Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes

First off I’d like to say how much I love this album; before this Fall Out Boy always seemed uncertain of where they were going with their sound and rather unorganized. Though their previous albums were still good they were lacking the raw emotion this one has pored into it.

These lyrics are poetry; an art, a tool we’ve used to express our deepest emotions, thoughts, and opinions, on things for centuries and I personally believe that’s what the artist (Pete) has done here.

After reading fancypirouettes’s review I must state that I agree that there is probably some relation between Fall Out Boy’s pre-fame days and this song but rather then passively looking back on them Pete is poring his desire to go back to those days into this song.“And I'd promise you anything / For another shot at life.” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos, stanza three, lines seven and eight.) These lines clearly indicates this desire to do things over again. Most likely this means Pete wishes Fall Out Boy had never become famous. Perhaps because of the stressful and emotional complications things like fame can cause.

Pete show’s he is being bothered by this in the beginning of the song; “I’m falling apart at the seems.” The stress he is under is tearing him apart. “Doc there’s a hole where something was” He feels empty because of it.

Now for the second stanza, lines one to three, I have to agree with austin21044 It sounds like a hang over but for lines four, five, six and, eight Pete once again reverts back to talking about the effects of the stress. A lot of times when people feel under pressure, or that things directly related to them have become out of their control they’ll start to feel that they can no longer control their own emotions and fearing they’ll do something rash.

“Put him in the back of a squad car, / Restrain that man! / He needs his head put through a catscan!” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos, second stanza, lines four to six.) This is quite obviously a cry for help. While in the next line we see a little ego shining through with the words “Hey editor, I'm undeniable” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos second stanza seventh line.) This shows where he’s trying to act sane by smothering these feelings with over confidence in his own work. He’s sort of saying “I don’t need help from the system I’m fine on my own.” Well the line after that mixes the two meaning together.

“Hey doctor, I'm certifiable!” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos, second stanza, eighth line) While ‘Certifiable’ usually means “capable of being certified as authentic, valid, or qualified.” (Encarta Dictionary: English (North America)) in this case it takes on its second meaning of “legally or medically declared to be affected by a psychiatric disorder.” (Encarta Dictionary: English (North America)) Thus in this line he’s stating to the doctor that he is mentally ill rather then going through the system that he previously, verbally spat at.

This theme of mental illness continues on until line four of the third stanza.

“So boycott love” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos, third stanza fourth line.) Here we come to another problem that not only celebrities but every day people as well have to deal with, love.

Boycott: “to cease or refuse to deal with something such as an organization, a company, or a process, as a protest against it or as an effort to force it to become more acceptable.” (Encarta Dictionary: English (North America)) Sound familiar? “Detox just to retox.” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos, third stanza, line five.) Yet again this line is a cry for attention, one we see far too many times in celebrities. Drug addictions, alcoholism, their ways to temporarily make one feel better about themselves or to feel in control. Now for some people they get on drugs realize (one way or another) thier bad and get off of them, though yes, I am understating how hard that is for those individuals. But for most people they can change what made them feel out of control in the first place, be that by quitting their job, moving, finding a more sportive environment, but you can’t quit fame. This line then is a shout out to celebrities about how crazy the cycle their stuck in is.

“Imperfect boys with their perfect lives / Nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos, third stanza lines eight and nine) I believe personally that those are the correct lyrics. Though the incredibly personal subject matter of this song would account for the reason the true lyrics were not published in a written format. These two lines are making a jab at the terrible façade all of America has put on. “Imperfect boys” We all have flaws, insecurities. “with their perfect lives,” but were constantly comparing ourselves to other people. Be it in Third World countries or with in our own communities thinking ‘it could always be worse right?’ trying to make our flaws look small, our lives look perfect. As such we want desperately not to dwell on these imperfections in fear of appearing vein. “Nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy.” because nobody wants to hear the guy with money coming out of his ass complain, because they feel their problems are worse, and because they know it can get worse still.

Now in stanza four we come back to the topic of love. Or lack of there of and again another jab at America society.

“Little girl / You got me staring odd / oh! or was that just a telescopic camera nod” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos, fourth stanza, lines one, two, and three.) This line depicts him staring at a girl oddly, most likely with lust. She gives him a small nod. The nod is described as telescopic as though she’s uncertain this is what she wants.

Celebrities have trouble with relationships because ‘Gold Diggers’ always try and hook up with them, not for love, but for money and fame. But that’s not to say it is entirely their fault they go ahead with relationships that are not for love. Society, peers, authorities figures, they all make it seem as though if we meet someone with money and looks who has even a possibility of liking us back we should do everything in our power to merry them. “Painted dolls,” (Fall Out Boy, Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos, fourth stanza, fourth line.) refers to women who try and dress and look the way society depicts the perfect women. Painting themselves with make up and all looking the same like dolls.

I must say another thank you to fancypirouettes for clearing up what a lot lizard is.

Again in the fifth and sixth lines of the forth stanza Pete is making a reference to “Boycott(ing) Love” By having sex with a prostitute he avoids the chance that there is love involved.

The seventh and eight lines, and the last ones of any importance “All the rookies / leave your badge and your gun on the desk / When you leave the room” I will be the first to admit this line is one of the more disjointed ones it seems to me that it’s a shout out to any one looking for fame. Kind of a ‘Quit now or deal with all of the above.’