Crawling (song)

"Crawling"
Single by Linkin Park
from the album Hybrid Theory
B-side "Papercut" (Live on BBC Radio One)
Released March 1, 2001
Format Compact Disc, DVD
Recorded New Orleans, Louisiana, 2000
Genre Nu metal, alternative metal
Length 3:28
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Linkin Park, Mark Wakefield
Producer Don Gilmore
Linkin Park singles chronology
"One Step Closer"
(2000)
"Crawling"
(2001)
"Papercut"
(2001)
Audio sample
file info · help

"Crawling" is a song by the American rock band Linkin Park. It is the fifth track from their debut album Hybrid Theory. It was released in 2001 as their second single and won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002. In January 2011, "Crawling" was released in a Linkin Park DLC pack for Rock Band 3.

Contents

Song information

"Crawling" is one of the few songs on Hybrid Theory that does not prominently feature Mike Shinoda's rap sung lyrics. The intro to "Crawling" has been remixed in live versions over the years. Since 2008's Projekt Revolution, Mike Shinoda has rapped the first verse of "Hands Held High" over the Reanimation intro of "Crawling". In 2009, Shinoda rapped 2 verses of "Hands Held High" over the intro of "Crawling", which first verse started with an a capella or a bass line before the Reanimation intro started, in which Shinoda raps the second verse.

A live version of "Crawling" was included as a b-side to "Breaking the Habit".

Music video

The video was directed by Brothers Strause. It portrays a young woman's inner conflict dealing with an abusive relationship. The woman (portrayed by Katelyn Rosaasen) closes off to the rest of the world, represented with the special effects of crystals forming around her. By the end, the crystals recede, symbolizing her success in fighting the relationship. The band is said to be performing in a Fortress of Solitude. Chester's labret piercing is meant to match with the girls septum ring because of the real meaning behind the song.

This video was supposed to have a "darker" ending to it when the first synopsis was written, being a take on Species where a psycho fan kills the band, but Warner Brothers rejected the idea, and the final ending was written in its place.[1]

"Crawling" was Phoenix's first video with the band. Phoenix returned to Linkin Park just before they began work on this video.

The video was nominated for Best Rock video on MTV's Video Music Awards. It lost to Limp Bizkit's "Rollin".[2]

Bonus content

The bonus feature on the CD is the same footage that is a hidden easter egg on Frat Party at the Pankake Festival. However, the footage here is uncensored, while the footage on "Frat Party" is censored.

A "Strictly Limited Numbered Edition" DVD single was also released which includes a live version of "Crawling" that was performed at the Dragon Festival, though the audio is dubbed with the studio version of the song. The video has a multiple camera angle feature which allows viewers to see different camera angles of the performance with the use of the DVD remote control. The DVD also has four 30-second live snippets of "One Step Closer", "By Myself", "With You", and "A Place for My Head".

Track listing

CD single

All songs written and composed by Linkin Park. 

No. Title Length
1. "Crawling" (Album Version) 3:21
2. "Papercut" (Live on BBC Radio One) 3:08
3. "Behind the Scenes Bonus Footage" (Video) 9:56
DVD single
No. Title Length
1. "Crawling" (Live Video) 3:31
2. "Crawling" (Album Version) 3:21
3. "4x30 Second Live Video Snippets"   2:00

Charts

The song has seen a success in many countries. In the UK, the song debuted and peaked at #16, remaining in the chart for 8 weeks. It reached the top ten in Canada and Austria. It reached the top thirty and top forty in many countries, it was more successful than "One Step Closer". However, it peaked only at #79 in the US, becoming their lowest charting single since they released "Given Up", which peaked at #99, although it manage to peak at #4 on the Modern Rock Track Chart and #3 on the Mainstream Rock Track Chart. Despite the low peak, the song has remained for 20 weeks at the bottom of the chart.

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart 3
US Billboard Hot 100 79
US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay 75
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 4
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 3
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles 14
European Hot 100 Singles 7
Irish Singles Chart 16
UK Singles Chart 16
Austrian Top 75 5
German Top 100 14
Dutch Top 40 25
Austrian Singles Chart 8
Swedish Singles Chart 27
Swiss Singles Chart 43
Belgian Singles Chart 25
Australian Singles Chart 33
New Zealand Singles Chart 37

References

External links