The Little Things Give You Away
Producers
Water grey
Through the windows, up the stairs
Chilling rain
Like an ocean, everywhere
[Pre-Chorus: Chester Bennington]
Don't wanna reach for me, do you? I mean nothing to you
The little things give you away
And now there will be no mistakin', the levees are breakin'
[Chorus: Chester Bennington]
All you've ever wanted
Was someone to truly look up to you
And six feet underwater
I do
[Verse 2: Chester Bennington]
Hope decays
Generations disappear
Washed away
As a nation simply stares
[Pre-Chorus: Chester Bennington]
Don't wanna reach for me, do you? I mean nothing to you
The little things give you away
But now there will be no mistakin', the levees are breakin'
All you've ever wanted
Was someone to truly look up to you
And six feet underwater
I do
All you've ever wanted
Was someone to truly look up to you
And six feet underground now
I, now I do
[Instrumental Break]
[Outro: Chester Bennington & Mike Shinoda]
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh
The little things give you away (Oh-oh-oh-oh)
The little things give you away (Oh-oh)
The little things give you away (Oh-oh, oh-oh)
The little things give you away (Oh)
All you've ever wanted (The little things give you away)
Was someone to truly look up to you (The little things give you away)
All you've ever wanted (The little things give you away)
Was someone to truly look up to you (The little things give you away)
All you've ever wanted (The little things give you away)
Was someone to truly look up to you (The little things give you away)
All you've ever wanted (The little things give you away)
Was someone to truly look up to you (The little things give you away)
All you've ever wanted (The little things give you away)
Was someone to truly look up to you (The little things give you away)
All you've ever wanted (The little things give you away)
Was someone to truly look up to you (The little things give you away)
About
This is the closing track from Linkin Park’s third studio album Minutes to Midnight. This song is allegedly about the devastation wreaked on New Orleans by the hurricane Katrina and how the Bush administration did not do enough, indeed according to some views – nothing at all to help the people of the community.
This whole album marked a departure from the style Linkin Park had portrayed in their earlier albums and this song is just another example of that. Rather than heavy riffs and vocal screams, this song has vocal harmonizing, prominent use of acoustic and electric guitars, rhythmic syncopation and a vocal centric aesthetic. The last one is not much of a difference. Just a very obvious characteristic.
Not the most famous from the album, but nonetheless, a hard hitting one.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
The album booklet notes say:
This song began from a demo by Rob Bourdon, based around the drum pattern heard in the bridge. The vocals were finished after the band visited New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
- 1.Wake
- 2.Given Up
- 4.Bleed It Out
- 10.In Between
- 11.In Pieces
- 12.The Little Things Give You Away
- 13.No Roads Left
- 14.Across the Line