Background
The introductory verse to "A Line In The Sand" was actually written back when the band was working on A Thousand Suns.[1] The verse did not work on the album, but it found its way onto The Hunting Party. The song also uses many different guitar tones and amp setups throughout the song to keep it fresh and interesting throughout the whole six and a half minutes.[2] The fill that Rob Bourdon does at the end of the song was completely improvised, and surprised Mike Shinoda since he did not know Bourdon could even play that fast.[3]
Mike said, "I think it was "A Line In The Sand", was the last song on "The Hunting Party", originally I wrote that opening lyric when we were working on "A Thousand Suns", and it never really worked so when we were working on this song and I added that into the song, it just felt like, "oh it finally has a home, like it refits with this really aggro, heavy metal kind of part."[4]
In 2020 when asked if he intentionally wanted to write a long song when writing "A Line In The Sand", Mike said, "With "A Line In The Sand", I did kind of want something.... I think I wrote the opening heavy part first, then I went "oh it would be cool to do a long lead up to that thing." And that kind of happened as I was writing the first part of the song. Because I did most of the music on that one. Man... Rob, and the drums were so funny, because I wrote all the parts in the computer and I had to make sure they were POSSIBLE to be played. And I was like "...I KNOW a drummer can play this. And I KNOW it requires double kick, and you usually don't play it. So can you learn double kick in order to play these songs?" And he was like... "probably!""[5]
Mike Shinoda claimed that "A Line In The Sand" is one of his favorites off of The Hunting Party since he feels that it encapsulates Linkin Park in just one song.[6] Shinoda also stated that he feels that Brad Delson's solo and Bourdon's drumming at the end of the track are some of the best moments on The Hunting Party.[7]
Remix
On December 24, 2014, several members from the Linkin Park Association community teamed up to release a remix album of The Hunting Party titled Viscera. The album was later released to the LP Underground on June 18, 2015 after the band received the full rights to distribute the album. Two remixes of "A Line In The Sand" were released on the album. The first, done by DirtyBlup, features a line from "The Little Things Give You Away" sung by Lizzi Cloverman, and the second was done by minuteforce, Cypher, Broman, Decay, and wEEKnIGHT pSYCHOPATH. The instrumental version of the remixes were released February 28, 2015.
Versions
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
Studio
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Line In The Sand | The Hunting Party | 6:35 | 2013-2014 | June 13, 2014 | |
| A Line In The Sand (Instrumental) | The Hunting Party: Acapellas + Instrumentals | 6:37 | 2013-2014 | August 12, 2014 |
|
| A Line In The Sand (Acapella) | The Hunting Party: Acapellas + Instrumentals | 6:35 | 2013-2014 | August 12, 2014 |
|
Remix
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Line In The Sand: DirtyBlup | Viscera | 4:19 | 2014 | December 24, 2014 |
|
| A Line In The Sand: minuteforce | Viscera | 5:59 | 2014 | December 24, 2014 |
|
| A Line In The Sand: DirtyBlup (Instrumental) | Viscera (Instrumentals) | 4:19 | 2014 | February 28, 2015 |
|
| A Line In The Sand: minuteforce (Instrumental) | Viscera (Instrumentals) | 5:59 | 2014 | February 28, 2015 |
|
Live
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Line In The Sand (Live From Rock On The Range 2015) | A Line In The Sand (Live From Rock On The Range 2015) | 6:30 | May 17, 2015 | September 12, 2016 |
|
Live
At the beginning of the touring cycle for The Hunting Party, Phoenix commented that he wanted to perform "A Line In The Sand" and "Keys To The Kingdom" live from the album. In November 2014, Mike said that he had "one" song for sure that the band wanted to add to the setlists, but in January 2015 the setlists remained without an addition from The Hunting Party. While Linkin Park teased a new song that month from rehearsals,[8] nothing ever became of it. Fans at that time were certain, though, that the song in the photo from rehearsals was actually "War." In April, the band once again teased a new song being performed for upcoming shows.[9]
"A Line In The Sand" was finally performed live for the first time at the first edition of Rock In Rio USA in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 9, 2015. The band spent quite a bit of time rehearsing the song prior to it's debut. As documented in several LPU-TV's and even it's own LPTV, the band had to practice the song for a majority of the week they spent rehearsing the setlist for their shows in May.
The song was performed at a slower tempo live than it is on The Hunting Party - 190 BPM, as opposed to 200 BPM on the album. Mike usually performed an extended keyboard intro to the song leading into it. It is also the first song to feature Brad performing a tapping solo live. Mike only played keyboard during the intro of the song; during the outro, he was on his mic stand nearer to the front of the stage. A lot of the performance depended on the band members (mostly Rob, Mike and Brad) looking at each other for cues to ensure no one came in early or late. During most performances, Chester tried to get the crowd to yell "Hey!" at different intervals throughout the track.
Variations
Last Updated: December 26, 2015
| Type | Description | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tempo | Slower (190 BPM) | May 9, 2015 | November 7, 2015 |
| Intro | Keyboard Intro | May 9, 2015 | November 7, 2015 |
Live Guests
Last Updated: December 26, 2015
- Benjamin Chandler (replacing Brad Delson)
- Warren Willis (replacing Joe Hahn)
Personnel
Linkin Park is
- Chester Bennington
- Rob Bourdon
- Brad Delson
- Phoenix
- Joe Hahn
- Mike Shinoda
Production
- Produced by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson
- Lyrics & Vocals by Mike Shionda and Chester Bennington
- Background Vocals by Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, Rob Bourdon, and Phoenix
- Additional Lyrics by Brad Delson
- Engineering by Ethan Mates and Mike Shinoda
- Digital editing by Josh Newell
- Assistant Engineer: Alejandro Baima
- Additional Assistant Engineers: Brendan Dekora and Jennifer Langdon
- Studio Electro Tech: Warren Willis
- Studio Drum Tech: Jerry Johnson
- Album Production Coordination: Ryan DeMarti
- Recorded at Larrabee Sound Studios, North Hollywood, CA
- Additional Recording at EastWest Studios and Glenwood Place Studios
- Mixed by Andy Wallace
- Pro Tools Engineered by Paul Suarez
- Assisted by Del Bowers
- Mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge
- Assisted by Rich Morales
Lyrics
Today
We stood on the wall
We laughed at the sun
We laughed at the guns
We laughed at it all
And when they
They told us to go
We paid them no mind
Like every other time
But little did we know
Today
I looked for a sign
With flames in my hands
A line in the sand
Between yours and mine
And it came
Like fire from below
Your greed led the call
My flag had to fall
But little did you know
Another day / your truth will come
You're gonna pay for what you've
Pay for what you've done
You'll get what's yours / and face your crime
You'll tell them give me back what's mine
Give me back what's mine
I had never been a coward
I had never seen blood
You had sold me an ocean
And I was lost in the flood
We were counting on a leader
We were driven by need
But couldn't take temptation
And we were blinded by greed
You were steady as a sniper
We were waiting on a wire
So we never saw it coming
When you ran from the fire
You can try intimidation
And you can try to ignore
But when the time comes calling, yeah
You are gonna get yours
Another day / your truth will come
You're gonna pay for what you've
Pay for what you've done
You'll get what's yours / and face your crime
You'll tell them give me back what's mine
Give me back what's mine
And so today / your truth has come
You're gonna pay for what you've
Pay for what you've done
You'll get what's yours / you're out of time
And you will give me back what's mine
Give me back what's mine
Give me
Give me back what's mine
Give me
Give me back what's mine
What's mine
Give me
Give me back what's mine
What's mine
What's mine
Give me back what's mine
Today
We stood on the wall
We laughed at the sun
We laughed at the guns
We laughed at it all
And when they
They told us to go
We paid them no mind
Like every other time
But little did we know
External Links
References
- ↑ Twitter, June 2014
- ↑ Twitter, June 2014
- ↑ Twitter, June 2014
- ↑ Linkin Park: The Hunting Party Tour Europe 2014 (Part 3 of 3) | LPTV #122, January 9, 2015
- ↑ LPLive: Mike Q&A Summary 5/29/20, May 29, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, June 2014
- ↑ Twitter, June 2014
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Instagram: “BBB rehearsing a new song. Join us at #TheHuntingPartyTour”, January 13, 2015
- ↑ LINKIN PARK on Instagram: “@m_shinoda, @phoenixlp, BBB, and Rob rehearsing a new song for the upcoming shows. What song from #TheHuntingParty would you like to hear…”, April 29, 2015