| My Chemical Romance – Thank You For The Venom Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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@[Redonesmakemefly:45351] Thank you! Didn't think anyone would read with the layout fucked like that >< I don't think the ending is right though, but I'm not clever enough to figure it out any better. I'll try to fix the layout, for the heck of it. If this fails too just know I'm probably crying: ---------------------------------------------------------- To counter Gerard statement that he isn't a poet, I'm going to make this interpretation sooo deep and poetic. This song is "a think piece, about a mid-level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom." I feel like it’s about them feeling stretched and pulled in all directions by fans and critics and the mundanity of normal life. I can imagine your self-esteem darting back and forth the whole time, and that's the vibe this song gives me. "Sister, I'm not much a poet, but a criminal and you never had a chance.” He feels like he’s being thrown off of a pedestal that he never agreed to be put on in the first place. He's saying: '*You* thought I'm a poet, I never did.' (The line “Sister, I'm not much a poet” is a reference to a Morrisey song, by the way.) “Love it or leave it, you can't understand a pretty face But you do, so carry on, and on, and on" People are interpreting his song lyrics in ways that weren’t his intention at all, and then they dare to judge him for what isn't even correct. He's a bit sarcastic: 'You don't know anything about me or what I’m talking about, but by all means, carry on with the criticism!' "I wouldn't front the scene if you paid me I'm just the way that the doctor made me On, and on, and on, and on" This is again about being made bigger than he is when people make him out to be the frontman of the entire emo scene, the "sound of a generation" and all those things that people like to say when they rave about bands. He doesn’t want any of that, he's struggling to make it through the day, perhaps with mental issues or medication side effects that make life difficult. "Love is the red, the rose on your coffin door What's life like bleeding on the floor, the floor, the floor?" 'I bleed for you' or 'I'd die for you' are ways to express devotion and love. I think the band's trying to say: 'Yo, don't bleed or die for us. We're just a band.' Alternatively, they might be saying that self-harm isn’t a solution for anything. "You'll never make me leave, I wear this on my sleeve Give me a reason to believe" The combination of these two lines ("you'll never make me leave, give me a reason to believe") makes it sound like people want him to go away for a reason/because of a belief, which to me sounds like sacrificing yourself, turning into a martyr. So I wonder if Gerard felt pressured to make sacrifices for the fans or the critics. He's saying he doesn't even believe in the scene (or whatever) he's supposed to be sacrificing himself for. Alternatively: what he shows and tells the world is that he will never leave, but straight after, he asks for a reason to go on, to keep believing. The emphasis on how he wears the first on his sleeve strikes me as a way of implying that he's lying; the way people tend to exeggerate when they’re lying (i.e. ‘oh nooo I would NEVER!’). "So give me all your poison, and give me all your pills And give me all your hopeless hearts and make me ill" Poisoning can mean ‘causing harm to the reputation or credibility of someone, especially by spreading false or negative information’, so here it means the bad press and the haters. Pills are the meds or the drugs, and the hopeless hearts *happy wave* that's me and my gals! the overly devoted fanbase. And this whole mix is making him feel sick, like he's in a rollercoaster. "You're running after something that you'll never kill If this is what you want, then fire at will" The whole gang mentioned above is chasing the band, hunting them in their own ways, and Gerard is like: ‘Why? Whatever you try, it won't affect us. But it's your choice I guess, sooo… knock yourselves out!' Or: this is only about the critics, and the thing they can’t kill is the fanbase. You can’t kill the love people have for a band they project their emotions on (‘ideas are bulletproof’ and all that). "Preach all you want, but who's gonna save me? I keep a gun in the book you gave me Hallelujah, lock and load" People want him to be their lord and saviour, but he needs to prioritize himself, because nobody else will do it. 'The book' is the bible, seeing as this song is supposedly sung for a nun (‘sister’). The bible is generally considered a book of rules; he dismisses this book and abuses it to keep a weapon safe, i.e. he ignores the rules to defend himself against the haters. Because people's opinions are useless to him. He can do exactly what they tell him, but when it (inevitably) gets him wrecked, none of those people will be there to help him. Alternatively: there are other things you can do with a gun. If no one is going to save him and he has a gun... it could get dark. I prefer not to think about this one. "Black is the kiss, the touch of the serpent son It ain't the mark or the scar that makes you one, and one, and one, and one" This one's my favourite. The kiss refers to the Kiss of Judas; the touch of the serpent son refers to Cain killing Abel. Both of these were forms of betrayal. Cain had a mark from god to make sure he wouldn't be killed; Jesus had scars on his hands to prove he was telling the truth about resurrecting. So 'the scar' refers to the betrayed, and 'the mark' refers to the betrayer. Two opposing sides. So either he's saying: 'You people should bond over something other than being for or against our band' (being opposing sides). Or he's talking about themselves, meaning: 'We shouldn't have to choose between being sacrificed/screwed over or being brutal to our brothers.' There's also an interesting parallel here between the verse about red and this verse about black. I read somewhere that red can be used as a basetone to make black deeper, more intense. So if red symbolises love and black symbolises betrayal... then love would make betrayal more intense. Which is totally true. Now I’m really going to push it, but stay with me: I thought it was odd that they repeat the last words of the first two verses three times and this one four times. It reminds me of Come Together (The Beatles song), where they say "one and one and one is three", which in that song meant the band would be fine without one of them (way harsh, I know). MCR had five members at the time Gerard wrote this, so saying 'one and one and one and one' could be a way to say 'one less person in the band'. Cain and Jesus had in common that they survived. The scar and the mark were both proof they “got away” with betrayal and sacrifice. So maybe Gerard is saying: it isn’t the being able to “get away with it” that would “kill” the band. Not even if one of the band members can make it bigger on their own, or if they can live forever at 27, so to say, nothing. My Chemical Romance and the love for these men is something that cannot be killed. And he was right :) It’s 2022 and I got tickets. |
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| Panic! at the Disco – I Write Sins Not Tragedies Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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I chime in with my own interpretation of the song's meaning. I think the answer to what happens in the second verse lies in the meaning of the title. The title comes from a book by Douglas Coupland. This is the quote: “I am thinking of the people in my universe and distilling for each of these people the one flaw in their character that will be their downfall—the flaw that will be their undoing. What I write are not sins; I write tragedies.” What he's saying is that the flaws he gives his characters aren't inherently bad or even evil. He isn't judging them for having those flaws. The sad thing is that they do still end up causing the characters a bad ending. Perhaps he means that the flaws are mainly bad for the characters themselves, not to anyone else. In Panic's title they turned the phrase around: I write sins, not tragedies. So the meaning of the original quote gets inverted. I would take that to mean the writer does judge the character's flaw and thinks it's a bad thing. But it doesn't cause the character's downfall. I think that means the wedding went on as planned. The groom may judge the bride, but he goes on with everything anyway, thereby saving the wedding (the marriage). He prevents a tragedy. The writer in the title could also be someone other than the groom. Someone who judges the bride for her flaw of promiscuity and sees that it doesn't cause her a downfall. Perhaps it means that the bride doesn't care about the tragedies she causes, because she "writes" only sins. Maybe this writer is the bride's lover who doesn't get to marry her. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure the wedding went on as planned based on the quote and the title. |
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| My Chemical Romance – Thank You For The Venom Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| To counter Gerard statement that he isn\'t a poet, I\'m going to make this interpretation sooo deep and poetic.\n\nThis song is "a think piece, about a mid-level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom." I feel like it’s about them feeling stretched and pulled in all directions by fans and critics and the mundanity of normal life. I can imagine your self-esteem darting back and forth the whole time, and that\'s the vibe this song gives me.\n\n"Sister, I\'m not much a poet, but a criminal and you never had a chance.”\n\nHe feels like he’s being thrown off of a pedestal that he never agreed to be put on in the first place. He\'s saying: \'*You* thought I\'m a poet, I never did.\' (The line “Sister, I\'m not much a poet” is a reference to a Morrisey song, by the way.)\n\n“Love it or leave it, you can\'t understand a pretty face\nBut you do, so carry on, and on, and on"\n\nPeople are interpreting his song lyrics in ways that weren’t his intention at all, and then they dare to judge him for what isn\'t even correct. He\'s a bit sarcastic: \'You don\'t know anything about me or what I’m talking about, but by all means, carry on with the criticism!\'\n\n"I wouldn\'t front the scene if you paid me\nI\'m just the way that the doctor made me\nOn, and on, and on, and on"\n\nThis is again about being made bigger than he is when people make him out to be the frontman of the entire emo scene, the "sound of a generation" and all those things that people like to say when they rave about bands. He doesn’t want any of that, he\'s struggling to make it through the day, perhaps with mental issues or medication side effects that make life difficult. \n\n"Love is the red, the rose on your coffin door\nWhat\'s life like bleeding on the floor, the floor, the floor?"\n\n\'I bleed for you\' or \'I\'d die for you\' are ways to express devotion and love. I think the band\'s trying to say: \'Yo, don\'t bleed or die for us. We\'re just a band.\' Alternatively, they might be saying that self-harm isn’t a solution for anything.\n\n"You\'ll never make me leave, I wear this on my sleeve\nGive me a reason to believe"\n\nThe combination of these two lines make it sound like people want him to go away for a reason/because of a belief, which to me sounds like sacrificing yourself, turning into a martyr. So I wonder if Gerard felt pressured to make sacrifices for the fans or the critics. He\'s saying he doesn\'t even believe in the scene/whatever he\'s supposed to be sacrificing himself for. \n\nAlternatively: what he shows and tells the world is that he will never leave. Straight after, he asks for a reason to go on. The emphasis on how he wears it on his sleeve strikes me as a way of saying he\'s lying, the way people tend to exeggerate when they’re lying (i.e. ‘oh nooo I would NEVER!’). \n\n"So give me all your poison, and give me all your pills\nAnd give me all your hopeless hearts and make me ill"\n\n‘Poison’ is the bad press and the haters (poisoning can mean ‘causing harm to the reputation or credibility of someone, especially by spreading false or negative information’). Pills are the meds or the drugs. And the hopeless hearts *happy wave* that\'s me and my gals! the overly devoted fanbase. And this whole mix is making him feel sick, like he\'s in a rollercoaster.\n\n"You\'re running after something that you\'ll never kill\nIf this is what you want, then fire at will"\n\nThe whole gang mentioned above is chasing the band, hunting them in their own ways, and Gerard is like: ‘Why? Whatever you try, it won\'t affect us. But it\'s your choice I guess, sooo… knock yourselves out!\'\nOr this is only about the critics, and the thing they can’t kill is the fanbase. You can’t kill the love people have for a band they project their emotions on (‘ideas are bulletproof’ and all that).\n\n"Preach all you want, but who\'s gonna save me?\nI keep a gun in the book you gave me\nHallelujah, lock and load"\n\nPeople want him to be their lord and saviour, but he needs to prioritize himself. \n\'The book\' is the bible, seeing as this song is supposedly sung for a nun (‘sister’). The bible is generally considered a book of rules. He dismisses this book and abuses it to keep a weapon safe, i.e. to defend himself against the haters. People\'s opinions are useless to him. He can do exactly what they tell him, but when it (inevitably) gets him wrecked, none of those people will be there to help. \n\nAlternatively: there are other things you can do with a gun. If no one is going to save him and he has a gun... it could get dark.\n\n"Black is the kiss, the touch of the serpent son\nIt ain\'t the mark or the scar that makes you one, and one, and one, and one"\n\nThe kiss refers to the Kiss of Judas; the touch of the serpent son refers to Cain killing Abel. Both of these were forms of betrayal. Cain had a mark from god to make sure he wouldn\'t be killed; Jesus had scars on his hands to prove he was telling the truth about resurrecting. So the scar refers to the betrayed, and the mark refers to the betrayer. Two opposing sides.\n\nSo either he\'s saying: \'You people should bond over something other than being for or against our band.\' Or he\'s talking about themselves, meaning: \'We shouldn\'t have to choose between being a martyr or being brutal to our brothers.\' \n\nThere\'s an interesting parallel here between the verse about red and this verse about black. I read somewhere that red can be used as a basetone to make black deeper, more intense. So if red symbolises love and black symbolises betrayal... then love would make betrayal more intense. Which is totally true.\nNow I’m really going to push it, but stay with me:\n\nI thought it was odd that they repeat the last words of the first verses three times and this one four times. It reminds me of Come Together (The Beatles song), where they say "one and one and one is three", which in that song meant the band would be fine without one of them (way harsh, I know). \nMCR had five members at the time Gerard wrote this, so saying \'one and one and one and one\' could be a way to say \'one less person in the band\'. \n\nCain and Jesus had in common that they survived. The scar and the mark were both proof they “got away” with betrayal and sacrifice. So Gerard is saying: it isn’t the being able to “get away with it” that would “kill” the band. Not even if one of the band members can make it even bigger on their own, not if they can live forever at 27, nothing. My Chemical Romance and the love for these men is something that cannot be killed.\n\nAnd he was right :) It’s 2022 and I got tickets. | |
| Fall Out Boy – Lake Effect Kid Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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I know it's supposed to be an ode to Chicago, but pete's whole bipolar thing is woven into it so beautifully too, imo. Here's why I think so: 1. “Forever a lake effect kid” The lake effect is a weather phenomenon which causes the weather to be super changeable. (They have the lake effect in Chicago, because it's near Lake Michigan.) Being bipolar also makes you changeable, having mood swings ("unpredictable as weather"), and it's chronic, so ‘forever’. 2. “Sometimes when I'm in heaven, I get forgetful of the Earth.” When you're manic, you're not grounded, you forget about things that would normally get in the way of your big plans, like money or boundaries. And idk but when you're depressed you sort of forget that happiness is even an option, so maybe if you're manic you forget that being down is an option (forgetful of the earth)? 3. “I got a pocket full of deadliness” I see this as Pete having to carry around his bipolar pills everywhere. In the past, he tried to overdose on these, so they're a pocket full of deadliness. It's like me and insulin: it can kill people , but I carry it around all the time. (I know pete doesn't take pills anymore, but he used to, and this song is pretty old.) 4. “At the dead-end called unsteadiness.” I like this phrase. Feeling unsteady (like I imagine being bipolar does to you) makes him feel trapped or like it gives him no prospects. 5. “Boomerang my head” Just this way to say it makes it sound like a reference to having mental ups and downs. If it was only about going back to Chicago then why boomerang just your head? Why not your body and suitcases or whatever too lol (yeah yeah, they probably mean they're dreaming about being in chicago, but it's open for interpretation) 6. “I just wanna come back to life / spark my crazy head to keep you warm at night.” Sounds as if he's feeling depressed or numb (from meds or from life) and thinking he'd prefer to be manic again. That's just my take on the song. I love their poetic songwriting <3 |
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| Fall Out Boy – This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I'd like to add my personal interpretation to this song: "I am an arms dealer fitting you with weapons in the form of words. And I don't really care which side wins, as long as the room keeps singing that's just the business I'm in. This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race!" An arms race is two or more sides of a war participating in interactive or competitive production of better weapons. It's a sort of call-and-response to keep topping what the other one just produced. This phenomenon also occurs in music business, when bands produce songs inspired by music dropped by another band, trying to better what they did. For example: the Beach Boys made Pet Sounds in reaction to hearing The Beatles' Rubber Soul, but then the Beatles created Sgt. Pepper's as a reaction to Pet Sounds. Or, like @[Jayybuchanan:35417] said, Fall Out Boy made this song in response to P!atD's "I write tragedies not sins". There can't ever be a winner in these things though. In a nuclear arms race everyone loses (because we all die), and in a musical arms race everyone wins, because there's more music! I get how this can be frustrating for a musician though. They might feel pressure to keep creating something better than their peers in the scene time after time, and journalists or fans can make it seem like it's a matter of life or death; of winning or losing. Hence, the comparison to an arms race. So to me, what they're saying in this first verse is: "take a chill pill, we're just here to have a good time." Like, Pete Wentz literally said once: "Fall Out Boy was never supposed to get this big. We just wanted some pizza and to play songs fast." That's what he's saying in this verse. "I'm not a shoulder to cry on, but I digress." To be fair, I don't understand this part. I feel like this isn't digressing at all, it fits rather well with the rest of the theme (the theme being to get off of their case). It might mean "we're not emo! we're not here to make angsty teens feel better! we're here to be the best band we can be!" It might also mean "don't come running to us about this scene being so competitive." "I'm a leading man and the lies I weave are oh so intricate." A leading man is the main actor in a movie or play. To me this means they feel like they're playing a big part in their music scene, but they're not quite sure if they belong their; if they should be in the lead for that particular scene. They're starting to feel caged or like phonies. "I wrote the gospel on giving up (and looked pretty sinking), but the real bombshells have already sunk (Primadonnas of the gutter)." First off, I freaking love the visual of 'prima donnas of the gutter'. I adore pete's writing so so much. I feel like with this, they're saying "yeah, we used to be a wreck and made a great album because of it, but that sort of thing doesn't have a future." I might be digging to deep with this, but the "real bombshells" to me means "even greater albums/bands" and "have already sunk" sounds like they have gone off the deep end in some way or form. And it's true: in the past we have seen lots of bombshell musicians drowning :'( I'm terribly grateful Pete didn't go this route - but I digress. "At night we're painting your trash gold, while you sleep." They feel like they pick apart the trash songs other sucky bands produce and use it to make their own much better songs, and people are not even noticing them doing it. "Crashing not like hips or cars - no, more like p-p-parties." Have I mentioned how much I love them? Anywho, might be my dirty mind, but "crashing hips" sounds to me like having sex; "crashing cars" seems a way to say "being careless with yourself, breaking/ruining yourself," while "crashing parties" means to turn up uninvited. So to me this bit means they're not in this scene to get wrecked or laid; they're here to have a good time. "Bandwagon's full, please catch another." Jumping on the bandwagon means to hitchhike along with another one's succes without having to do anything yourself. They're frustrated with the flunkies. "All the boys who the dance floor didn't love, and all the girls whose lips couldn't move fast enough: sing, until your lungs give out." I want to interpret this as loving, cause I'm a dweeb. So I take this as if they're saying "hey fans, we can still see you through this recent fog of people only liking us because we're supposedly emo, and we love you so so much!" :)) Thanks for coming to my Ted talk <3 I really like bands. |
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| Fall Out Boy – Centuries Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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So this song was supposedly written about trans pioneer Marsha P Johnson, and I got excited so below I’ll try to explain the lyrics in that light. I’m usually not very good at understanding lyrics/poetry, so bear with me. I would love to hear your thoughts on this! If it really is about being transgender (and that’s not just a remark to make the song edgy or something horrible like that), I do feel like it’s about a trans men, not a trans woman like Marsha Johnson was. Some legends are told Some turn to dust or to gold But you will remember me Remember me for centuries And just one mistake Is all it will take We'll go down in history Remember me for centuries I feel like the chorus is pretty generic, everyone could sing this about their life when they’re in a powerful mood, except for the line “just one mistake is all it will take”. That line might be interpreted as the wrong sex they were accidently born with. Mummified my teenage dreams No, it's nothing wrong with me The kids are all wrong, the story's all off Heavy metal broke my heart I thought this first line was a kinda cool way to describe the binding of trans men. “The kids are all wrong” etc is probably about all the misunderstandings surrounding transgender people. I do not understand what heavy metal’s got to do with it though, except maybe in the literal way (the metal fronts of shoes the narrator might have been kicked with, or something like that). Come on, come on and let me in The bruises on your thighs like my fingerprints And this is supposed to match The darkness that you felt I never meant for you to fix yourself I can’t interpret this any other way than something another person is saying to the narrator, but the rest of the song is all written in first person. It seems odd to suddenly change the narrative. I do think it’s a pretty thing to say. Trans men might hate their thighs and someone saying “I never meant for you to fix yourself” is like saying they see their gender beyond their curvy bodyshape. This verse could more easily be interpreted as eerie than as romantic though, imo. And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name 'Cause I was only born inside my dreams Until you die for me, as long as there's a light, my shadow's over you 'Cause I, I am the opposite of amnesia “I was only born inside my dreams” might mean how on the outside they weren’t born a men, they are only man inside, in their dreams. I do not know why someone should die for them though, that’s just off. It makes it easier to interpret this song as told by a mass shooter. That whole line sounds scary to me. In that context “I am the opposite of amnesia” means they don’t forget anything and there will be vengeance. In the context of Marsha Johnson it might just mean that the narrator will not be forgotten, as repeated in the chorus. And you're a cherry blossom You're about to bloom You look so pretty, but you're gone so soon These lines could mean that trans people have a harder time figuring out who they are in this world than cis people, but when they do bloom, they are stronger, more beautiful and more memorable than anyone else. They might be saying this to their bullies (ooh or an unrequited crush!). We've been here forever And here's the frozen proof I could scream forever We are the poisoned youth Well, this sounds pretty literal and self-explanatory. With “poisoned” they could mean that they are poisoned with the wrong sex/gender. I don’t know what they mean with “here's the frozen proof”. All in all I feel like this song would be way more powerful if written about a mass shooter, especially in light of current events (or well, the last fourty years of events tbh). Maybe the songwriter was too frightened of misinterpretations and glorification of the lyrics to claim it as such. I’d love a true, powerful trans anthem though, so hopefully there is some truth in the above interpretation of the song. At least I won’t get nightmares from this interpretations, so I already won |
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| The Beatles – Fixing a Hole Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Does it Matter whether they were on drugs or not? It doesn't really Add something if they weren't, does it? I think if it was the drugs that made them write it, we must be very thankful they took it. I just wanted to know why he says "See the people standing there who disagree and never win and wonder why they don't get in my door" while lateron he says "Silly people run around. They worry me and never ask me why they don't get past my door". I don't get it, how could they Not get in his door, but also Not get Past my door? |
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