Singer Rick Springfield on Chester Bennington's Suicide: 'I Get It'

While others continue to mourn the loss of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, Rick Springfield [...]

While others continue to mourn the loss of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, Rick Springfield admits he "gets" the late musician's drive to take his own life.

Springfield, who crafted hits like "Jessie's Girl," told SiriusXM Feedback host Lori Majewski that he has considered suicide amid a long battle with depression.

"Last year I was really close to it, really close to it," the 68-year-old rocker said.

He appeared on the radio show to promote his upcoming album The Snake King, which includes a dark track that Springfield claims contains themes parallel to his own rough road.

"[The song] 'Suicide Manifesto' is stuff I think about. I've been close to it," he admitted.

"When Robin Williams and Chester [Bennington and Chris Cornell] and those guys [committed suicide] I didn't go 'Oh, that's terrible.' I went, 'I get it.' I get being that lost and dark... You're in so much pain that you just want it to end," the musical icon continued.

Following the recent suicides of these high-profile entertainers and artists, Springfield said he has worked to manage his mental illness using medication and meditation. He added that he no longer hides his unpleasant thoughts, instead offering up his candid emotions.

"We've all had the social front and it just makes me feel like such a liar when I go home and I look in the mirror and I go 'Really? You said that to somebody? That everything's great and you're feeling awesome?' That's bulls—," he said of his revelation. "I'm at the point now in my life when I want to do what's truthful."

Springfield has opened up previously about his ongoing struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts.

During an interview for Sunday Night in 2016, he revealed he tried to hang himself at 16 years old — an admission his parents have never believed.

"I was depressed from the time I was 14. I was just the artistic, moody guy," the musician said. "I tried to hang myself at 16 and the rope broke… My mum still doesn't believe it."

In the same interview, he said he once took money from his piggy bank "to go buy a gun" to use on himself.

Springfield credits music as his saving grace from those dark moments, adding that he "can't not feel good" after finishing a song.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

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