Crawling

"Crawling" is the fifth song on the album Hybrid Theory. It served as the album's second single, released on April 30, 2001. The band's performance of the song earned them a Grammy award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002.

Background

"Crawling" originated from a demo called "Sky" and a song called "Blue". Chester explained, "We had the music for Crawling and we didn't have the melody but we went back to a melody we used for an older song and put that over it and it worked." "Sky" uses strings from "Unravel" by Björk song, several bass and drum sounds from "Stick N Move", drum sounds from "Mic" and a drum sound from a beat called "Ugh".

"Blue" was released on November 15, 2011 on the LP Underground Eleven CD. On the booklet, Mike Shinoda wrote: "I forgot this song existed until I found it on a CD in a box in my closet this year. This song and "Slip" were done in sessions leading up to the recording of Hybrid Theory. We eventually abandoned the song, but decided that there was something special about the vocal at the end of the song. Chester and I took the melody, wrote new words to it, and wrote new chords underneath... and it became the chorus of "Crawling.""

According to him, the music on "Crawling" was heavily influenced by Depeche Mode. "I remember when we were working on our first couple records there were elements of songs like Crawling. I don't think Crawling would have been Crawling without the keyboard intro in the beginning of it and that was us going like 'man, how cool are those Depeche Mode songs with those instrumental hooks.'"

In an interview with Madison.com on January 31, 2002, Brad Delson spoke about Chester's vocals on the song: "What happened when Chester joined the group, we moved from 'Hey, these are the kind of singing parts we want,' to 'Wow, these are singing parts that we never even thought of,' because his range and versatility are such that, like 'Crawling,' who would think to write that melody? You couldn't because there are very few people in the world that could probably sing that. So that's an example of when I say he really expanded our writing ability in the sense that he has such a range vocally. He really was kind of the final piece of the puzzle, and he brings vocal talent that, when we were looking for a second vocalist, we didn't see anything close to his talent in anybody else."

However, Chester said "Crawling" has caused him "the most trouble live more than any other song. Just because it’s that one long note the whole time[...]". He even went to say "There are definitely moments on every record where at the end I go "why... did I... do that?", you know? Crawling was that one for me on Hybrid Theory." Despite that, he mentions "Crawling" as one of the songs the band can't stop playing.

Chester has spoken about the meaning behind its lyrics several times over the years. On November 25, 2000, he told Much: "Crawling is a really like... a really emotional song, it's got a lot of deep lyrics. It's kind of like admitting something that you don't really like to admit, which is, you know, having a problem with yourself. You know what I mean? And sometimes you have to like learn how to deal with living inside your own skin and being the person that you are. And that's not something to be ashamed of or anything like that. It's just something that isn't always peachy. You know what I mean? You're not always gonna be exactly the person that you wanna be or the person that you thought you were. You know? You gotta live with yourself for the rest of your life."

In a BBC Evening Session Interview with Steve Lamacq on June 13, 2001, he said: "In a song like 'Crawling' we are talking about self-consciousness or the lack of self-confidence. That's a big part of that song because when you get into those situations with a lot of people looking at you, you find faults in yourself and you get nervous and want to change them. Things like that are really charged topics to be talking about, and when we started to write lyrics we found ourselves energised and interested in writing these songs and going after them with a lot of intensity. Sitting in front of a computer thinking about the crap you did before you go to bed, that you thought you could have done better - that will freak you out sometimes."

On a March 14, 2002 article published by Rolling Stone there's a Chester quote which reads: "It's easy to fall into that thing — 'poor, poor me', that's where songs like 'Crawling' come from: I can't take myself. But that song is about taking responsibility for your actions. I don't say 'you' at any point. It's about how I'm the reason that I feel this way. There's something inside me that pulls me down."

And during a July 16, 2009 interview with NoiseCreep, Chester said:

"I have been able to tap into all the negative things that can happen to me throughout my life by numbing myself to the pain so to speak and kind of being able to vent it through my music.

‘Crawling,’ for example, by Linkin Park, is probably the most literal song lyrically I’d ever written for Linkin Park and that’s about feeling like I had no control over myself in terms of drugs and alcohol. That feeling, being able to write about it, sing about it, that song, those words sold millions of records, I won a Grammy, I made a lot of money. I don’t think I could’ve been inspired to create something like that by watching someone else go through that. So in a lot of ways that’s been very constructive for me.

I’m not one of those guys who thinks being anonymous is all that great. I don’t have a problem with people knowing that I had a drinking problem. That’s who I am and I’m kind of lucky in a lot of ways cause I get to do something about it. I get to grow as a person through it. It’s kind of a cool thing. It’s not cool to be an alcoholic, meaning it’s not cool to go drink and be a dumbass. It’s cool to be a part of recovery. This is just who I am, this is what I write about, what I do, and most of my work has been a reflection of what I’ve been going through in one way or another."

The first known demos of "Crawling" had the lyrics "​Fear is powerful" in the chorus. Recording for Hybrid Theory began on March 7, 2000 at NRG Recording Studios and producer Don Gilmore misheard that line as "Fear is how I fall". The band liked it so much, they decided to change it.

There were a few mistakes on the lyrics printed on the Hybrid Theory booklet. For "Crawling", the lyrics read "Consuming all I feel" instead of "These wounds, they will not heal".

For the Hybrid Theory 20 release in 2020, Kerrang did a full track-by-track of the album with Linkin Park.

Composition

Due to Phoenix being out of the band at this time (1999 to October 2000) to tour with The Snax, he did not record bass on any songs on the Hybrid Theory EP or Hybrid Theory. Brad Delson recorded the bass on "With You", "Points Of Authority", "Crawling", "Runaway", "By Myself", "In The End", and "Pushing Me Away".

Demos

The first demo of "Crawling" comes from the Hybrid Theory 9-Track Demo CD in January 2000. This version of the song has a different vocal take with alternate lyrics. At the beginning of the song, Chester yells, "Ahh I hate you so much right now!" This line could be a reference to the song "Caught Out There" by Kelis, which was released as a single on the radio in September 1999. The chorus repeats the lines "Ahh I hate you so much right now." There are other mix differences with this demo as well, such as the scratching being louder and the volume of Mike's whisper vocals being changed. There is a short break before the second verse begins and a short breakdown during the "so insecure" part before the second chorus.

The second demo is from one month later in February 2000 and is featured on both the Hybrid Theory 8-Track Demo CD and the Hybrid Theory 7-Track Demo CD. The only difference is that the vocal take is different than the version from a month prior.

The third demo is from the Hybrid Theory 6-Track Demo CD from April 2000. In this demo, Mike's whispers and raps are absent throughout the entire song and the song ends on the word "controlling."

In the version of "Crawling" on the Hybrid Theory (Unmastered Studio Finals 5/7/00) CD from May 2000, the mixing is different, there is a different beat before the first chorus, different guitar before the second chorus, the chorus vocals aren't doubled like they are on the album version of the song, and some of the background sound effects are different and/or missing.

In the Hybrid Party Of A Thousand Things leak in June 2019, a beat from Mike's MPC titled "Sky2" was included and is the beat of "Crawling."

Remix

Linkin Park released a remix of "Crawling" on Reanimation in July 2002 titled "Krwlng." The track was remixed by Mike Shinoda and features Aaron Lewis of Staind on vocals. Aaron's parts were recorded on Linkin Park's tour bus during the Family Values Tour in fall 2001. Mike wrote string parts for the song, which were recorded by Phoenix on violin and cello.

A shorter version of "Krwlng" was used as the first song on the album, titled "Opening."

Tracklist

CD Single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Crawling	Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike	3:21
2	Papercut (Live From The BBC)	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	3:08
3	Backstage Video Footage		9:56

DVD Single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Crawling - Live Video (Multiple Angles Version) (Filmed At Dragon Festival, National Orange Show Events Center, San Bernardino, CA 3/2/01)	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	3:31
2	Crawling - Album Version	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	3:21
3	4 x 30 Second Live Video Snippets		2:00
3a	By Myself - Snippet	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	0:30
3b	With You - Snippet	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	0:30
3c	One Step Closer - Snippet	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	0:30
3d	A Place For My Head - Snippet	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	0:30

Cassette Single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Crawling	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	3:21
2	Papercut (Live From The BBC)	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	3:08

Japanese Promo

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Intro / Crawling	Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike	0:23 / 3:29
2	Intro / One Step Closer	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	0:20 / 2:35

Brazilian Promo

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Crawling	Bennington Chester Charles, Bourdon Robert G, Delson Brad, Hahn Joseph, Shinoda Mike	3:29
2	In The End	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	3:36
3	Crawling (Video)	Bennington, Bourdon, Delson, Hahn, Shinoda	3:21

Music Video

Live Video

To help promote the forthcoming music video and single, a live video of "Crawling" was released in the United Kingdom in April 2001. It was recorded live at the Dragon Festival at the National Orange Events Center in San Bernadino, California on February 23, 2001. The band has said they were very annoyed by the cameras on stage at the festival. The steady camera operator was on stage the entire time.

The audio was dubbed over with the album version and crowd noise was mixed in. Footage that would later appear on the Frat Party At The Pankake Festival DVD was mixed with the live performance, including some live footage from other shows documented in the DVD.

The full-length live video composed exclusively with footage from the show was released on the Crawling and Frat Party At The Pankake Festival DVDs with multiangles, allowing fans to choose which angle they want to watch (wide, stage, pit).

Video Credits

Produced by: ID Playground
Edited & Directed by: Bill Berg-Hillinger
Director of Photography: Darrin DeLoach
Producer: A.C. Canon
Steadycam: Anthony M. Bongiovi
Cameras: Darrin DeLoach, Shawn Honea, Dennis Nadalin, John Lucanic, Ig Lara, Randy "Razzle-Dazzle" Williamson, Mike Masterangelo, Vahe Kallibjan
Engineered by: C. P. Cima
Assistants: Ken Sullivan, Zita Worley
Edited at: Craig Murray Productions
Recorded at: Dragon Festival, 02-03-01 National Orange Show Events Center San Bernadino

Music Video

After the final show of Linkin Park's first headlining tour of America, in Providence, Rhode Island, the band took a five hour flight back to Los Angeles to shoot their second music video.

The music video for "Crawling" was filmed on February 26, 2001 at the Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood. Production started at seven o'clock in the morning and shut down around eight in the evening. It was produced by Heather Heller and directed by The Brothers Strause (Greg and Colin Strause) with Joe Hahn working closely with the directors, contributing to the idea and concept of the video. The band was directed against a green screen, enabling the directors to superimpose Linkin Park inside their own animated world.

Two ideas were presented to Linkin Park by The Brothers Strause. One of them being a take on the film Species where a psycho fan killed the band, but the record label wanted something happier. The band went with the other one, which Colin Strause called "much more artsy and dark", but they wanted to mix in a storyline that helped tie them to their fanbase, so they worked with a child abuse theme. According to Mike, the video is "about the way a song can help you get through problems."

Model and actress Katelyn Rosaasen stars the music video as a girl facing what appears to be a parental sexual and physical abuse. Although she had done videos for The Offspring ("Want You Bad"), Saliva ("Your Disease"), and 'NSYNC ("Gone"), she says Linkin Park was her favorite: "My favorite music video I’ve ever done was probably the Crawling video. Linkin Park was amazing to work with, the nicest guys, and filming was so much fun."

"Crawling" was Phoenix' first video with the band.

One More Light Live Video

A music video of the live piano version of "Crawling" from One More Light Live was created by Mark Fiore to promote the album and released on December 4, 2017 through Linkin Park's official YouTube channel. Although the audio was recorded in Berlin on June 12th, the video is from the O2 Arena show in London on July 3rd.

Versions

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

Studio

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Crawling	Hybrid Theory Crawling Whateverturnsuon Vol. 6 Kerrang! 2: The Album Supercharged Nu Metal 8-Bit Rebellion!	3:29	2000	October 24, 2000
Sky2	Hybrid Party Of A Thousand Things	3:31			Instrumental demo. Released on LPLive for free download on August 5, 2019.
Crawling	Demos Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition)	3:50	1999		The CD dates from January 7, 2000. "Ah I hate you so much right now!" is yelled at the beginning. Scratching is much more audible. The volume of Mike's whisper vocals was changed. Short break before verse 2 starts. "So insecure" with only keys and beat before chorus 2. "Raindrops" bridge is slightly different. Different vocal take with different lyrics. Released on LPFuse for free download on Christmas 2004.
Crawling	Hybrid Theory 8-Track Demo Linkin Park - Demos From 02-2000	3:51	2000		The first CD it appears dates from February 2000. "Raindrops" bridge. Different vocal take with different lyrics.
Crawling	Hybrid Theory 6-Track Demo	3:30	2000		The CD dates from April 25, 2000. Mike's whispers are absent. Mike's raps are absent throughout the whole song. Song ends on "controlling". Released on LPAssociation for free download on September 15, 2012.
Crawling	Studio Finals 5/7/00	3:28	2000		The CD dates from May 7, 2000. Different beat before verse 1. Different guitar before the second chorus. Chorus vocals aren't doubled like they are on the album version. Some of the background sound effects are different/missing. Released on LPLive for free download on April 9, 2011.
Crawling	Hybrid Theory - Instrumentals	3:31	2000		Official instrumental version.

Remix

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Krwlng	Reanimation	5:40	2001	July 30, 2002	Remix by Mike Shinoda. Features vocals by Aaron Lewis.
Krwlng	"Reanimation" Internal Demo	5:49	2001		The CD dates from late January or February 2002. Violin intro and outro is absent. Strings are quiter. No live strings by Phoenix over the top of Mike's programmed strings. Rough synth transition. Louder bass beats in the second verse. Different effects on Chester's vocals. Released on LPLive for free download on March 21, 2013.
Crawling (8 Bit Rebellion Version)	8-Bit Rebellion! Ringtones	0:30	2010	April 17, 2010	8-bit version. Intro only.
Crawling (8 Bit Rebellion Version)	8-Bit Rebellion! Ringtones	0:31	2010	April 17, 2010	8-bit version. Chorus only.
Crawling (8-Bit)	8-Bit Rebellion!	1:49	2010	April 26, 2010	Full 8-bit version.
Krwlng	Reanimation - Instrumentals	5:40	2001		Official instrumental version.

Live

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Crawling	Frat Party At The Pankake Festival Crawling (DVD)		February 03, 2001	November 20, 2001	Video. From the Dragon Festival in Los Angeles. Studio version overdubbed, but with the crowd noise mixed in. 3 separate angles (wide, stage, pit) available.
Crawling	Live In Texas	3:33	August 02, 2003 August 03, 2003	November 18, 2003	Contains elements of "Krwlng". Recorded live August 2nd 2003 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX and August 3rd 2003 at Texas Stadium in Irving, TX on the Summer Sanitarium Tour.
Crawling (Live)	Breaking The Habit Compilation Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition)	3:25	August 22, 2003	June 14, 2004	Contains elements of "Krwlng". Recorded at the Reading Festival, 2003. Labeled "Crawling (Live From Reading Fest)" on Compilation.
Crawling	LP Underground 7.0	3:47	August 21, 2007	December 5, 2007	Recorded live at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ on August 29, 2007.
Crawling	Road To Revolution: Live At Milton Keynes	4:57	June 29, 2008	November 21, 2008	Contains elements of "Krwlng". Filmed at the National Bowl, Milton Keynes June 29, 2008.
Crawling (Live From Projekt Revolution)	Songs From The Underground	4:49	July 18, 2008	November 28, 2008	Censored. With "Hands Held High". Contains elements of "Krwlng". Features vocals by Chris Cornell. Downloadable track through lpunderground.com.
Crawling	Live In Red Square	3:29	June 23, 2011	July 21, 2011	Released as a prize for the "Iridescent" "Super-Fun Trading Fun-Cards" game. After all six cards were collected, the person could enter the codes of each card at linkinpark.com to get a free download of the full show.
Crawling (Live From Athens, 2009)	Hybrid Theory - Live Around The World	4:41	July 21, 2009	May 31, 2012	With "Hands Held High". Contains elements of "Krwlng".
Crawling (Live At Download Festival 2014)	Hybrid Theory - Live At Download Festival 2014	3:29	June 14, 2014	August 12, 2014	The Hunting Party pre-order bonus album through linkinpark.com.
Crawling	One More Light Live	3:29	June 12, 2017	November 15, 2017	Piano version. Released on November 15, 2017 with the album pre-order.
Crawling	Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition)	3:28	January 30, 2001	October 9, 2020	DVD only. The Fillmore 2001.
Crawling	Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition)	4:00	June 03, 2001	October 9, 2020	DVD only. Rock Am Ring 2001.
Crawling	Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition)	3:28	February 23, 2002 February 24, 2002	October 9, 2020	DVD only. Projekt: Revolution 2002.
Crawling (Live In Texas)	Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition)	3:41	August 02, 2003 August 03, 2003	April 7, 2023	Contains elements of "Krwlng". Edited differently from the 2003 release. Live In Texas.
Crawling (Live In Nottingham 2003)	Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition)	4:00	March 03, 2003	April 7, 2023	Contains elements of "Krwlng". Mixed and edited differently from the radio broadcast.
Crawling	Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition)	3:31	July 12, 2003	April 7, 2023	DVD only. Contains elements of "Krwlng". Veterans Stadium 2003.
Crawling	Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition)	3:30	October 29, 2003	April 7, 2023	DVD only. Contains elements of "Krwlng". Live In Seoul 2003.
Crawling	Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition)	3:39	June 15, 2004	April 7, 2023	DVD only. Contains elements of "Krwlng". Live In Manila 2004.
Crawling	Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition)	4:33	August 30, 2004	April 7, 2023	DVD only. Contains elements of "Krwlng". Live In Denver - Projekt Revolution.

Live

"Crawling" has been performed very often throughout Linkin Park's career since it debuted in 2001, at a radio performance on the 107.7 The End "Endsession". Later on the same day, the band performed the first show of their Street Soldier Tour, where "Crawling" received its public debut, with a new ambient intro (entitled the "SHORT Interlude" on physical setlists). "Crawling" was mainly a mid-set song throughout the first half of 2001. On the Deftones' Back To School Tour, "Crawling" was rotated around with "Pushing Me Away" in the setlists. Mid-way through 2001, on the Ozzfest show in Mountain View, California, the ambient intro to "Crawling" was dropped. Starting on the Hybrid Theory European Tour in the second half of 2001, "Crawling" was moved up in the set, and was featured as the closing song of the main set. On the second night of the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, "Crawling" was performed acoustically with an extended guitar intro, along with guest vocalist Aaron Lewis from Staind (who would feature on the Reanimation remix of the song, "Krwlng"). In 2002, "Crawling" continued to be the closer of the main sets. At the show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the song had to be stopped and restarted due to fans being very rowdy.

The song returned to setlists on the Meteora touring cycle, and was often performed near the end of the set. It featured a brand new extended intro, featuring a short string snippet from its Reanimation counterpart, "Krwlng". Throughout the entire year, "Crawling" remained in the second-to-last position of the main set (in sets without an encore break, it was typically performed before "In The End"). It was not until the summer of 2004, on the Meteora International Tour, that "Crawling" finally moved around in the set. The song featured as the opening song of the encore (making it the first time the song had appeared in an encore) and featured a longer version of its "Krwlng" intro. The song was also performed at both shows in 2005. At the Music For Relief: Rebuilding South Asia show, "Crawling" was performed as the last song before Jay-Z came onstage to perform songs from Collision Course and featured the shortened version of its "Krwlng" intro. At the Live 8: Philadelphia show, "Crawling" opened the show for first time (and the only time), featuring an extremely short version of the "Krwlng" intro. In 2006, "Crawling" returned as the opener of the encore. Chester, for the first time, sang the chorus of the song over the "Krwlng" intro.

"Crawling" continued to be performed on the Minutes To Midnight tour, where it began to close the main set - the first time the song had been performed before the encore in a full show since Inglewood, California in March 2004. Additionally, it was the first time the studio version of "Crawling" was performed for the first time since 2002. On the Minutes To Midnight European Tour, "Crawling" was pushed down a slot in the setlist, leaving "What I've Done" - and, halfway through the tour, "Bleed It Out" - as the closer of the main set. On Projekt Revolution 2007, "Crawling" assumed a mid-set position again in all three sets, and remained there for the rest of 2007. In 2008, the "Krwlng" intro of the song returned, and Chester began to sing the chorus of "Crawling" over it from time to time. On some occasions, Mike played an extra string part over the extended intro. At the show in Milton Keynes, England, Mike played keyboards over the extended "Krwlng" intro, as well. Beginning on Projekt Revolution 2008, Mike began to rap the first verse of "Hands Held High" over the "Krwlng" instrumental. Throughout the year, "Crawling" maintained its mid-set position in the setlists. In 2009, "Crawling" featured the "Hands Held High" first verse over "Krwlng" intro again. Halfway through the tour, Mike began to rap the first verse of "Hands Held High" a cappella style, and rapped the second verse over the "Krwlng" instrumental instead.

After being dropped from the first full show of the cycle, the studio version of "Crawling" returned on the A Thousand Suns touring cycle in 2010, being performed near the end of the main set. On the A Thousand Suns European Tour, "Crawling" continued to feature near the end of the main set in both Set A-1 and Set B-1. Set A-1 carried over on the A Thousand Suns Australian Tour, but Set B was brand new, and featured "Crawling" in the encore, the song's first time in the encore since 2006. In 2011, "Crawling" retained its position in Set A-1 and Set B-11 (and B-13). In the new set, Set C-5, it was performed near the end of the main set, just like in Set A-1. In the new sets on the A Thousand Suns European Tour, "Crawling" was performed near the end of the main set in Set A, mid-set in Set B and Set D, and second-to-last in the encore in Set C. This continued on the following A Thousand Suns Asian Tour. "Crawling" was dropped on the last show of the cycle, in Singapore, Singapore.

"Crawling" started faltering on the Living Things touring cycle. The song appeared in both the headline and festival sets, but for the first time it was dropped for two shows in a row: Bucharest, Romania and NovaRock. The song fully disappeared on the Honda Civic Tour, but was featured in the original drafts of all three setlists, but was dropped in all three before it was performed. On the first night of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Chester sang the first verse of the song a cappella style with the crowd due to the crowd chanting for it. It did not appear throughout the rest of the touring cycle.

The song returned on The Hunting Party touring cycle. It was performed in a unique way, with the song being shortened to only the first chorus at a fast tempo, amidst the "encore medley". The song was performed in full at the Download Festival when Hybrid Theory was performed in full. Despite Mike claiming in an interview that when it came to adding new songs to the set, "'Crawling' would be one of the first songs to be dropped," the song returned on the Carnivores Tour in Set A, as a longer (yet still shortened) version of the song, which featured everything but the second chorus. The song remained in the encore of Set A in the beginning of 2015. The song was dropped on the shortened and regular versions of the festival setlists in the summer, but was performed in full again when the full version of the setlist was performed in Mexico.

On February 16, 2017, Linkin Park performed a piano version of "Crawling" for a Facebook live stream. The version of the song cut out the first chorus and the outro. Mike and Chester continued to perform this version of the song at various stops on their promo shows in Europe in March 2017. Chester said that, after playing the song live for so many years, he didn't have the desire to play it anymore and playing it with just the piano added a new life to the song, causing him to have a new passion for it. The band continued to perform it in this version for the rest of the One More Light tour, usually mid-way through the set. At the Chester Bennington tribute show at the Hollywood Bowl, the studio version of the song was performed (a step down) with Oly Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon on vocals and electronic music producer Zedd on drums.

Variations

Last Updated: August 22, 2018

Type	Description	First Played	Last Played
Intro	Ambient Intro (SHORT Interlude)	January 26, 2001	June 25, 2001
Intro	"In The End" Guitar Intro	August 9, 2001	August 9, 2001
Intro	Guitar Intro	December 9, 2001	December 9, 2001
Intro	Short "Krwlng" Intro	February 23, 2003	July 2, 2005
Intro	Long "Krwlng" Intro	June 3, 2003	August 15, 2009
Intro	"Krwlng" Intro w/ Vocals	August 10, 2006	March 10, 2008
Intro	"Krwlng" Intro w/ Vocals & Strings	February 21, 2008	February 21, 2008
Intro	"Krwlng" Intro w/ Strings	February 25, 2008	February 25, 2008
Intro	"Krwlng" Intro w/ Keyboards	June 29, 2008	July 13, 2008
Intro	"Krwlng" Intro w/ "Hands Held High" Verse 1	July 16, 2008	July 25, 2009
Intro	"Krwlng" Intro w/ "Hands Held High" Verse 2	July 23, 2008	August 22, 2009
Intro	Drum Sample Intro (performed due to "New Divide" being dropped, meaning there was no transition between songs)	August 8, 2014	August 8, 2014
Alternative	Acoustic	December 9, 2001	December 9, 2001
Alternative	Shortened (Through First Chorus Only)	May 24, 2014	June 12, 2014
Alternative	w/ Faster Tempo	May 24, 2014	January 18, 2015
Alternative	Shortened (No Second Verse)	August 6, 2014	January 18, 2015
Alternative	Stripped Down (Piano/Vocals Only)	February 16, 2017	July 6, 2017
Alternative	Shortened (No First Chorus or Outro)	February 16, 2017	July 6, 2017

Live Guests

Last Updated: December 23, 2015

• Aaron Lewis (Staind)
• Benjamin Chandler (replacing Brad Delson)
• Chris Cornell (Soundgarden/Audioslave)
• Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit)
• Oly Sykes (Bring Me The Horizon)
• Zedd

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Status
2001	MTV Video Music Awards	Best Direction in a Video	Nominated
2001	MTV Video Music Awards	Best Rock Video	Nominated
2001	Kerrang! Awards	Best Single	Nominated
2002	Grammy Awards	Best Hard Rock Performance	Won

Personnel

Linkin Park

• Chester Bennington: vocals
• Rob Bourdon: drums, backing vocals
• Brad Delson: guitars, bass, backing vocals
• Joseph Hahn: records, sampling, backing vocals
• Mike Shinoda: emcee, vocals, beats, sampling

Track 1

• Written by Linkin Park
• Produced by Don Gilmore
• Executive Producer: Jeff Blue
• Mixed by Andy Wallace
• Management: Rob McDermott for Andy Gould Management

Track 2

• Produced by Miti
• Engineered by Jamie
• Released by Arrangement with BBC Music
• From Radio One's "Evening Session"
• First Transmission Date: January 11, 2001

Lyrics

Album Version

Crawling in my skin
These wounds they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real
 
There's something inside me
That pulls beneath the surface
Consuming, confusing
This lack of self-control I fear
Is never ending, controlling
 
I can't seem to find myself again
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence)
(I'm convinced that there's)
(Just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before / so insecure
 
Crawling in my skin
These wounds they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real
 
Discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me
Distracting, reacting
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection
It's haunting how I can't seem
 
To find myself again
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence)
(I'm convinced that there's)
(Just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before / so insecure
 
Crawling in my skin
These wounds they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real
 
Crawling in my skin
These wounds they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing, confusing what is real
 
There's something inside me
That pulls beneath the surface
Consuming
(Confusing what is real)
This lack of self-control I fear
Is never ending, controlling
(Confusing what is real)

6-Track Demo

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real

There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface
Consuming
Confusing
This lack of self-control I fear is never ending
Controlling
I can't seem
To find myself again
My walls are closing in
I've felt this way before
So insecure...

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real

Discomfort, endlessly has laid itself upon me
Distracting
Reacting
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection
It's haunting how I can't seem
To find myself again
My walls are closing in
I've felt this way before
So insecure...

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing
Confusing what is real
There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface
Consuming
Confusing what is real
This lack of self-control I fear is never ending
Controlling

8-Track Demo

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is powerful
Confusing what is real

There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface (Beneath the surface)
Consuming (consuming)
Confusing (Confusing)
This lack of self-control I found so overwhelming (So overwhelming)
Controlling (controlling)
I can't seem
To find the strength within
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before
So insecure...

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is powerful
Confusing what is real

Discomfort, endlessly has laid itself upon me (Itself upon me)
Distracting (distracting)
Reacting
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection (My own reflection)
It's haunting (it's haunting) how I can't seem
To find the strength within
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before
So insecure...

Rain Drops put the rhythm on the pavement
And drip from the black top into the basement
Traces of the rain pervade this
To erase your hate and take this from the fakeness
Rain Drops put the rhythm on the pavement
And drip from the black top into the basement
Traces of the rain pervade this
To erase your hate and take this from the fakeness

(Rain Drops put the rhythm on the pavement
And drip from the black top into the basement
Traces of the rain pervade this
To erase your hate and take this from the fakeness
Rain Drops put the rhythm on the pavement
And drip from the black top into the basement
Traces of the rain pervade this
To erase your hate and take this from the fakeness)
To find the strength within, my walls are closing in
I've felt this way before
So insecure...

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is powerful
Confusing what is real

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is powerful
Confusing what is real

9-Track Demo

Ahh!
I hate you so much right now

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is powerful
Confusing what is real

There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface
(Beneath the surface)
Consuming (consuming)
Confusing (Confusing)
This lack of self-control I found so overwhelming
(So overwhelming)
Controlling (controlling)
I can't seem
To find the strength within
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before
So insecure...

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is powerful
Confusing what is real

Discomfort, endlessly has laid itself upon me
(Itself upon me)
Distracting (distracting)
Reacting
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection
(My own reflection)
It's haunting (its haunting) how I can't seem
To find the strength within
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence and Im convinced that theres just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before
So insecure...

Rain Drops put the rhythm on the pavement
And drip from the black top into the basement
Traces of the rain pervade this
To erase your hate and take this from the fakeness
Rain Drops put the rhythm on the pavement
And drip from the black top into the basement
Traces of the rain pervade this
To erase your hate and take this from the fakeness
To find the strength within, my walls are closing in
I've felt this way before
So insecure...
(Rain Drops put the rhythm on the pavement
And drip from the black top into the basement
Traces of the rain pervade this
To erase your hate and take this from the fakeness
Rain Drops put the rhythm on the pavement
And drip from the black top into the basement
Traces of the rain pervade this
To erase your hate and take this from the fakeness)

Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is powerful
Confusing what is real
Crawling in my skin
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is powerful
Confusing what is real

Gallery

• 

  Single

• 

  Single CD

• 

  Japanese jewel case DVD

• 

  UK numbered digipak DVD with sticker

• 

  German amaray DVD

• 

  US promo CD

• 

  Bryson Jones cover

• 

  Poster

• 

  Poster

• 

  Kerrang! article on the Crawling music video

• 

  Kerrang! 2: The Album

• 

  Wired-Up

• 

  Wired-Up sampler

• 

  Wired-Up German edition

• 

  Nu Metal (French version of Wired-Up)

• 

  Supercharged (UK version of Wired-Up)

• 

  Modern Rock: 18 Of The Freshest Hits Today

In Other Media

• "Crawling" (in both studio and 8-bit versions) is featured in Linkin Park's 2010 videogame 8-Bit Rebellion!.
• "Crawling" was released in 2011 as part of a DLC for the 2010 videogame Rock Band 3.

Cover Versions

A live bluegrass cover of "Crawling" by Bryson Jones And The Sweethearts Of The Rodeo All-Star Band was released on Linkin Park's Frat Party At The Pankake Festival DVD in 2001. The track was recorded live by Dusty Wakeman, Craig Friday and James Tanksley and mixed by Craig Friday. The two bands met through Nathan "Karma" Cox on the set of the "In The End" music video. This is the only known instance of a cover being officially released by Linkin Park.

A piano instrumental version of "Krwlng" was released by Myleene Klass on the 2003 album Moving On.

"Crawling" was covered by Angelzoom, solo project of German electronic musician Claudia Uhle, on her 2004 self-titled album.

Dream State covered "Crawling" in 2018 for the Songs That Saved My Life compilation released by Hopeless Records in partnership with Sub City Records.

External Links

• Crawling (Music Video): LPTV | WMG | MTV | VK
• Crawling (Live Version): LPTV | WBR
• Crawling (One More Light Live): LPTV
• Crawling (RTL2 Pop Rock Studio): RTL2