(It starts with one)
One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind; I designed this rhyme
To explain, in due time
All I know; time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away, it's so unreal

Didn't look out below
Watched the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on, but didn't even know
I wasted it all just to watch you go
I kept everything inside
And even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be
A memory of a time when

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

One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind; I designed this rhyme
To remind myself how I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so (far)

Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me in the end
You kept everything inside
And even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be
A memory of a time when

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 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


Lyrics submitted by Matt, edited by RidwanRais, sokorny

In The End song meanings
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    General Comment

    It's pretty clear that a good part of Linkin Park wants to be black in order to fully embrace the culture and rich heritage that comes along with it. That's why Shinoda "designed this rhyme" in order to get a better understanding of what being a black person in our modern society must be like. It has taken blacks a lot of "time" (a reoccurring theme in this song) to be seen as equals in this world. However, blacks continue to to face discrimination and hard feelings from others despite the recognition of their equal value--"it doesn't really matter how hard you try"/"I tried so hard and got so far but in the end it doesn't even matter." The aforementioned lines speak of the alienation that blacks continue to feel. This is all a result of white people that wish to bring things back to days of slavery: "despite the way you were mocking me/ acting like I was part of your property." However, the speaker in this song knows that "things aren't the way they were before" in those days of immoral treatment. He follows this statement with the "you wouldn't even recognize me anymore" line to indicate that blacks have become so integrated through miscegenation that it is nearly impossible to identify one on the basis of skin color in today's world, thus, rendering all attempts at racism as illogical.

    blumpkinon December 13, 2010   Link

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