The song, What Ive Done by Linkin Park expresses sentiments of guilt over the past.

This is first described in the line Theres no alibi to show that the narrator has no excuse for
what was done in the past and how there is no getting around that what has happened, has
happened. An unmentioned crime is committed, and the song begins when the narrator has
accepted that there are things in the past that haunt them and weigh down heavily on his spirit.
There is nothing that could justify the innocence of the narrator; no alibi that could protect
them from the misdoings of the past, expressing their guilt over the past. This feeling of guilt
continues when the narrator sings of how Ive drawn regret from the truth of a thousand lies.
This shows how even though the narrators ugly past may have been muddled with lies and
deceits, the truth of the matter (and something obviously negative going by his regret) clearly
shows the narrators remorse over his past. Even though his past may have been filled
deception, there was truth among the shameful lies and this embeds a feeling of guilt in the
narrator. By feeling guilty, the narrator is acknowledging that mistakes were made in their past
but also expresses the sentiment that they would like to make up for the mistakes of the past to
get rid of the guilt. After the narrator introduces their guilty feelings towards the past, they
sing Im forgiving what Ive done to describe how they want to move beyond their shameful
past. This line expresses their desire to move on with life, let the past be in the past, and look
towards the future instead of being chained by the past. It is important to note though, that the
narrator never mentions forgetting the their guilty actions of the past. Forgiveness after all,
does not mean forgetting. Whatever the actions the narrator did to make him feel guilty are,
they will always be with the narrator as a part of his past. By forgiving themselves, the narrator
lightens the burden of a guilty past. Instead of having it weigh them down like cinder blocks,
they turn into balloons tied to the narrator - lightweight but always there. Overall, this song
explains the journey the narrator took from acknowledging he did shameful things in the past,
to accepting his faults and looking towards the future with forgiveness in mind to lighten the
burden of his past.
One theme from the song that connected to the book was the idea of feeling guilty about
past actions and the emotional burden it places upon an individual. In the chapter Love,
Jimmy Cross admits to Obrien that he never forgave himself for Ted Lavenders death. Cross
described how it was something that would never go away (27). By not even allowing any
sort of forgiveness in his life over the death of Lavender, Cross puts immense emotional burden
upon himself as he carries around his guilt everywhere he goes. If Cross had forgiven himself,
Lavenders death wouldve still been a significant event from his Vietnam experience but it
wouldnt have been as huge of a burden. Lavenders death was not 100% Crosss fault, but by
not forgiving himself, he takes on all the guilt and shame over his friends death and is weighed
down by the grief and sorrow he feels towards the incident. The way Obrien ends the chapter
with the open-ended reply of No, I wont (29) shows even more how the trauma of the past
can weigh down the future and make it difficult to express feelings of remorse and regret. The
chapter is ended very ambiguously and the reader is left not knowing whether Obrien ever told
this thing that Cross didnt want anyone to know and a very vague and obscure feeling is left.
This shows even more how the trauma of the past, which manifested as guilt in Cross as well as
Obrien, can make it difficult to truly vocalize the storm of feelings (be it guilt, remorse,
sorrow, anger, etc) that rage on when soldiers return from war. The narrator in the song was
haunted by the guilt of their past just as Cross and Obrien were tormented by their experiences
in Vietnam.



In this farewell
Theres no blood
Theres no alibi
Cause Ive drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand lies

[Pre-Chorus:]
So let mercy come
And wash away
What Ive done

[Chorus:]
I'll face myself
To cross out what Ive become
Erase myself
And let go of what Ive done

Put to rest
What you thought of me
While I clean this slate
With the hands of uncertainty

[Pre-Chorus]

[Chorus]

For what Ive done
I start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
Im forgiving what Ive done!

[Chorus]

What Ive done
Forgiving what Ive done