Lyrics for Numb as interpreted by ruben

Numb Lyrics
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless
Lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure
Of walking in your shoes
[Caught in the undertow
/Just caught in the undertow]
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
[Caught in the undertow
/Just caught in the undertow]
I've
Become so numb
I can't feel you there
Become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me
And be less like you
Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly
Afraid to lose control
'Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
[Caught in the undertow
/Just caught in the undertow]
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
[Caught in the undertow
/Just caught in the undertow]
I've
Become so numb
I can't feel you there
Become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me
And be less like you
But I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me
With someone disappointed in you
I've
Become so numb
I can't feel you there
Become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me
And be less like you
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Is everything what you want me to be
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Is everything what you want me to be

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NaGfH
10-26-2009

Rated 0 
I love Linkin Park songs and always will but I can see where the people are coming from that say they lack depth of meaning in their lyrics. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Someone has to write the songs about simple, commonly held feelings. And what's the point of being intentionally vague with the lyrics when you want to create a common understanding? If you want a band with deep, hard to understand at first lyrics then don't look to a band marketed to teenagers.

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worldrebel
10-17-2009

Rated 0 
i didn't get it...i listen to this song whenever i'm angry at my parents, which is kind of a lot, cos they have this image of me as really sweet and good and innocent which is awful cos it's so blatantly not true and i have to try and show them that they're wrong and then of course it all goes badly wrong...it's so much like my life it makes me want to cry sometimes...the line 'can't you see that you're smothering me always stands out for me', and I always feel that all the conflict is making me numb, and i'm scared it won't be reversed and it'll never be OK...sorry, babbling a bit here.

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HaHs
08-25-2009

Rated 0 
I always imagined this song was written about parents who dissaprove, or people, say at school, who think you don't meet their expectations and you're tired of trying to be what they want.

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drumsrock101
08-24-2009

Rated 0 
whenever i listen to this song, i think its about song battling a mental illness, fighting themself in their head

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Zoidberglar
07-26-2009

Rated 0 
Wow... nobody in 6 damn years has pointed out that the lyric is "AND I know I may end up failing too, but I know you were just like me with someone disappointed in you"? I would have thought in over half a decade that someone would've noticed it. XD

ANYWHO... I think the meaning is pretty straightforward, no hidden meanings or metaphors... it's just basically that a someone is disappointed in this individual, and that no matter how hard they try they can never live up to their expectations, and that they don't want to follow them anymore.

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angiec8420
07-26-2009

Rated 0 
To me this song is having to live up to the expectations of the people you go to school with, I had no friends and everyone expected me to be just like them, or at least I felt like I had to. Makes you nuts after awhile.

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ADanceForTheBroken
07-12-2009

Rated 0 
I think this song is about a teenager trying to break away from overcontrolling parents with unreasonable expectations.

Great song, Linkin Park is one if my favorite bands.

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koltjg17
06-23-2009

Rated 0 
To me this song is about parents. it reminds me of my mother, im a good kid, i dont drink or do drugs, i try not to sware around her, my grades might i add are fucking awesome; but i'm messy (and i like it), i procrastinate (but when i do something i do it well), i dont want a car, i am sometimes overly opinionated, speak my mind and do what i want... true.
when things are too clean i swear i get freakin wrighters block and can't work on my writing, i also cant be comfortable while i paint or draw, thefore its not as good as it is when my room is messy; i'm layed back and i dont rush thing; i dont want a car cause its a money burner and i want to save up (and i honestly dont need one); if someone needs to be brought back down with the rest of us i'll do it, and if i feel like dancing in the hall of a mall or school i will.
My mother is consently comparing me to her, "i could never have a messy room", "i had a car", "i was more ambishous", "i dont procrasinate". has she ever thought, "oh this isn't me it's my child. she might be different than me?". i dont feel like we conect anymore. she always gives me looks that seem like shes trying to figure me out, how to make me more like she thinks i should be. i want to be a wrighter, but in stead of incouraging me she's constintly telling me im going to need another job and it will be really hard. duh, does she think i havent thought this through? she always wants to know about my day, but as soon as i mention something negative she freaks out. i dont know, but i love this song, and it makes me want to prove to my mother we are different but that dosent mean i need to change and i can be sucsessful and do well in life the way i am. she raised me well weather she sees it or not.
LOVE this SONG!

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vampireknight
06-06-2009

Rated 0 
This song is my relationship with my dad.He always wants me to be what he wants me to be. But I never will and he knows I never will. Example: "most" black people listen to rap right? I don't! Rock is my love!!!!!! But my dad hates it! I want to be in the national guard. My dad hates the army. He ties to call me to see how i'm doing in school ( really he's seeing if I joined R.O.T.C.) "holding to tightly afrade to lose control. Because everthing that you thought I would be is falling apart right in front of you". I can't stand him. But I still love him . " but know you where just like me with someone disapponted in you". His mom.:( don't let any on control you! If you do in the long run you will youll hate them. In the longer run you'll hate yourself.


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1 Reply
JWM
02-18-2009

Rated 0 
Such a powerful song, showing the wrong in living up to the expectations of others without considering your own worth and your own happiness first. Live your own way. LP forever!!

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mexican_missez
02-14-2009

Rated 0 
It's obviously a song put out towards parents who put expectations on their children...whether that be doing well in school, becoming a doctor, whatever. Pressure is being put on them, and they feel like they can do no good with these unrealistic expectations. They don't feel close to their parents anymore ("I can't feel you there") and want to just be more like themselves instead of aiming to be something they don't truly want to be.
There's then that outburst towards the parents, saying something along the lines of "yeah, I may fail...but you can't force/judge me, because you were in the exact same position when you were my age". I think everyone can understand where this song's coming from, I love it...it never gets old!

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Rukia
12-30-2008

Rated 0 
I agree with most people its about living up to someone eleses expections. they just can't go to be aloe but having someone telling you what to do that just don't want them to let go at all. Nothing more priceless then leting someone down just to take control of you.

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vampire_cutie
11-10-2008

Rated 0 
becomeing tired to haveing to live up to your expectations of what you want me to be and what you want me to do. Im sick having to keep up with it all i just want to be me. Its becoming all to hard that i cant keep up and im just starting to fall apart and there isnt anything you can do to keep it from happening

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luna94
10-29-2008

Rated 0 
I think a lot of people can totally relate to this and pretty much everybody who commented has said everything. It's pretty much self explanatory in the song as well. It's pretty much being put under the pressure and trying to live up to expectations and high standards that others put onto you. One day you finally get sick of it and finally start doing things your own way.

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DRdramaqueen105
09-10-2008

Rated 0 
this song xplains how i feel.

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dearhannah
08-20-2008

Rated 0 
i agree with most people its about living up to someone eleses expections its such a great song.. i can deffinatly relate to it..

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LinkinParkfan14
07-19-2008

Rated 0 
I really like this song its a good one ... to me i think this song is about a person who is trying to be themself but there too numb to do it and feel as though they should continue being what the other person wants them to be even there qoute "tired of being what person wants them to be" unquote also the video is really good too

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werewolf333angel
05-14-2008

Rated 0 
I tired of my dad saying that in order to do this you need to do that. It pisses me off!!!

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aloeleaves
04-10-2008

Rated 0 
this is my favorite Linkin Park song... it's so sad. it made me cry the first time I heard it. I think I should look at the music video. The lyrics are awesome and the music is awesome. What else is there to say?

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Edd the Monkey
03-21-2008

Rated 0 
it means dont be like somone else, you are your own individual. so be who you want to be. if somone ridicules you forget about it go on being you

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AZN
01-23-2008

Rated 0 
I feel like this song is a big fuck you to my father, im also tired of being under the pressure of walking in his shoes, and being what he want me to be. He wants me to be like him, so i can relate to this song very well.

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Xmoonlight-magicX99
01-22-2008

Rated 0 
I know what it feels like to have to live up to someone's expectations all the time. It's a hard and gives you alot of pressure sometimes.

This song relates to my personal story alot. Thankyou linkin Park for this absolute coolest song ever!

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Mvolta21
01-11-2008

Rated 0 
This reminds me( as many others) of parents, well my parents. just so scared to let go.

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shabby
12-30-2007

Rated 0 
I agree with a lot of you who have said that this song is about a kid that is trying to live up to someone else's expectations of him/her.
I think that the person has become Numb from trying so hard to be something that they are not.
To take it a step further, I will say that if you look closely at the video, you'll see that the main character has cuts running up her wrist. I think this is to say that she is relieving the pain by harming herself. Many self-injurers say that they cut because it makes them feel something other than numbness, which would fit into the lyrics.

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dark ivory
12-26-2007

Rated 0 
I always got a sexual connotation from "I can't feel you there". Maybe it's just me. Fortunately, I've never had the crazy people expecting me to be what they want me to be but I'm not problem...but now that I think of it, I have! There's this crazy guy who's just so traculent to everybody and wants me to be really good at sports. I rarely see him so that's good. He even hit somebody once right in front of everybody and he almost hit me. Very angry person. But yeah, he couldn't even control himself, so he had to grab at others to make himself feel good. he cared who won and lost even on the smallest margin, which I hate, but temporarily cared about, as if I were a psychic sponge. So I really wanted to be more like me and less like him. This is a great song, and it's a big hit. Now that's something to be proud of.

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