Yeah
I am not a pattern to be followed
The pill that I'm on
Is a tough one to swallow
I'm not a criminal
Not a role model
Not a born leader
I'm a tough act to follow

I am not the fortunate and the fame
Or the same verse I'm telling you to forfeit the game
I came in the ring like a dog on a chain
And I found out the underbelly is sicker than it seems
And it seems ugly, but it can get worse
'Cause even the blueprint is a gift and a curse
'Cause once you have the theory of how the thing works
Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first

And I'm not a robot
I'm not a monkey
I will not dance even if the beat's funky
Opposite of lazy, far from a punk y'all
Stop talking, start tryna catch up motherfucker

And all the people say
Aah, aah, aah

Try to catch up motherfucker

Aah, aah, aah

Lauren said money changes situations
Big said it increases the complication
Kane said don't stab, I ain't the one
Chuck said a an Uzi weigh a motherfucking ton
And I'm just a student of the game that they taught me
Rocking every stage and every place that they brought me
I'm awfully underrated
But can be corrected

And so this second I'm gonna save it for the record
I am the opposite of whack
Opposite of weak
Opposite of slack
Standing in the heat
Standing in a crack
Closest to a beat, far from a punk
Y'all oughta stop talking, start tryna catch up motherfucker
And all the people say
Aah, aah, aah

Try to catch up motherfucker

Aah, aah, aah

Oh when they come for me
Come for me
I'll be gone

Oh, when they come for me
Come for me
I'll be gone

Oh, when they come for me
Come for me
I'll be gone

And all the people say
Aah, aah, aah

Try to catch up motherfucker

Aah, aah, aah

And all the people say
Aah, aah, aah

Try to catch up motherfucker

Aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah


Lyrics submitted by MusicFREAK20, edited by AdamArtz, SarahZB

When They Come for Me Lyrics as written by Chester Charles Bennington Brad Delson

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

When They Come For Me song meanings
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31 Comments

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  • +15
    General Comment

    I can't help thinking that this song is a little bit directed at all the negative comments that LP has gotten from fans that don't like the new direction the band has been taking. That whole first rap, anyway, and especially the lines

    "Because even a blueprint is a gift and a curse Because once you got a theory of how the thing works Everybody wants the next thing to be like the first And I'm not a robot, I'm not a monkey I will not dance even if the beat's funky"

    Like, they had a sort of blueprint song style with Hybrid Theory and Meteora, and it worked really well and sold them a lot of albums, but as soon as they started changing their style, people said the new stuff was no good, because it wasn't enough like those first two albums. But, no matter what people want, or negative comments they want to make, LP is going to keep doing what makes them feel good, despite what anybody says, and that's what this album is about for them.

    "You ought to stop talking and try and catch up" - it's like the band saying, we're moving onward and upward and doing cooler and cooler shit, so why don't you all stop badmouthing it and try and keep up, because this is awesome.

    SusieBon September 14, 2010   Link
  • +5
    My Interpretation

    I agree with what most people have posted before hand, and I'd just like to say that I think the lyrics in the first verse are just completely brilliant, starting with the first line -- LP has expressed numerous times that they don't want their albums to sound like each other -- especially ATS -- on the DVD they talk about how they kept coming up with ideas for songs that sounded similar to their old music and they kept trashing the ideas. This completely reflects the first line of the song, they're not a pattern, they're not repeating themselves despite what a lot of fans want, which is more Hybrid Theory and Meteora. That fact being the tough pill to swallow.

    Then continuing on to "I am not the fortune or the fame/Or the same person telling you to forfeit the game". A bunch of people have said that the money and fame has gone to LP's heads and they're just trying to pull off crazy shit. And then they pull a line straight from Points of Authority to say that they're not the same band anymore, they've grown and matured.

    "I came into the ring like a dog on a chain" - When they started making CD's they were under pressure from producers or record labels (I'm assuming) to make the music they made. I read in an interview that Mike said that the Hybrid Theory and Meteora were not Linkin Park, that M2M and ATS were Linkin Park. They broke off and started to make the music that THEY WANTED to make.

    "Because even a blueprint is a gift and a curse/Because once you have a theory of how the thing works/Everybody wants the next thing to be like the first/But I'm not a robot, I'm not a monkey/I will not dance even if the beat is funky" - Pretty self explanatory but basically again, they're trying to make different music. Their old blueprint for music was the same -- it made some great songs, but you don't want to get stuck in that habit or everything will start to sound the same. But at the same time, that's what the fans wanted. Some people don't realize that making more music that sounds the same isn't a good thing. And then obviously, monkey's mimic things and robots do what they're programmed to do, and they're not going to "dance" regardless of what people say.

    Lastly, I think it'd be wrong to copy and paste, so I'll just say that I think SusieB's interpretation of the last line was spot on. I'm not good enough with this interpreting crap to do the rest of the song, but I figured I'd just throw in my 2 cents.

    lnknprkrckron September 23, 2010   Link
  • +3
    Song Meaning

    The funny thing is that though this song is about how they've moved on since Hybrid Theory, it is the track that is most reminiscent of earlier LP. Maybe this was intended?

    DisguiseDKon September 27, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This is the only decent song off this album, in my opinion. The album should've been more like this right through. It has creative vocals, good rap, a groovy beat and an arabic sound that makes it very haunting.

    Also, being one of the only tracks that doesn't have vocoded vocals, it's a nice throwback to old-style Linkin Park. Before Hybrid Theory even.

    Orichalconon September 10, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    "Lauryn said money change a situation Big said it increase the complication Kane said don't step I ain't the one Chuck said that UZI weigh a motherf**kin' ton" I'm trying to figure out this verse.. First line I think is a reference to Lauryn Hill's song Lost Ones Second line is easy, it's a reference to Notorious BIG's song "Mo Money Mo Problems" Third I have no clue, please help. Fourth is a reference to the song "My Uzi Weigh a Ton" by Public Enemy.

    MusicNeedsPoetryon October 07, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Love this song. Love Linkin Park no matter what they do. This song along with a few others is my favorite.

    lulzplzkthxon October 10, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    "Because even a blueprint is a gift and a curse"

    Do I see a Jay-Z reference to the title of a couple of his albums. Mike Shinoda rocks it. Haha This is a good LP song. The beats are sick and the spit. Try and catch up mother fucker. ;)

    Twizzy-Doggon September 12, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    omg I loveeee this song :) plus the entire album~ it's just so...amazing. even though LP's style has changed and their experimenting with new stuff, I like it and will support them all the way! I can't help but agree with SusieB's meaning of the song. it makes a lot of sense since some LP fans weren't too happy about the new album. also the lyrics on here are pretty much correct, but here's some edits (I bought the CD + DVD package online and of course it came with the lyrics to all the songs lol. but I gotta give props to the user for getting most of the lyrics right :D):

    I am not A pattern to be followed The pill that I'm on is a tough one to swallow I'm not a criminial Not a role model Not a born leader, I'm a tough act to follow I am not The fortune and the fame Nor the same person telling you to forfeit the game I came in the ring like a dog on a chain

    And I found out the underbelly's sicker than it seems And it seems ugly But it can get worse 'Cause even a blueprint is a gift and a curse 'Cause once you got a theory of how the thing works Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first And I'm not a robot I'm not a monkey I will not dance even if the beat's funky Opposite of lazy Far from a punk Y'all ought to stop talking Start trying to catch up motherf**ker

    And all the people say Oh Trying to catch up mother**ker

    Lauryn said money change a situation Big said it increase the complication Kane said don't step I ain't the one Chuck said that UZI weigh a motherf**kin' ton

    And I'm just a student of the game that they taught me Rock in every stage, in every place that it brought me I'm awfully underrated But came here to correct it And so it ain't mistakin', Imma state it for the record I am the opposite of wack Opposite of weak Opposite of slack Synonym of heat Synonym of crack Closest to the peak Far from a punk Y'all ought to stop talking Trying to catch up motherf**ker

    And all the people say Oh Trying to catch up motherf**ker

    Oh When they come for me Come for me I'll be gone

    Oh When they come for me Come for me I'll be gone

    Oh When they come for me Come for me I'll be gone

    And all the people say Oh Trying to catch up motherf**ker

    And all the people say Oh Trying to catch up motherf**ker

    musikfreak202on September 16, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The rap at the end of the second verse is too fast for me to clearly understand. If you the correct words before I am able to find them, please post them.

    MusicFREAK20on September 07, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "And I'm not a robot, I'm not a monkey I will not dance even if the beat's funky"

    I was not expecting that line at all, I love it. :D

    iJeremyon September 11, 2010   Link

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