Save Yourself (I'll Hold Them Back)

This is basically what I think it's about: In my opinion this is the band pleading with the fans to stay alive, not consider suicide and get help when it is necessary.

Specifically:

Right now I hope you're ready for a firefight 'Cause the devil's got your number tonight They say We're never leaving this place alive But if you sing these words we'll never die

(Okay this part was a bit odd, but I think it’s a response to the criticism that they have got — being called ‘emo’. They’re speaking specifically to the fans saying that although a lot of people are saying that the band causes people to commit suicide, [The British newspaper The Daily Mail wrote a particularly hysterical story about MCR a few years ago] they want them to stay alive and they’re asking them to keep singing along to their songs, keep loving them, but more importantly, keep living.)

Get off the ledge and drop the knife Not a victim of a victim's life Because This ain't a room full of suicides We're believers, I believe tonight

(Now this is clearer. ‘Get off the ledge’ and ‘drop the knife’ are telling their fans to stop expressing their emotions by self-harming or committing suicide...jumping off a bridge, slitting their wrists etc. It sounds melodramatic but MCR has always been about very dramatic and vocal about their opinions. The ‘room full of suicides’ is saying that, hey, our fans are not a group of suicidal, troubled kids, we’re believers. We have faith.)

We can leave this world, Leave it all behind, We can steal this car if your folks don't mind, We can live forever if you've got the time. If you save yourself tonight If you save yourself tonight

(MCR is a means of escapism for a lot of fans, so its saying that the music, the passion, could last forever but only if their fans stay safe and stay alive. ‘We can live forever if you’ve got the time’, is the most powerful part of this chorus I think.)

I'll tell you all how the story ends Where the good guys die and the bad guys win (who cares?) It ain't about all the friends you made But the graffiti they write on your grave

(The good guys = MCR fans, and the bad guys are anyone that has ever hurt you — the bullies, the cruel people, your demons. It’s again them telling their fans that they can’t let the bad guys take over, they need to fight back. That’s not how the story should end. The second part is referring to the fact that people are committing suicide because they don’t feel loved, but their friends will write graffiti on their graves after they’re gone because they miss them etc.)

To all of us who have seen the light, Salute the dead and lead the fight (hail! hail!) Who gives a damn if we lose the war Let the walls come down, let the engines roar.

(People who ‘have seen the light’, the ones who aren’t suicidal, keep going, what MCR wants their fans to be. ‘Salute the dead’ — honour the ones who have committed suicide, remember them, but remember to ‘lead the fight’ — keep going. The losing the war thing I’m not sure about.)

I'm the only friend that makes you cry, You're a heart attack in black hair dye, So just save yourself and I'll hold them back tonight.

(MCR is ‘the only friend that makes you cry’. These normally happy people are being made miserable and being led to believe that suicide and depression is glamorous. And he wants to put a stop to it. The line after that explains itself. It’s a typical MCR fan.)

Are you ready where you are? If you save yourself tonight... They're coming for you! Can you save yourself tonight?! Right now Cause I'll hold them back

(usual, save yourself, etc. Etc..)

You motherfucker!

You're the broken glass in the morning light Be a burning star if it takes all night So just save yourself, I'll hold them back tonight!

(no matter how long it takes, fight through your depression, your sadness. Live. Save yourself and I’ll hold the demons back.)

Just my interepration. But I like everyone elses. :)