Roads Untraveled

"Roads Untraveled"
Song by Linkin Park
from the album Living Things
Working title:	Roads Untraveled
Recorded:	2011 - 2012
Length:	03:50
Stems:	Stagelight: Linkin Park Edition 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 performed:	July 6, 2017 (Roads Untraveled/Fallout) October 27, 2017 (Album Version)
Writer:	Linkin Park
Producer:	Mike Shinoda, Rick Rubin
Label:	Warner Bros.
Living Things tracklist
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" (stylized as "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

Mike Shinoda wrote most of the lyrics, melodies, and even the drum parts for "Roads Untraveled", which is a rarity for him. The groove of the drums was inspired by the groove in the demo "Animals".

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 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."

He introduced the song at the Tampa show of the Post Traumatic Tour by saying it was written about the broken engagement of his friend, but the song took on a new meaning after Chester passed away.

When asked about the triangle sound in the song, Mike said, "It's not a triangle, it's a chime thing. It's a bell sound. I don't know, it was just one of those cool patches I found. I don't remember exactly what kind of sound it is, in fact."

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 Living Things Remixes	5:32	2012	October 1, 2012	Remix by Troublemaker. Features vocals by Bun B. 3 seconds longer boom echo at the ending.
Roads Untraveled (Rad Omen Remix feat. Bun B)	Recharged	5:28	2012	October 29, 2013	Remix by Troublemaker. Features vocals by Bun B.

Live

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Roads Untraveled (Live In Moscow, 2018)	Soundcheck Session: Live In Moscow	4:33	September 1, 2018	November 15, 2018	Mike Shinoda solo. Video only.

Live

Linkin Park

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. It would later get its full band debut at the tribute show for Chester Bennington, where it was part of the opening medley. The song was played a half-step up to match the key of "Iridescent" and the outro of the song was cut, effectively being replaced by that part being moved to the intro.

Variations

Last Updated: April 28, 2020

Type	Description	First Played	Last Played
Intro	Guitar Refrain	October 27, 2017	October 27, 2017
Alternative	Half-step up	October 27, 2017	October 27, 2017
Alternative	Shortened (No Ending)	October 27, 2017	October 27, 2017

Mike Shinoda

On April 17, 2018, Mike posted a poll on Twitter asking fans to vote on which song he should add to the setlist, with "Roads Untraveled" being one of the options and the eventual victor. It was debuted at the Identity LA performance, with the guitar refrain after the first chorus being cut out. It would be performed this way until Matt and Dan joined Mike on tour, where the full song was finally debuted. Multiple fans were brought on stage to play guitar during the song, starting in Milano and continuing into the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour. In Detroit, Mike added a short piano into to the song for the first (and only) time.

Variations

Last Updated: April 28, 2020

Type	Description	First Played	Last Played
Intro	Piano Intro	November 16, 2018	November 16, 2018
Alternative	Shortened (No Guitar Refrain)	May 12, 2018	July 28, 2018

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.