Linkin Park, Lost: Chester voice, the lyrics & meaning

Lost is a song officially released by Linkin Park in 2023. It’s the second time the American rock band shared a new song after the death of the lead vocalist Chester Bennington in 2017: after he died, the band entered an undetermined hiatus and stopped producing new music. Nevertheless, in 2020, Linkin Park already released another song, She Couldn’t, as a single for the 20th-anniversary version of their debut album Hybrid Theory. Lost, released on February 10, 2023, represents a new song released by Linkin Park with the voice of their lost vocalist Chester Bennington, from the recording sessions of their second album Meteora. In this article, we’ll discover everything about the song, the lyrics, and their meaning. You’ll also find the complete lyrics at the end,

You can find the official video for Linkin Park’s Lost below

Lost [Official Music Video] - Linkin Park

Watch this video on YouTube.

Lost: the song lyrics and their meaning

Lost was recorded by Linkin Park around 2003, many years before the death of their lead vocalist Chester Bennington, during the recording sessions of their second album Meteora. The song didn’t enter the album’s final tracklist but was present in The Making Of Meteora, a DVD released together with that album: fans noticed the presence of a song that wasn’t part of the album released and for years and talked about it. In 2023, the band finally decided to release this song officially, triggering fans’ enthusiasm worldwide.

Lost is a song about life’s pain and the impossibility of growing and becoming a better person. In the lyrics, Chester Bennington sings about his scars, wounds that can never heal, where he loses himself recurrently. The lines are the representation of a man who feels caged inside himself.

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
I’m trapped in yesterday
Where the pain is all I know

A part of him hopes that one day, he could break free from his pain and blossom as a new person. But it feels like an impossible goal to achieve: being alone, the singer gets inevitably lost in his pain and starts living “behind his own confusion.” The lyrics of Lost can easily be interpreted as a loyal description of the feelings of a man suffering from depression.

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

There are some hidden references to the wounds his past marked in his life: Chester was heavily impacted by his parents’ divorce, which occurred when he was 11, and he was bullied at school for a long time. He mentions the “damage he has received” and the hope he always had that those feelings would disappear one day. But apparently, they will end up staying with him forever.

But I’m tired, I will always be afraid
Of the damage I’ve received
Broken promises they made
And how blindly I believed

The scars we get in our childhood can become a burden from which we will never heal. If you are not supported enough while growing up during those delicate years, your fragility takes over and makes it impossible to believe you can move on from the pain you had in your life. This is what happened to Chester Bennington: having to face challenges too big for his age, he got lost in addictions and loneliness. Until July 20, 2017, the day he committed suicide. However, his legacy still survives, and many fans can still relate to the words he wrote. Even today, as is happening with the lyrics of Lost.

I try to keep this pain inside
But I will never be alright
I’m lost

Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave

The complete lyrics

Below you can find the complete lyrics in LinkinPark’s Lost.

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)

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