Alanis Morissette Releases Song Debuted at Bennington Tribute

The death of Chester Bennington shook the music world in 2017 and during Linkin Park's memorial concert at the Hollywood Bowl, special guest Alanis Morissette debuted a new song she had written concerning mental health and she dedicated it to Bennington. Now, in 2021 on National Mental Health Action Day, Morissette has officially released the song.

The track was written by Morissette and Michael Farrell, and as she told the crowd at the show, she had shared her demo with the band and agreed to perform the track live. In the years since, the track has never officially been released until now.

"Today is #MentalHealthAction Day… I'm sharing a song entitled 'Rest' written specifically about those of us who struggle with depression and anxiety, isolation, suicidal ideation and the profound despair that mental illness can plunge us into," explained Morissette in a statement accompanying the track. She also urged those currently struggling to visit the Mental Health Is Health website to learn how you can support yourself and others where mental health is concerned and suggested donations to help out the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

At the 2017 Bennington tribute show, Morissette shared with the audience, "There's been a lot of vilification of people with depression and addiction and being troubled and being in the public eye and being made fun of for the challenges that we as a community of people with notoriety have gone through. It's an extremely isolating, challenging journey to go through and so for me I just want to offer empathy for people in the public eye and to all of you hear tonight and everyone on the planet who is grieving."

Take a listen to the track, featuring a delicate piano opening and accentuated by an electronic instrumental backing, and check out the lyrics below. The song is available here.

Alanis Morissette, "Rest" Lyrics

All these relief-givers
The needle sure revs in the red
Chemicals like hugs from inside
they feel like my best friend
You think me a coward but I am a warrior
With many voices in my head
When I looked around and I reached out
I saw no alternative
God rest, God rest our souls
And this substance is the only comfort I know
He's been pushing for a while
Can we cut this man some slack
Let him lie down, let him lie down
We are a country desperate for the embryonic
I'm cold and I'm hungry and
I yearn for a hand on my forehead
You think it's a walk in the park and it's easy
"She's got it as good as it gets"
This misunderstanding's the line between living
or being the walking dead
And God rest, please rest our souls
And the more I take, the less comfort I know
She's been pushing for a while
Can we cut this woman slack
Let her lie down, let her lie down
The more that you hurl at me
The more I will curl up in my bed
where's the humanity?
Aren't we all hovering around the same end?
Door number 1, 2 and 3 have been promises
that aren't real enough to be kept
You wish me a speedy recovery
But when you turn I plumb the depths
And God rest, God please rest our souls
This is the surest exit I have known
We've been hurting for a while
Can we cut ourselves some slack
Let us lie down, let us lie down
Let us lie down, let me lie down