| "Let Down" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Single by Dead By Sunrise | |||||||
| from the album Out Of Ashes | |||||||
| Working title: | Let Down | ||||||
| Recorded: | 2007-2009 | ||||||
| Released: | November 17, 2009 | ||||||
| Format: | Digital, CD | ||||||
| Length: | 3:58 | ||||||
| Live debut: | September 10, 2005 | ||||||
| Last performed: | February 28, 2010 November 05, 2017 (Julien-K) | ||||||
| Writer: | Chester Charles Bennington, Amir Davidson, Ryan Christopher Shuck, Anthony Valcic | ||||||
| Producer: | Howard Benson | ||||||
| Label: | Warner Bros. Records | ||||||
| |||||||
| Out Of Ashes tracklist | |||||||
Background
"Let Down" was the first Dead By Sunrise song written by Chester Bennington (not counting "Morning After"), before any of the other members got involved in the project.
The song was unknown to fans until its debut on September 10, 2005. As described by Amir Derakh the day before, "This Saturday Sept. 10th starting at 8PM ET/PT MTV will be airing "ReAct Now: Music & Relief". Ryan & I will be performing a song acoustically with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. This stripped down electro acoustic version, arranged especially for this event, will be the first preview of Chester’s new solo material that Julien-K has been working on. Please tune in and donate to this important cause to aid in relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina."[1]
Chester said it was easy to figure out that the song wouldn't become a Linkin Park song. "I didn't want to go in and change the words, I didn't want to change any of the vibe, and I knew that would happen a lot taking it to Linkin Park."[2] It was originally an acoustic song and was turned into a rock song in the recording process.[3]
The song was inspired by his messy, painful divorce, and came out easily. "Let Down was about the experience of getting divorced. I know who I am, that I'm a romantic person, and that I like being in love. I don't want to repeat the same things that happened to me in my previous relationship in the next one," he said.[4][5]
As for the evolution of the song: "After we finished all of the promotional work and touring for Meteora, we weren’t sure what was going to happen next. I then got the idea to do a solo album where I played everything outside of the drums. Then I got Amir (Derakh) and Ryan (Shuck) to come in and play some stuff, too. One day we’re in the studio and they took the guitar tracks I had for the song “Let Down” and started messing around with it. The next thing you know they are playing me what they did with it, and I’m completely floored! They had found this chord progression that took the song to a different place than I had imagined, but it was what I was looking for. I thought it was crazy, but I knew at that point that this project became a collaborative thing between the three of us. I like to think of Dead by Sunrise as a collective more than my own thing."[6]
Tracklist
CD Single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let Down | Chester Bennington, Amir Derakh, Ryan Shuck, Anthony "Fu" Valcic | 3:58 |
| 2 | Fire (Live) | Bennington, Derakh, Shuck, Valcic | 4:07 |
| 3 | Let Down (Live) | Bennington, Derakh, Shuck, Valcic | 4:51 |
Digital Single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let Down | Bennington, Derakh, Shuck, Valcic | 3:58 |
| 2 | Inside Of Me | Bennington, Derakh, Shuck, Valcic | 2:18 |
| 3 | Let Down (Live) | Bennington, Derakh, Shuck, Valcic | 4:51 |
Digital Live Single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let Down (Live) | Bennington, Derakh, Shuck, Valcic | 4:05 |
Music Video
Music Video
The music video for "Let Down" was partially shot in Santa Clarita, California in Nikki Sixx' recording and photographic studio,[7] Funny Farm.[8] Shooting also took place somewhere in The Valley in Los Angeles. The video was shot back to back with "Crawl Back In" on Tuesday, July 14th and Wednesday, July 15th.[9][10]
The band worked with the production company Bau-da Design Lab. It was commissioned by Devin Sarno, directed by P.R. Brown and producer by Christina Wagner. Jaron Presant was the director of photography.[11]
About the video, Chester said, "The plot is this: the album artwork is an artistic kind of theme where myself and the guys from Dead By Sunrise are being swarmed by this black void trying to destroy us and so we’re kind of getting sucked up by this black presence. The video is a representation of that and an extension of the artwork. I will be getting engulfed by the black void, the same sheet we used for the artwork we’re using in the video. I’m wrapped up in it and it’s trying to kill me, but you can’t tell its trying to kill me. Inside the black void is an image of a woman who must be causing me this grief that’s going on in the song and the fabric turns from the shape of her body into the shape of my face. I’ve yet to see any edits yet so I’m anxiously awaiting those to see how it turned out."[12]
Monga Version
"Let Down" is featured in the soundtrack of the Taiwanese movie "Monga" ("Wanhua"). To promote the film, a new version of the "Let Down" music video was created featuring excerpts from it. Both versions of the music video were included in the Out Of Ashes bonus DVD released in Taiwan.[13]
Versions
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
Studio
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Let Down | Out Of Ashes
Let Down |
3:58 | 2007-2009 | October 13, 2009 | |
| Let Down (Radio Edit) | Let Down (Promo) | 3:32 | 2007-2009 | 2009 |
|
| Let Down | Demos | 3:54 |
| ||
| Let Down (Instrumental) | Monga | 2:23 | 2009 | February 12, 2010 |
|
| Let Down | Out Of Ashes Instrumentals | 4:00 | 2007-2009 |
|
Live
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Let Down (Live) | Let Down (Live)
Out Of Ashes (Record Store Day Vinyl) |
4:05 | July 04, 2009 | October 25, 2009 |
|
| Let Down (Live) | Let Down | 4:51 | October 07, 2009 | November 17, 2009 | |
| Let Down | KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2009 | 4:45 | December 12, 2009 | December 18, 2009 |
|
| Let Down (Acoustic 2017) | Acoustic Show 2017 Desk Recording | 4:04 | November 05, 2017 | April 11, 2023 |
|
Live
"Let Down" got its debut in 2005, while the band was still known as Snow White Tan, being performed acoustically at the ReAct Now: Music & Relief event. The song got its studio form debut at the first show when the band toured in support of Out Of Ashes, being played after "Fire", and was played with an extended outro with the band jamming. The song maintained that placement throughout 2009. Once the band embarked on their 2010 Asian tour, "Let Down" was moved up in the set to after "Too Late", a position it maintained throughout 2010. The song was also performed acoustically at the 'Stars of the Season' Gala, being sandwiched between "Palm Springs Reset" by Julien-K and "The Messenger" by Linkin Park.
Julien-K performed an acoustic version of the song at an exclusive VIP acoustic show, which was held for backers of their album funding campaign. They performed it acoustically again at the end of 2017, again with guest vocalist Amber Snead.
Chester's first band Grey Daze was meant to perform a reunion show in September 2017, which never happened due to Chester's passing. Grey Daze and Julien-K came together to perform a tribute show for Chester, where they performed an acoustic version of the song.
Variations
Last Updated: August 25, 2018
| Type | Description | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outro | Jam Outro | October 01, 2009 | February 28, 2010 |
| Alternative | Acoustic Version | November 12, 2011 | November 12, 2011 |
Julien-K
Last Updated: August 25, 2018
| Type | Description | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative | Acoustic Version | March 29, 2015 | November 5, 2017 |
Live Guests
Last Updated: August 25, 2018
- Amber Snead
Promotion
Personnel
Dead By Sunrise
- Chester Bennington
- Ryan Shuck
- Amir Derakh
- Elias Andra
- Brandon Belsky
- Anthony "Fu" Valcic
Production
- Howard Benson: producer
- Tom Whalley: executive producer
- Mike Plotnikoff: recorder
- Chris Lord-Alge: mixer
Lyrics
And the tears fall like rain, down my face again,
Oh, the words you wouldn't say,
And the games you played with my young foolish heart,
Oh, I should have known this from the start.
Oh, the winter and spring,
Going hand in hand just like my love and pain,
How the thought of you cuts deep within the vein,
Brand new skin stretched across scarred terrain
Said, I don't wanna be let down,
I don't wanna live that life again,
Don't wanna be led down the same old road,
(I don't wanna be let down)
Said, I don't wanna be let down,
I don't wanna live my lies again,
Don't wanna be led down the same old road.
Ohh....
All those years down the drain,
Love was not enough when you want everything.
What I gave to you, and now the end must start, (Oh, oh)
Oh, I should've listened to my heart (Woah)
Cause, I don't wanna be let down,
I don't wanna live that life again,
Don't wanna be led down the same old road,
(I don't wanna be let down)
Said, I don't wanna be let down,
I don't wanna live my lies again,
Don't wanna be led down the same old road.
Ohh...
Ohh...
'Cause, I don't wanna be let down,
I don't wanna live that life again,
Don't wanna be led down the same old road,
(I don't wanna be let down)
Said, I don't wanna be let down,
I don't wanna live my lies again,
I don't wanna be led down the same old road
(I don't wanna be let down)
Don't wanna be led down the same old road
(I don't wanna be let down) [x7]
And the tears fall like rain, down my face again
Oh, the words you wouldn't say
And the games you played with my young foolish heart
Oh, I should have known this from the start
Oh, the winter and spring
Going hand in hand just like my love and pain
How the thought of you cuts deep within the vein
Oh, this brand new skin stretched across scarred terrain
Said, I don't wanna be let down
I don't wanna live that life again
Don't wanna be led down the same old road
Said, I don't wanna be let down
I don't wanna live my lies again
Don't wanna be led down the same old road
Ohh...
All those years down the drain
Love was not enough when you want everything
But what I gave to you, and now the end must start
Oh, I should've listened to my heart
Cause, I don't wanna be let down
I don't wanna live that life again
Don't wanna be led down the same old road
Said, I don't wanna be let down
I don't wanna live my lies again
Don't wanna be led down the same old road
Ohh...
Ohh...
I don't wanna be let down
I don't wanna live that life again
Don't wanna be led down the same old road
Said, I don't wanna be let down
I don't wanna live my lies again
I don't wanna be led down the same old road
Ohh...
Gallery
-
Single
-
KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2009
-
Monga
-
Dead By Sunrise song board
In Other Media
- Elements of "Let Down" were used in the score of the 2010 film Monga. Although the soundtrack album has "Let Down Instrumental" listed, the track is not an instrumental version of the song, it's simply the piece of the score that contains elements of "Let Down".
External Links
References
- ↑ LP Association: Amir Derakh Newsletter, September 9, 2005
- ↑ Dead By Sunrise Or Linkin Park? Chester Bennington Explains - MTV, October 29, 2009
- ↑ Interview with Ryan Shuck, May 6, 2009
- ↑ What's your interpretation of the songs? - Side Projects - Linkin Park Live, November 13, 2009
- ↑ Dead By Sunrise, November 10, 2008
- ↑ A chat with Chester Bennington, Chester Bennington interview, Dead by Sunrise, Linkin Park, December 11, 2009
- ↑ Dead By Sunrise: Behind The Scenes of Let Down Video (Alternative Deleted Version) - YouTube
- ↑ Motley Crue | Nikki Sixx Closes His Studio | Contactmusic.com, May 30, 2013
- ↑ Talinda Bennington on Twitter: "This wknd is my last at home for a while and my BFF and I are going to chill by the pool.Wednesday I shoot a DBS video with my man:)" ., July 09, 2009
- ↑ Amir Derakh on Twitter: "DBS rehearsals in the Valley all weekend then we shoot TWO back to back music videos Tues and Wed." ., July 10, 2009
- ↑ SHOT: Dead By Sunrise - P.R. Brown, director | VideoStatic, July 20, 2009
- ↑ Interview with Chester Bennington, August 25, 2009
- ↑ "Out Of Ashes" CD+DVD / Monga - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, February 02, 2010
- ↑ KROQ make Almost Acoustic Christmas 2009 benefit record available on iTunes | Consequence of Sound, December 24, 2009