QWERTY

Template:Infobox song "QWERTY" is a Linkin Park song debuted on the band's four show trip to Japan in 2006 as a break from the studio when writing Minutes To Midnight.

Background

"QWERTY" is a song recorded in 2006 during the Minutes To Midnight sessions and released on December 5, 2006 as part of the LP Underground 6.0 CD.

On the LPU 5.0 newsletter, Rob Bourdon wrote about the song:

"Japan is one of my favorite places to tour. This past trip was a lot of fun and a huge success. We were there for ten days and I truly enjoyed every day. The shows were incredible. It was so exciting and surreal to get back on stage and play for our fans again, after being away for a while.

This tour was unique for us because we have never left the studio to play shows in the middle of the recording process. In the past we would never think of leaving the studio, especially to travel to the other side of the world. While recording we are in a completely different state of mind than when on tour. When we're in writing mode we are constantly trying to come up with new ideas regardless if we can play them well or not, which is the exact opposite of performing, which is playing what you know the best you can.

In this case, engaging in this opposing frames of mind actually turned out to be very beneficial in both worlds. We wanted to play a new song in Japan that was different from what we have done in the past that had a lot of energy live. We had a very specific idea of the kind of song we wanted to play but we didn't have that type of song yet. Being able to rehearse and record at the same time enabled us to create the song Qwerty, which is the song that we ended up playing. After trying to mold a song we had already written into the right one for the show (which didn't work) we decided to write a brand new song 3 days before leaving. An hour before one of the last rehearsals we stopped working on a song named Grecian and decided to start a new song based on an idea that Phoenix had brought in. The song Qwerty came together in an hour and then it was rearranged over the next three days in the rehearsal room and the studio. The lyrics were actually finished on the flight to Japan.

For two weeks prior to leaving we were running back and forth from the recording studio and rehearsal spot, creating new songs and relearning the older songs. At some points it got really hectic. After playing Qwerty on the last day of rehearsals, we knew that it was going to be a great live song. It's a little nerve-wracking to write a song and then play it in front of thousands of fans a few days latter, but it was also very exciting to be able to play a song that was still in the works and see how the fans reacted to it before finishing it.

Overall, I think Qwerty got a great response live. I thought it was incredible that the fans actually recorded the song on thier cell phones and then posted it online. Despite the audio being barely audible it was really cool to see all of the file trading and posts of the song. Since the live performances went well we decided to track it with our producer Rick, who had some great suggestions to make the song even better. Qwerty will always remind me of that quick trip to Japan, and you can look out for it perhaps as an Underground exclusive in LPU6...

Playing these shows was really motivating for us to finish up all of the songs we have written and get back on stage. Having the opportunity to connect with our fans and perform during this process has definitely helped us in the studio because of how much our fans inspire us. We look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Love and Respect to the LPU, thanks for supporting us throughout the years, none of these great experiences would be possible without you guys."

On May 22, 2020, Mike mentioned answered a fan's question about how the lyrics were written for "QWERTY", saying, "The lyrics were written on the plane, but the music was not. So we did the music beforehand and then Chester and I wrote... like we had already started on the lyrics before we flew, and then we were running and forth in the plane to each other. We weren't far, like we were a few seats from each other. And we'd come over and be like "hey what do you think of this?" He wrote it, I usually write lyrics on my phone and he would write it on paper, he would usually write. He was slow typing and paper was faster and he was writing it and it was back and forth."

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Studio

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
QWERTY	LP Underground 6.0 Songs From The Underground 8-Bit Rebellion! A Decade Underground Compilation	3:21	2006	December 5, 2006	The song was recorded in studio after Linkin Park came back from their tour in Japan in August 2006.

Remix

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
QWERTY (8 Bit Rebellion Version)	8-Bit Rebellion! Ringtones	0:31	2010	April 17, 2010	8-bit version. Intro only.
QWERTY (8-Bit)	8-Bit Rebellion!	2:48	2010	April 26, 2010	Full 8-bit version.

Live

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
QWERTY (Live)	LP Underground 6.0	3:54	August 13, 2006	December 5, 2006	Early version. Different lyrics. Recorded live at the Chiba Marina Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on August 13, 2006 at the Summer Sonic Festival. Mike's lyrical mistake at the beginning of his first verse was fixed.
QWERTY		4:02	August 13, 2006		Same recording as the LPU 6.0 live version. Extended version which contains extra speech by Mike at the end. Released on LPAssociation for free download on August 24, 2006.

Live

The live debut of "QWERTY" was also its world premiere - it is a rare case in the band's discography, being performed live before being announced or released (another example is "A Light That Never Comes"). Mike said, "we didn't write QWERTY "for" japan...we were writing it for the album. i don't know if we'll ever debut another song live...maybe!" It was first performed on the 2006 Japan Tour, mid-set after "Lying From You". The 2006 live version repeats the last lines of the first verse before kicking into the chorus, with Chester screaming "A victim of your pride" on the first repetition of the line. After the show, Mike said, "the song known as "qwerty" -- a rough title BTW -- is actually still in progress. we did those lyrics on the plane on the way to japan! i'm not sure if it'll make the album, but we liked the song enough to play it!"

The song returned at the beginning of Projekt Revolution 2007 on the Minutes To Midnight touring cycle, appearing in Set B. The song was dubbed as the 2007 version, a mashup of both the LPU 6 studio version and the 2006 live version. It was dropped in Chula Vista, California (along with "Given Up", possibly due to curfew) and Raleigh, North Carolina. It was ultimately dropped from the setlist, which became so different than the original by the end of the tour, it was dubbed Set D.

The song didn't appear at all on the A Thousand Suns touring cycle, but the band considered playing it at the soundcheck at the fourth LPU Summit in Hamburg, Germany in 2011, but ultimately performed an acoustic rendition of Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" instead.

The song appeared in a mashup with "Victimized" on the Living Things touring cycle, debuting on the Honda Civic Tour. It appeared early in the set in Set A and Set C, and mid-set in Set B. The mashup (along with "The Catalyst") was dropped on the festival dates on the 2013 Australian and New Zealand Tour and the first few shows of the following Asian Tour, but both returned to Set A after being soundchecked at the ninth LPU Summit in Chep Lap Kok, Hong Kong. "QWERTY" has not appeared since the end of that tour.

Personnel

• Chester Bennington
• Mike Shinoda
• Brad Delson
• Dave "Phoenix" Farrell
• Joseph Hahn
• Rob Bourdon

Production

• Written by Linkin Park
• Recorded at The Mansion at Laurel Canyon and Korn Studios
• Produced by Rick Rubin and Mike Shinoda
• Engineered by Andrew Schepps
• 2nd Engineer: Phillip Broussard Jr.
• Additional engineering by Dana Nielsen
• Mixed by Ethan Mates
• Mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering

Lyrics

Your lies
Augh
 
Yeah
I didn't think that I had a debt to pay
'Til they came to take what I had left away
You said you wouldn't put me to the test today
But I remember you saying that yesterday
There was a time when your mind wasn't out of control
Every memory a confession pouring out of your soul
Like a pill you couldn't swallow so it swallowed you whole
Another lie hard to follow til it followed you home
And like that

Broken down
A victim of your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You crossed the line
Wrapped up inside your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You're lost inside that cold disguise
Behind your lies

I don't know what I thought I might say
Seems like we never were taught the right way
Every other minute I fought for my place
And dropped what I made and thought you might stay so
I'm guessing that you probably know
When your inside's hollow then you ought to be cold
Like a pill I couldn't swallow, when it swallowed me whole
Another lie hard to follow, it followed me home
Like that
 
Broken down
A victim of your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You crossed the line
Wrapped up inside your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You're lost inside that cold disguise
Behind your lies
 
Oh
You're faking, you're mistaken
If you think that you can climb out of this hole
Forsaking what we take when
All our lies come from the power of control

Broken down
A victim of your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You hide behind
Wrapped up inside your
 
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You crossed the line
Wrapped up inside your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You're lost inside that cold disguise
Behind your lies

Lies
Augh
Uh

Yeah
I didn't think that I had a debt to pay
'Til they came to take what I had left away
You said you wouldn't put me to the test today
But I remember you saying that yesterday
There was a time when your mind wasn't out of control
Every memory a confession pouring out of your soul
Like a pill you couldn't swallow so it swallowed you whole
Another lie, hard to follow til it followed you home
And like that

Broken down
A victim of your
Pride
Lies so out of control
Every memory a confession pouring out of your soul
And like that

Broken down
A victim of your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You crossed the line
Wrapped up inside your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You're lost inside that cold disguise
Behind your lies

I don't know what I thought I might say
Seems like we never were taught the right way
Every other minute I fought for my place
And dropped what I made and thought you might stay so
I'm guessing that you probably know
When your inside's hollow then you ought to be cold
Like a pill hard to swallow, so it swallowed you whole
Another lie hard to follow, it followed you home
And like that

Broken down
A victim of your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You crossed the line
Wrapped up inside your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You're lost inside that cold disguise
Behind your lies

You're faking, you're mistaken
If you think that you can climb out of this hole
Forsaking what we take when
All our lies come from the power of control

Broken down
A victim of your
You're faking, you're mistaken
If you think that you can climb out of this hole

Broken down
A victim of your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You hide behind
Wrapped up inside your

Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You don't know
Why / You crossed the line
Wrapped up inside your
Lies / You hide behind
Lies / You're lost inside that cold disguise
Behind your lies

Gallery

• 

  Promo CD

In Other Media

• "Qwerty" (in both studio and 8-bit versions) is featured in Linkin Park's 2010 videogame 8-Bit Rebellion!.

References

• https://web.archive.org/web/20080609235144/http://www.lpinside.com.br/especiais/chat_mike.php