Roads Untraveled

"Roads Untraveled"
Song by Linkin Park from the album Living Things
Working title	Roads Untraveled
Recorded	2011 - 2012
Length	03:50
Stems	Leaked Multitracks
Time signature	6/8
Tempo	100
Key	Ab Minor
Live debut	May 6, 2017 (Roads Untraveled/Fallout) October 27, 2017 (Album Version)
Last played	July 6, 2017 (Roads Untraveled/Fallout) October 27, 2017 (Album Version)
Writer	Linkin Park
Producer	Mike Shinoda, Rick Rubin
Label	Warner Bros.
Living Things track listing Lost In The Echo In My Remains Burn It Down Lies Greed Misery I'll Be Gone Castle Of Glass Victimized Roads Untraveled Skin To Bone Until It Breaks Tinfoil Powerless

"Roads Untraveled" is the eighth song off of Linkin Park's fifth studio album, Living Things. The song was never released as a single, but it was included in the 2014 film Need For Speed, and the compilation album Songs For The Philippines.

Background

Chester Bennington stated that the band looked towards the artists that inspired Bob Dylan while writing "Roads Untraveled", and wanted to create a strange combination of a driving beat with very folk-like melodies. Brad Delson further backed that claim, stating "One of the dominant musical inspirations early on in the process was a folk influence. We had The Anthology Of American Folk Music, and we listened to a lot of that."

Mike Shinoda talked about the meaning behind the song, though he did manage to incorrectly title it, saying "For me, it's always coming from something that I have firsthand experience with, whether that be my own story or one of my close friends. We have a song called "Road Less Traveled" where I kind of wrote the song for one of my best friends. In every case, I feel like my best stuff comes when I'm thinking about something I feel strongly about. One day, I may not be inspired to talk about something, and then the next day, I may, and that's when I really try and dig into the lyrics of whatever might be optimal. Usually, for me, it's like the music will bring out that emotion or that inspiration and I just try and follow it." The song is about the broken engagement of his friend.

Remix

"Roads Untraveled" received one official remix, done by Rad Omen. The remix featured an additional verse done by Bun B. While the remix was included on Linkin Park's second remix album, Recharged, it was initially released through the Living Things Remix Subscription in October, alongside Bobina's remix of "Burn It Down". Mike Shinoda cited Rad Omen's remix as an example of the diversity on Recharged, claiming "But even stepping outside of EDM, the album has a lot of different flavors—some songs represent multiple genres at once. For example, on the Rad Omen remix, there are elements of house, trap, and folk, all in the same song."

Versions

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

Studio

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Roads Untraveled	Living Things Songs For The Philippines	3:50	2011-2012	June 20, 2012
Roads Untraveled (Instrumental)	Living Things (Acapellas and Instrumentals)	3:50	2012	September 11, 2012	Official instrumental version.
Roads Untraveled (Acapella)	Living Things (Acapellas and Instrumentals)	3:11	2012	September 11, 2012	Official acapella version.

Remix

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Roads Untraveled (Rad Omen Remix feat. Bun B)	Living Things Remixed Recharged	5:32	2012	October 1, 2012	Remix by Troublemaker. Features vocals by Bun B.

Live

Though it has never been played live in full, the first and third verse of "Roads Untraveled" were mashed up with "Fallout" starting on the first show of the One More Light touring cycle.

Lyrics

Album Version

Weep not for roads untraveled Weep not for paths left alone 'Cause beyond every bend Is a long blinding end It's the worst kind of pain I've known   Give up your heart left broken And let that mistake pass on 'Cause the love that you lost Wasn't worth what it cost And in time you'll be glad it's gone   Woah [x4] Woah [x2]   Weep not for roads untraveled Weep not for sights unseen May your love never end And if you need a friend There's a seat here alongside me   Woah [x6]

Rad Omen Remix

Weep not for roads untraveled Weep not for paths left alone Cause beyond every bend is a long blinding end It's the worst kind of pain I've known Give up your heart left broken And let that mistake pass on Cause the love that you lost wasn't worth what it cost And in time, you'll be glad it's gone Gone [x22] Whoa, oh, oh Whoa, oh, oh Whoa Whoa, oh, oh Whoa, oh, oh Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Well, it's our life and it's our time, and it's our place and it's our choice These are all our thoughts with our views, out of our minds with our voice It's our oath to this generation, they call it fake, we call it fate (You see) they don't like us or understand us, and they just hope we all fall away But we won't stop, and we won't quit, and we won't settle for what they give And we'll keep on standin', keep on fightin' no backin' down, that's how we're livin' Our minds are made up and we're focused no more believin' what we've been told Cause our bags are packed, there's no turnin' back, we walk alone on these winding roads Weep not for roads untraveled Weep not for sights unseen May your love never end and if you need a friend There's a seat here alongside me Whoa, oh, oh Whoa, oh, oh Whoa Whoa, oh, oh Whoa, oh, oh Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa May your love never end and if you need a friend There's a seat here alongside me

Gallery

• 

  Songs For The Philippines

In Other Media

• "Roads Untraveled" is featured in the 2014 film Need For Speed.

References

• https://twitter.com/mikeshinoda/status/252900305333800960