Linkin Park’s “In The End” demo had very different lyrics

This month officially marks 20 years since Linkin Park released Hybrid Theory. Over the past few weeks, the band have shared new content and stories surrounding the debut album ahead of a deluxe anniversary release.

Now, they’re dropping the demo of “In The End,” and it might sound a little different to fans of the original.

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Back in August, Linkin Park announced Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition, which is set to drop Oct. 9. The release includes a super deluxe box set, super deluxe vinyl set, deluxe CD and digital version package.

In addition to items such as unseen photos, posters and lithographs, the band are also including rare and unreleased music in the super deluxe box set. The bundle features five CDs: Hybrid Theory, Reanimation, B-Side Rarities, LPU Rarities and Forgotten Demos.

With the initial announcement, the band finally gave Hybrid Theory era demo “She Couldn’t” a proper release following its leak back in 2009, which will appear on Forgotten Demos. Now, Linkin Park are pulling the “In The End” demo off of LPU Rarities for fans to hear ahead of release.

The demo was released as “The Untitled” prior to Hybrid Theory and resurfaced online in 2009, later appearing on the fan club exclusive LP Underground Eleven. While Chester Bennington’s original verses stayed intact for the album version, much of what Mike Shinoda raps changed.

According to a fan site, Shinoda opened up about the lyrics change on the release’s booklet:

These were the original verse lyrics that I wrote for this song and the original melody in the bridge. I remember putting this together in our rehearsal studio on Hollywood and Vine, working overnight in a room with no windows. I had no idea what time of day it was; I just slept when I was tired, and worked on this song until it took shape. The first guy to hear it was Rob, who told me (I’m paraphrasing) that this was “exactly the kind of song he wanted us to write.”

The instrumentals are pretty consistent, and Bennington begins with the same “It starts with one…” However, that leads Shinoda into “One, then multiplies ’til you can taste the sun” over “One thing, I don’t know why.” From there, both of his verses are totally different.

However, there are some similarities in the intent of the lyrics between the two versions with Shinoda singing “Calling me to be part of their property” in the second verse instead of “Actin’ like I was part of your property.”

The “In The End” demo follows the band opening up about hearing Bennington sing for the first time on another demo, “Pictureboard.” Both tracks will appear on Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition out Oct. 9 via Warner Records. Preorders are available here, and you can presave it on your preferred streaming site here.

Check out the “In The End” demo along with the original lyrics below. And because we know you’re curious, give the official track a spin as well to hear the difference.

Linkin Park “In The End” demo lyrics

It starts with one…

One, then multiplies ’til you can taste the sun
And burned by the sky you try to take it from
But if it falls, there’s no place to run
Crumbling down, it’s so unreal
They’re dealing you in to determine your end
And sending you back again, to places you’ve been
And bending your will ’til it breaks you, within
And still, they fill their eyes
With the twilight through the skylight
And the highlights on a frame of steel
See the brightness of your likeness
As I write this on a pad with the way I feel
Hear the screaming in my dreaming
As it’s seeming that you’ve played your part
Like you’re heartless, take apart this
In the darkness, but I know that I’ve tried so hard

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn’t even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn’t even matter

I’ve looked down the line
And what’s there is not what ought to be
Held back by the battles they fought for me
Calling me to be part of their property
And now, I see that I get no chance
I get no break
Fakes and snakes quickly lead to mistakes
And as the tightrope within slowly starts to thin
I can only hope that they close their eyes
To the twilight through the skylight
And the highlights on a frame of steel
See the brightness of your likeness
As I write this on a pad to the way I feel
Hear the screaming in my dreaming
As it’s seeming that you’ve played your part
Like you’re heartless, take apart this
In the darkness, but I know that I tried so hard

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn’t even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn’t even matter

I’ve put my trust in you, pushed as far as I can go
For all this, there’s only one thing you should know
I’ve put my trust in you, pushed as far as I can go
For all this, there’s only one thing you should know
I’ve put my trust in you, pushed as far as I can go
For all this, there’s only one thing you should know

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn’t even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn’t even matter