park). Sorry for the bad qoutes but there is really so much to unpack in this song. It tells a full story start to finish about mental illness. At first past experiences are starting to drive him crazy. Then he gets tired of being like this and decides to end his life becuase he runs out of options. The craziest part is that he seems to have to told someone about this issue and nobody listened. in the very beggining he says, "You all assume I'm safe here in my room" (Habit) which to me means that he brought it up before it got worse and people just shrugged him off, leading to the end result. so much more to say but I'll move to "somewhere I Belong". Again in "Somewhere I Belong" it tell a full story of how the illness set in but you might miss it. The message is actually hidden in the adlibs at the start of the song, "(When this began), (...) (I was confused), (...) (Nothing to lose)". It sort of explains the how the person feels as the illness progresses. Again there is still more but I got something to do. You have soooo much information to leverage so please do. I'm a little jealous.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question, I saw that Linkin Park uses both Somewhere I Belong and Breaking the Habit to promote awareness of mental illness by using emotional lyrics that reflect inner struggles. In “Somewhere I Belong,” the line “I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real” shows a deep desire to escape numbness and reconnect with real emotions, which is something many people with depression experience. The lyric “I will never know myself until I do this on my own” suggests that self-discovery and growth are necessary steps toward healing, even though they can be difficult. In “Breaking the Habit,” the line “I don’t know why I instigate and say what I don’t mean” shows the lack of control someone might feel over their own actions, which connects to struggles with mental illness and addiction. Another good line is, “I’m breaking the habit tonight,” which directly shows the decision to change and overcome harmful behaviors, giving a sense of hope. These specific lyrics make the songs feel personal and real, which helps listeners understand that they are not alone in their struggles. By openly expressing pain, confusion, and the desire for change, the songs encourage people to recognize mental health issues. Overall, Linkin Park uses these songs to both reflect real experiences and promote the idea that healing and change are possible.
ReplyDeleteHi Kurgan! I have never heard of your artist before but I was pleasantly surprised by what I was listening to. Something I want to note before getting into your question was the impressionable instrumentals that played. I found myself really enjoying them and, although it’s not something I would normally listen to, it was surprising to see how much I enjoyed these songs! On to your question, I believe that the lyrics heavily address mental health issues. In the song, “Somewhere I belong” the artist states, “(When this began) I had nothin' to say and I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me” (Linkin Park). This line is addressing feelings of depression. And as powerful as this line is, I believe that it is the next line that is far more impactful. Linkin Park states, “(I was confused) And I let it all out to find that I'm not the only person with these things in mind” (Linkin Park). I think this line is incredibly important. Most people, when facing mental health issues, feel alone and there is no one they can turn to; however, this line completely wipes away this belief. It lets listeners know that they are not alone in their mental health struggles and there are people who know and understand what they are going through. In the next song that you chose, “Breaking the Habit” tells a kind of story. A person is facing destructive habits that they are trying to break. This song sounds far more robotic and the music video also demonstrates this thought. I think this could be a form of symbolism. Robots follow an endless, monotonous pattern that they are programmed to complete, good or bad. I think that the rhythm helps to demonstrate how the singer is breaking through this program to help reach a state of peace. The lyrics of the song help to show mental health awareness when the singer says, “I don't know what's worth fighting for or why I have to scream” (Linkin Park). This line helps to show the confusion that comes with mental health issues. A person may not completely know why they feel the way they feel or act the way they act. This line helps to let them know that they are not alone.
ReplyDeleteWork Cited:
Genius. “Linkin Park – Breaking the Habit.” Genius.com, genius.com/Linkin-park-breaking-the-habit-lyrics.
Genius. “Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong.” Genius.com, genius.com/Linkin-park-somewhere-i-belong-lyrics.