Feel Like Home

Background

In late 2006, Clear Channel Music posted the entire The Rising Tied album complete with commentaries from Mike Shinoda before each song. On "Feel Like Home", he said, "When I first did my verse to ‘Feel Like Home’, I remember taking it to Jay, uhm, and this was the typical thing that would happen with the executive producer role – I’d send him a song and he’d listen to it and give me some feedback. Like on this song, for example, he said, you know: “I really like the beat, I like the hook, uhm, but the verses in general, could be a little deeper.” The verses that we had on here before were kinda like these, but didn’t go into specifics, as much as these did, and so he said, you know: “You remember that movie ‘Friday Night Lights’, where, you know, everything was really heartfelt, and it was real serious and at the end of the story there wasn’t necessarily a happy ending for everybody.” That’s kind of, you know, the reality, the situation in these… with these stories. And I went back in and rewrote my verse to make it more specific. I added things like, you know, standing on the bridge, and my grandfather’s funeral, and just holding a cup of coffee in my hand. Those little details seemed to make a story, you know, jump out of me. Uh, and then when I played it for Jay, he said that, you know, that it was ready for the record."

On the Making of The Rising Tied DVD when he and Brad were helping Mike pick songs for the album, Jay-Z said about "Feel Like Home", "Yeah I had my shit with that, that wasn't deep enough. Now it's there. That shit is serious." Brad said, "I love the new sample and the new structure, it's more emotional."

During Ryu's verse, he makes references to several drugs and the phrase "lift off", which is a similar reference that Machine Gun Kelly makes on Mike Shinoda's "Lift Off" track in 2018.

Versions

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

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Feel Like Home	The Rising Tied	3:53	2005	November 22, 2005	Features vocals by Styles Of Beyond.
Feel Like Home	The Rising Tied (Non-PA Version)	3:53	2005	November 22, 2005	Censored. All digital releases of the clean album comes with an explicit version of the song. The physical release however, comes with the clean version.
Feel Like Home	Instrumental Album: The Rising Tied	3:54	2005		Official instrumental version.

Live

"Feel Like Home" got its live debut at the MySpace 2nd anniversary party, being played mid-set after "Believe Me". The song maintained that position until the first show of Fort Minor's US tour, where "Feel Like Home" was moved to follow "Where'd You Go", since "Believe Me" had moved down to close the main set. The song stayed in this position until Fort Minor went on hiatus.

Though Fort Minor stopped playing "Feel Like Home" in April of 2006, Styles of Beyond continued to play the song up to July 10, 2006.

Lyrics

Album Version

Yeah

These days are dark and the nights are cold,
People acting like they lost their soul,
And everywhere I go I see another person like me,
Trying to make it all feel like home (feel like home)

These days are dark and the nights are cold,
People acting like they lost their soul,
And everywhere I go I see another person like me,
Trying to make it all feel like home (feel like home)

Standin' on the bridge in the dark and I'm seein' my breath,
Tryin' to make it home without freezin' to death,
And my grandfather's face is stuck in my mind and how,
Seeing him tonight's gonna be the last time.
I should've brought a jacket,
Blowin' in my hands like it's really gonna stop the chill,
I buy a cup of cofee with a five dollar bill, thinkin',
Layin' in that box people look so still,
At times like these you start thinkin',
Your first beath in, and your clock starts tickin',
I'm not trying to bum anyone out,
Not trying to be dramatic, just thinkin' out loud,
I'm just tryin' to make some sense in my mind.
Some defense from the cold that I'm feeling outside, and for a minute,
Escape with some rhythm and rhyme, and,
Get away from the grey, just a bit at a time.

Yeah, kinda funny how this world can treat you,
Like a freak in a sideshow, a carnival creature,
Climbin' outta cans, I'm a diamond in the sand,
But you can't tell the difference on a beach full of rhinestones,
My life's like tryin' to swallow a pinecone.
It's tough when you live fast, just to die slow,
Talk to dial tones, my dreams are far-fetched,
It seems, so I sleep underneath this park bench,
I know it don't make sense,
And I don't expect for you to know what it's like.,
Smoke, drink, piss, sniffing everything in my sight.
Push rocks in a pipe,
Liftoff, I keep puffin' 'til my lips turn white,
And my chest gets tight, but who the fuck really cares,
When you're so far left, that even death looks right.
All I can do is hope for the best and pray,
That it gets a little better than yesterday.

(These) These days are dark and the nights are cold,
People acting like they lost their soul,
And everywhere I go I see another person like me,
Trying to make it all feel like home (feel like home)

These days are dark and the nights are cold,
People acting like they lost their soul,
And everywhere I go I see another person like me,
Trying to make it all feel like home (feel like home)

Yo, pardon me, I think I'm next to url,
Too many problems goin' on, that's why I left my girl.
Packed my bags and I traveled with a pen and my notepad,
Pissed that I was broke and all the things that I don't have,
But still, I try to find a way to escape,
From all the hate planted in my head which lead to mistakes,
But now I'm breakin' the mold, see I was patient and calm,
Many sleep in the rain, but I'm awake in the storm,
Writing my life in a short film, The Rise and Fall,
How I managed to scorch hills, and climb the walls,
Pound pavement, aimless in this cold existance,
Even though things are changin', I'm goin' the distance,
Overcomin' the doubt that had controlled for so long,
And put it all behind me, 'cause life still goes on,
Now I'm much stronger and know where I stand,
While lost souls search over and over again.

These days are dark and the nights are cold,
People acting like they lost their soul,
And everybody's tryin' not to cry, trin' to get by,
And tryin' not too feel out of control,
And if you look hard enough,
Sometimes you'll find a place that might just remind you of home,
But if it doesn't feel like home,
You can do what I do,
Just pretend you don't feel so alone.

Feel like home
Feel like home
Feel like home
Feel like home
Feel like home
Feel like home
Feel like home
Feel like home