Almanac Music: Chester Bennington, gone too soon

Chester Bennington, lead singer of rock band Linkin Park, is gone too soon. He tragically took his own life on July 20, 2017. Bennington was known and loved around the world for his raw voice. He sounded effortless as he masterfully sang hits like Heavy and Crawlin’.

 The lyrics of Linkin Park’s Castle of Glass are entwined in this post to demonstrate the points that I will make about the challenges faced by Bennington. For I can’t separate Bennington from the words he sang, they will now haunt my memory of the late singer.

 Bennington’s personal life indicated that he was both a fighter and a survivor. He survived the divorce of his parents, drug addiction, sexual abuse as a child, a failed marriage, and high school bullies.

Take me down to the river bend
Take me down to the fighting end
Wash the poison from off my skin
Show me how to be whole again

He took these events and used them like a personal challenge. He learned from each of them, rebuilt his life several times over, and channelled those negatives. As a result, he became the voice of a new generation of rockers. He was adored around the world and stood as a role model of what a survivor looks like.

Fly me up on a silver wing
Past the black where the sirens sing
Warm me up in a nova’s glow

I can’t help now but to look deeper into the songs that Linkin Park recorded and look beneath the lyrics for clues. What was Bennington thinking as he sang his songs?  What inner struggles did he still face?

And drop me down to the dream below
‘Cause I’m only a crack in this castle of glass
Hardly anything there for you to see
For you to see

Clearly, he had not exorcised the demons that were lying beneath the surface in his soul. The outpouring that Bennington placed into lyrics were clearly personal battles that he was still fighting.

Bring me home in a blinding dream
Through the secrets that I have seen
Wash the sorrow from off my skin
Show me how to be whole again
‘Cause I’m only a crack in this castle of glass
Hardly anything there for you to see
For you to see

On the outside, Bennington appeared to have won his battles. He was married, in love with his wife, had children, a home in LA, and a super-successful career.

The battles apparently still raged on inside of Bennington’s mind. A beautiful artist is lost. The world lost a beautiful voice and the angels have added to their choir. Chester Bennington is gone too soon.

Deborah Tayloe, of North Carolina, is a  writer and a blogger for musicalinstrumentsexpert.com When she’s not writing, you can find her relaxing by listening to music.

Leave a Comment

*