This is possibly the most interesting song lyrically that i've ever heard. It just goes to show that there are 16 pages worth of posts on this song.
Well i would say some lyrical differences in some versions people have posted are very important. In my opinion this song is about a guy who's girlfriend (of at least some time, but not too long) was cheating on him. I say girlfriend on some time but not too long because the context of the opening stanza makes the most sense in that context.
Now as for why i say the girl has been cheating on him: for starters, the guy is clearly not a happy guy at this point, his life is "it can't be much worse" vs. "no one should ever feel like" which are too pretty bad things that might come emotionally from finding out that his girlfriend cheated on him. I believe this right here is the most difficult, interesting and crucial stanza:
"You always fold just
Before you're found out
Drink up, it's last call, last resort
But only the first mistake"
The being found out part leads me to believe that she was cheating, and right when he was about to find out, she dumped him. This move is a "last resort" because its actually a desperate move for her (I'll get to that later) and "only the first mistake" at least in his mind, because he loves her so much that he's forgiven her for everything she's done before this.
Now why is this move a "last call" or "last resort." One has to look at her motives for being in this relationship with him in the first place if she loved another guy for a while. This might lead one to believe that they're married, but i think this unlikely because of the first stanza and the fact that this seems to be a sort of almost regular thing for her (you "always" fold just..), and if they were married it would be a first. Now the reason she's probably in a relationship with him is for his money. He probably has a lot of it and ideally she'd like to marry him but have affairs with other guys, and still take his money. i know this is sort of a stretch, and there isn't really any evidence in the song for it, but that's my best explanation for this part of the song.
To reiterate my last point, "these are the lives (plural, VERY key) you'd love to lead" she would like to live this double life of cheating on this guy, but now that he almost found out and she dumped him, she can't. (So SAD!) Also, the part about showing spine "you've been saving for his mattress" again show that she's cheating on him.
The guy clearly loves her, as he's forgiven her for lots of stuff before (everything in fact) and does in fact want sympathy in the form of her having sex with him. He doesn't want to forget how her voice sounds, and he needs these words he's written about her just to get by. Her cheating has demeaned his love for her somewhat, but he was so attached to her he still needs her voice and her memory just to get by. Again, he still finds her physically very attractive and would love to have sex with her.
The last thing to explain is all this "Dance, Dance" stuff, after all, that is the name of the song!
The guy says that he's "two quarters and a heart down" because a) a heart down obviously cause he's brokenhearted and b) 2 quarters down because he just spent them on a jukebox, which is his sort of way of coping with what's just happened. This particular jukebox probably has some emotional significance to him because he probably spent some time there with her, and he's remembering how she used to dance to it, and now he's sitting there, wishing she were still there, dancing to it. He's transfixed by this idea, and that's why he repeats these lines over and over again.
This guy has had a really rough time, and Fall Out Boy does a great job of embedding a really great story in a very catchy song. They tend to do this sort of thing a lot which is why i like them so much.
This is possibly the most interesting song lyrically that i've ever heard. It just goes to show that there are 16 pages worth of posts on this song. Well i would say some lyrical differences in some versions people have posted are very important. In my opinion this song is about a guy who's girlfriend (of at least some time, but not too long) was cheating on him. I say girlfriend on some time but not too long because the context of the opening stanza makes the most sense in that context.
Now as for why i say the girl has been cheating on him: for starters, the guy is clearly not a happy guy at this point, his life is "it can't be much worse" vs. "no one should ever feel like" which are too pretty bad things that might come emotionally from finding out that his girlfriend cheated on him. I believe this right here is the most difficult, interesting and crucial stanza: "You always fold just Before you're found out Drink up, it's last call, last resort But only the first mistake" The being found out part leads me to believe that she was cheating, and right when he was about to find out, she dumped him. This move is a "last resort" because its actually a desperate move for her (I'll get to that later) and "only the first mistake" at least in his mind, because he loves her so much that he's forgiven her for everything she's done before this.
Now why is this move a "last call" or "last resort." One has to look at her motives for being in this relationship with him in the first place if she loved another guy for a while. This might lead one to believe that they're married, but i think this unlikely because of the first stanza and the fact that this seems to be a sort of almost regular thing for her (you "always" fold just..), and if they were married it would be a first. Now the reason she's probably in a relationship with him is for his money. He probably has a lot of it and ideally she'd like to marry him but have affairs with other guys, and still take his money. i know this is sort of a stretch, and there isn't really any evidence in the song for it, but that's my best explanation for this part of the song.
To reiterate my last point, "these are the lives (plural, VERY key) you'd love to lead" she would like to live this double life of cheating on this guy, but now that he almost found out and she dumped him, she can't. (So SAD!) Also, the part about showing spine "you've been saving for his mattress" again show that she's cheating on him.
The guy clearly loves her, as he's forgiven her for lots of stuff before (everything in fact) and does in fact want sympathy in the form of her having sex with him. He doesn't want to forget how her voice sounds, and he needs these words he's written about her just to get by. Her cheating has demeaned his love for her somewhat, but he was so attached to her he still needs her voice and her memory just to get by. Again, he still finds her physically very attractive and would love to have sex with her.
The last thing to explain is all this "Dance, Dance" stuff, after all, that is the name of the song! The guy says that he's "two quarters and a heart down" because a) a heart down obviously cause he's brokenhearted and b) 2 quarters down because he just spent them on a jukebox, which is his sort of way of coping with what's just happened. This particular jukebox probably has some emotional significance to him because he probably spent some time there with her, and he's remembering how she used to dance to it, and now he's sitting there, wishing she were still there, dancing to it. He's transfixed by this idea, and that's why he repeats these lines over and over again.
This guy has had a really rough time, and Fall Out Boy does a great job of embedding a really great story in a very catchy song. They tend to do this sort of thing a lot which is why i like them so much.
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