Carousel Demo - Linkin Park

From Zero (Deluxe Edition) - Out May 16th

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[merghost]

This feels weird.. Nobody will have to search and search for this song and go through the pain of not being able to listen to it on Spotify or iTunes. Like we did

[RammmFan]

demo is far better than many official alternative rock songs nowadays

[TyRosaLes]

Linkin Park experimented so much with their sound they have a demo of a demo

[thetitotvshow]

"I'm too weak to face me". These words are so true since Chester is gone.

[gabi]

Fun fact: It's labeled as a demo but it was actually made after the Hybrid Theory EP. So basically, that's a "'demo" version, not this.

[HardBrokeKid]

i wish Joe's Scratches remains in the Final Version

[PeppaJackable]

Who else thinks they were fucking crazy for not releasing these demos sooner? Although the silver lining is that it keeps this tragically broken band a little fresh.

[MrConstant.]

This demo is way better! They should release the demo for part of me! The screaming is amazing

[otakurenegado]

She can't hide no matter how hard she tries
Her secret diguise behind the lies
And at night she cries away her pride
With eyes shut tight
Starin' at her inside
All her friends know why she can't sleep at night
All her family askin' if she's alright
All she wants to do is get rid of this hell
Well all shes gotta do is stop kidding herself
She can only fool herself for so long
She can only fool herself for so long
She can only fool herself for so long
(your too weak to face me)
I never know
Just why you run
So far away, far away
From me
I never know
Just why you run
So far away, far away
From me
When it comes to how to live his life he cant be told
Says he's got it all control
Thinks he knows its not a problem he's stuck with
But in reality
It would be a problem to just quit
An addict and he cant hold the reins
The pain is much worse 'cause all his friends have it the same
Tries to slow down the problem he's got
But can't get off the carousel until he makes it stop
He can only fool himself for so long
He can only fool himself for so long
He can only fool himself for so long
(your too weak to face me)
I never know
Just why you run
So far away, far away
From me
I never know
Just why you run
So far away, far away
From me
Fly with me over the wings I gave you
Try to be closer to me, I'll save you
Fly with me over the wings I gave you
Try to be closer to me, I'll save you
Just follow me!
I never know just why you run
(and i'll show you what you wanna see, Just follow me)
So far away, away from me
(I'll show you what you wanna see)
I never know
Just why you run
So far away, far away
From me
I never know
Just why you run
So far away, far away
From me
I never know
Just why you run
So far away, far away
From me
I never know
Just why you run
So far away, far away
From me

[DipenJambhulkar]

all the demos and pre cut tapes are amazing.. true masterpieces.. just imagine how amazing the demo Meteora songs wud've been.. *_* waiting for LP to upload meteora demo.. \m/

[Kaylushhh]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! These demos really show how much they cared for their music and sound. I love how these songs evolved.

[SQWAUKSQWAUK]

Demo is definetly better. I got chills at "Just follow me! And Ill show you what you want to see!" 🥶🥶

[ThatEddsworldGuy]

Everyone is saying "This is a demo of a demo". No, it isn't. The Hybrid Theory EP (the album that included the final version of Carousel) was sold, technically making this version a demo of a finished song. Carousel (final) isn't a demo. (also, to put the cherry on top, the whole Hybrid Theory EP album was on LPU 2.0 in 2002, so even if the original album wasn't in store, it would still be an official song regardless).

[ebingamin]

this is better than the final product 👌

[Rocket_Skates]

“You’re too weak to face me” makes way more sense than “I’m too weak to face with me.” from the non-demo version.

[iriscroatica]

Thank you for making all these gems public for everyone.

[insid]

Instantly gave me goose bumps when chester came on, this is a winner for sure

[sorbetheart]

i've listened to both versions (the demo more times than i can count, and this demo of the demo (LOL) approx. 9 times) and to me this is what i think the song is about:

-the girl in the first verse was SA'd, maybe by her bf or a stranger and is ashamed, and feels dirty, hence the line "cries away her pride" and is in denial that she's pregnant hence the line "all she's gotta do is stop kidding herself", her friends know (she may've told them), but her family are concerned for her. "all she wants to do is get rid of this hell" her bf also may physically abuse her, she just wants to stop all the pain.

- the man in the second verse is an alcoholic and tells himself he can stop whenever he wants, but he's addicted. "can't get off the carousel until he makes his stop" he either won't escape it till he dies, or gets help- but in the way this song is structured, i think it's the latter and he'll only escape the addiction by death. "the pain is worse 'cuz his friends have it the same", it's harder to let go of this addiction, which is painful because he can't control himself, because the people he surrounds himself with are also addicted. "he can only fool himself for so long" the alcohol will eventually start taking a toll on his body and his organs will be damaged, he'll start seeing the effects, but by then it'll be too late, because he can't slow down he carousel.

-the line "you're too weak to face me" (it's "i'm to weak to face me" in the other ver.), this makes me think of both the alcoholic and pregnant woman looking at their own reflections in a mirror. their reflections say "i'll never know why just why you run so far away, far away from me", as if to say i don't know why you keep denying the truth [you'll never escape me/it].


-"fly away on the wings i gave you, try to be closer to me i'll save you", a way of escape. flying away into the sky, to heaven, maybe. the wings remind me of an angels', but also they remind me of the story of icarus, only cuz if the kid stayed close to his dad/ just away from the sun, not going too far from his dad, he wouldn't have died. might be a stretch, but it's just what i get reminded of. (plus i wouldn't be surprised if it's linked to icarus, if you listen to A Place For My Head Demo LP seemed to talk about mythical stuff quite a bit back then.)

-"just follow me, i'll show you what you want to see and why you hide from what's inside" their reflections speaking to them or some sort of spiritual being thing that wants to show them the truth the line repeats but ends on "i'll show you what you want to see" so possibly hinting that it's a delusion being shown and given to them, which reminds me of the Bible verse "satan masquerades himself as an angel of light" (something along those lines), which is also why he gave this person wings or smt idk/it's some deceptive being OR it's the truth [about themselves] that they seek and this mysterious thing is trustworthy.

-and so now, because of this revelation (i say this because we've been given new info. that aids us) it may actually be the mysterious thing that is asking them why they run from the truth, which the mysterious thing is able to show them. maybe this mysterious thing is their subconscious or something within them.

- A carousel spins in a circle, until stopped, so these strangers will never be able to escape except in death. That's the only way these characters can leave... (Just saying, I believe everyone can escape their predicaments, just don't be afraid to accept/ask for help-- that may be the difference between one escaping and one being stuck)

-! A silly theory, thanks for reading this far if you did. Even I think some of what I'm saying is a stretch and LP didn't think that far ahead about the lyrics... or maybe they did. Mike is very good at song writing and I'm sure Chester was able to add stuff too...

-i also want to note that both of the stories of these strangers link to Chester in a way, with him being SA'd from age 7 to 13 by a family friend, and him using alcohol [and drugs] to numb the pain. I just thought it was interesting, y'know. Maybe he's the one that named this song too.

Again, thanks for reading my interpretation/theory (lul)! It was very fun to dissect the lyrics. If you see this on the other version, sorry, I just want discussion and to hear what other people think the lyrics mean.

Love ya Chestah, Chazzy Chaz (Chester) <3 RIP.

[mutilasijelangkungmelodeat]

I could forget the original one right now

[DronninLive]

This version better than EP version 'cause here's mega inspiration yell of Mike on the bridge 2:05