Part Of Me

"Part Of Me" was one of three songs co-produced and mixed by Mudrock and Mike Shinoda for the Hybrid Theory EP. The song was written by Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn, Brad Delson, Chester Bennington, and Rob Bourdon. Kyle Christener is credited for bass on the original EP but his name was removed from subsequent issues. He originally claimed that his bass tracks weren't used in the EP, but later retracted that statement. "Though Christner was once under the misimpression that his bass parts were re-recorded on the EP after he left the band, he has, upon closer review, identified his bass playing on the edition of the EP included in the box set," his 2023 lawsuit reads.

Background

The first version of "Part Of Me" with Chester Bennington was recorded towards the end of May 1999 with "Untitled" and "Flower". When questioned about the meaning of the song, Mike simply said "read the lyrics." According to Jeff Blue's One Step Closer: From Xero to #1: Becoming Linkin Park book, the song is about the "obsession with one's own shortcomings and alleviating them."

Speaking to ShoutWeb in October 2000, Mike Shinoda explained how the song came together: "Every time we write a song it starts from something different. I wrote a song from a sample that Brad collected of a car alarm. He got woken up or something to a car alarm from a garage in the parking lot underneath his apartment. He recorded it. I sampled it. I looped it. He wrote a guitar part to it and we wrote a song around it. That was an older song of ours that is not on the album. That was called "Part of Me". It was part of an EP that we put out with a baby on the cover. That was a little project we put together when Chester first came to California. It was the first time we were in the studio. Actually it was with Mudrock who did Godsmack's tracks. He was someone we had met who was really nice and we could do something for a small amount of money." The band worked on the Hybrid Theory EP with Mudrock in June 1999.

The track contains an untitled hidden instrumental track created by Mike Shinoda, which is known (unofficially) by fans as "Ambient" or "Secret". The instrumental has no official title and Mike refers to it simply as "the end of Part Of Me". Despite this, the credits of the LPU reissue of the EP treat it as a separate song calling it "Track 7."

After the original release of the EP, the band continued working on "Part Of Me" for inclusion on their debut studio album, Hybrid Theory, but it didn't make it to the final tracklist. The last known version of the song dates from February 2000 and was meant for a canceled 8 Song EP. On the later versions of the song, there are new vocal takes from both Mike and Chester, with Chester screaming "cut myself free" on the pre-chorus. The bridge progresses differently and the last chorus is different. None of these subsequent versions had the hidden track.

Demo

On October 14, 2016, an instrumental demo of the song titled "Chair" was released, along with a track-by-track video with Mike Shinoda, who claimed that the track had "...the worst name of any of them". He went on to state "What's great about ending on this one is that it's basically a demo of a demo. There was a song on our earliest sampler as a band back when we were called Xero. That song was called "Part Of Me". When we wrote it, Chester wasn't in the band yet. We had never even met Chester, and then, when we did meet Chester and he trying out for the band, we sent him songs and this is one of the songs that he sang live and in the rehearsal room. It was the cusp. It was right when we really were starting to become Linkin Park. So this is a demo of that song; the most raw version of it where we hadn't even put guitars on it yet, but we were thinking about it. We hadn't even put any live instruments, and the drums in it were samples of Rob's live drums in our rehearsal room but put into the sampler and then I was playing them on pads and just put it down on my cassette board track to get to the next step and see what was gonna happen next.

This track you're hearing is a snapshot in time of that moment when the band was just starting, and I think that's such a nice way to wrap up this year's LPU 15 release. We've come so far as a band, and as a community with you guys, with the LPU music releases. It's all about giving you an insight into the evolution in the band, it's an insight into how we write, it's an insight into where the songs come from."

Versions

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

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Part Of Me	Hybrid Theory EP	12:41	1999	1999	Includes an unnamed hidden track.
Part Of Me	Hybrid Theory EP (Re-Issue) Songs From The Underground A Decade Underground Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition)	12:41	1999	November 19, 2001	Remastered. Sounds louder than the original release. Includes an unnamed hidden track.
Chair (1999 "Part Of Me" Demo)	LP Underground 15	1:57	1999	October 14, 2016	Instrumental demo. No guitars. No live instruments. Released for free download exclusively to LPU members on October 14, 2016 in WAV format.
Part Of Me	Demos	3:38	1999		The CD dates from January 7, 2000. Different mix. Different vocal take from Mike. Two intro loops before guitar (just like the EP version). Chester screams "Cut myself free" during the pre-chorus. The second part of the bridge is different vocally and progresses differently (instrumentally) into the chorus. Different last chorus. Released on LPFuse for free download on Christmas 2004.
Part Of Me	Hybrid Theory 8-Track Demo Linkin Park - Demos From 02-2000	3:45	2000		The first CD it appears dates from February 2000. Different mix. Different vocal take from Chester and Mike. Four intro loops before guitar. Chester screams "Cut myself free" during the pre-chorus. Mike raps "Alive in me, inside of me" during the first part of the bridge. The second part of the bridge is different vocally and progresses differently (instrumentally) into the chorus. The second part of the bridge contains backing vocals by Mike. Different last chorus.

Live

"Part Of Me" has never been performed live by Linkin Park once the band name changed in 2000.

During a LP Underground chat on November 18, 2009, Rob Bourdon was questioned if the band ever played the songs from the Hybrid Theory EP live. He said he remembers playing "Carousel" and "Part Of Me" and added "it was probably in a small club in LA or Arizona."

This information was confirmed by Mike Shinoda on August 12, 2015, during a Reddit AMA: "We played those songs a ton when the band name was "Hybrid Theory," and once we had a whole album to play, those kinda just went away."

Mike Shinoda posted a tour diary the last day of Ozzfest 2001 that said, "8/13/01: END OF OZZFEST so the ozzfest is over. we're happy to be home, getting a little rest so that we can be fresh when we start the upcoming european and family values tours. we're hoping to do some cool new stuff on stage, and MAYBE even playing some older songs that we usually don't play. i don't know what it's going to be yet, but we are going to practice the e.p. songs to see if any of them work their way into the set. by the way, if you don't have the e.p., ask around on the messageboard for the mp3s. the songs are: carousel / technique / step up / and one / high voltage (original version) / part of me ...and there is a hidden instrumental track. -Mike"

Personnel

• Rob Bourdon
• Joseph Hahn
• Kyle Christner
• Brad Delson
• Chester Bennington
• Mike Shinoda

Production

• Produced and mixed by Mudrock and Mike Shinoda
• Mastered by Pat Kraus

Lyrics

Part of me won‘t go away
Everyday reminded how much I hate it
Weighed it against the consequences
Can‘t live without it so it‘s senseless
Wanna cut it out of my soul
And just live with the gaping hole
Take control of my life
And wash out all the burnt taste
I made the problems in the first place
Hang my head low
Cause it‘s part of me
You hardly see
Right next to the heart of me
Hurting me
Wounds soon scar
New cuts cover where the old ones are
And now I‘m sick of this
I can‘t stand the sandpaper thoughts that grate on my sanity
I rather not even be
Than the man that‘s staring in the mirror through me

Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
I feel it everyday
I feel I made my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me

(Freedom can be frightening if you've never felt it)
Once it‘s been dealt with you feel like you've been touched by something angelic
And then melted down into a pool of peace
Cease to be the animal you used to be
Remove the broken parts you know were wrong
And feel the calm when the problem's all gone
And then you start to see another piece of yourself that you can't let be
Memories of the last fight to free yourself
Taken to the depths of the bottom of the well
And now you know that you can choose to lose the part in your heart
Where your insides bruise
You can live if you're willing to
Put a stop to just what's killing you
 
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
I feel it everyday
I feel I made my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me

(Alive in me, inside of me, a part turns grey and rots away silently)
(Alive in me, inside of me, a part turns grey and rots away silently)
This part of me won't go away, part of me won't go away
 
(Oh, yeah)
Everywhere I look around I see how everything aught to be (Oh)
Every time I see myself I see there's always something wrong with me (Yeah)
Everywhere I look around I see how everything aught to be (Oh)
Every time I see myself I see there's always something wrong with me (Yeah)

I feel it everyday
I feel I made my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me

I feel it everyday
I feel I made my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me

I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside, swallowing me
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside, swallowing me

Part of me won't go away
Every day reminded how much I hate it
Weighted against the consequences
Can't live without it, so it's senseless
Wanna cut out of my soul and just live with a gaping hole
Take control of my life and wash out all the burnt taste
I made the problems in the first place
Hang my head low, 'cause it's part of me
You'll hardly see, right next to the heart of me
Hurting me, the routine scar
New cuts cover where the old ones are
So tired of making the same mistakes again and again
The suffering just won't end
And I can't let myself be
The man that's staring in the mirror through me

Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
I feel it every day
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside
Swell up inside, swallowing me

(Freedom can be frightening if you've never felt it)
Once it's been dealt with, you feel like you've been touched by something angelic
And then melt it down into a pool of peace
Cease to be the animal you used to be
Remove the broken parts you know were wrong
And feel the calm when the problem's all gone
And then you start to see
Another piece of yourself that you can't let be
Memories of the last fight to free yourself
Take you to the depths at the bottom of the well
And then you know that you can choose to lose
The part of your heart where your inside's bruised
You can live if you're willing to
Put a stop to just what's killing you
 
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly stop just what's killing me
I feel it every day
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside
Swell up inside, swallowing me

Alive in me, inside of me
A part turns grey and rocks away silently
Alive in me, inside of me
A part turns grey and rocks away silently

(This part of me won't go away)
Alive in me, inside of me
A part turns grey and rocks away silently
(Part of me won't go away)
Alive in me, inside of me
A part turns grey and rocks away silently

I feel it every day
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside
Swell up inside, swallowing me

I feel it every day
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside
Swell up inside, swallowing me

I feel it every day
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside
Swell up inside, swallowing me

Part of me won't go away, everyday reminded how much I hate it
Weighted against the consequences
Can't live without it, so it's senseless
Want to cut it out of my soul and just live with a gaping hole
Pride myself and taking control of the situation
Responsible for it's creation
Hang my head low cause it's part of me
You hardly see, right here in the heart of me
Hurting me, the roots old scar
New cuts over where the old ones are
And now I'm sick of this
I can't stand the sandpaper thoughts that grate on my sanity
I'd rather not even be than the man that's staring in the mirror through me

Cut myself free
Willingly, stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly, stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly, stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly, stop just what's killing me

I feel it everyday
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me

(Freedom can be frightening if you've never felt it)
 
Once it's been dealt with
You feel like you've been touched by something angelic
And then melted down into a pool of peace
Cease to be the animal you used to be
Eradicate the paid pollution
Feel the rein of resolution
But then you start to see another piece of yourself that you can't let be
Memories of the last fight to free yourself
Take you to the depths of the bottom of the well
So you know that you can choose to lose the part in your heart where your inside's bruised
You can live if you're willing to
Put a stop to just what's killing you

Cut myself free
Willingly, stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly, stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly, stop just what's killing me
Cut myself free
Willingly, stop just what's killing me

I feel it everyday
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me

This part of me won't go away
Part of me won't go away

I feel it everyday
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me

I feel it everyday
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me
I feel it everyday
I feel I'm in my way
I feel it swell up inside, swell up inside
Swallowing me

Gallery

• 

  Chair

External Links

• "CHAIR (1999 Part Of Me Demo)" (Digital Download) - Linkin Park Underground Store
• LPU 15 Track By Track - Chair (1999 "Part Of Me" Demo) - Linkin Park Underground