Annotations for Dead

Lyric: You never fell in love
Annotation:
Having first gone to war and then facing cancer, The Patient has never got to experience interpersonal love. Besides that, being surrounded with hatred throughout his life (tough teenagehood, war, hurtful feelings from being sick), the Patient might’ve never experienced any love in general.

Lyric: Dead
Annotation:
The title/repeating motif of this song is likely a direct reference to a famous headline printed in 1928. The front page spread, also called “Dead!”, contains a photograph of murderer Ruth Snyder’s execution by electric chair. This photograph was the first ever captured of someone dying in the electric chair, and the first time the general public would have seen it in action.

Lyric: [Guitar Solo]
Annotation:
If you listen closely you can hear the Woody The Woodpecker’s laugh before the solo ends. Once you notice, you’ll never be able to unhear it.  https://youtu.be/AIDGrKZ0Rs Around 2:17 in the song

Lyric: [Guitar Solo]
Annotation:
The guitar solo kicks in almost immediately. Like the depictions of death in this song, it is ironically uplifting and non-serious.

Lyric: Oh, take me from the hospital bed
 Wouldn’t it be grand? It ain’t exactly what you planned
 And wouldn’t it be great if we were dead?
Annotation:
The patient is asking to be taken away, as in he’d much rather die now. He knows he’s going to suffer emotionally and physically all by himself until he dies from the illness, so he wants to be over with it already. The character says, “It ain’t exactly what you planned,” in the first chorus. He had lived thinking he had people who cared about him and liked him, but as death comes close, it becomes clear to him that isn’t the case. Before the diagnosis, he had grand plans for his life, but now he won’t be able to pursue them or enjoy life anyways, knowing that he is not liked by others. He fantasizes about the dramatic spectacle of him dying by shooting himself with a pistol and thinks that this is a grand plan he can now get by on. It could also be interpreted as the character possibly already having had a plan for suicide, as he had been depressed before the diagnosis, too.

Lyric: Then your heart can’t take this
Annotation:
This line can be interpreted in two ways, which both use the concept of  The Black Parade: The Patient dying alone in a hospital and following through the aftermath of death. The first interpretation is quite literal- following the plot of the album and song. From the perspective of The Patient and the doctor, this could be referring to heart condition referred to  later in the song and how his heart can’t take the stress of keeping him alive any longer. The second one is more emotional- from the perspective of someone witnessing their death. The Patient dies initially as the song starts, and this could be referencing the trauma accompanied by it.

Lyric: (La, la, la, la, la, la, la)
 If life ain’t just a joke, then why am I dead?
 Dead
Annotation:
The Black Parade storytells the life of a character named The Patient, a lonely man who gets cancer and ultimately dies.  Gerard Way, the frontman for  My Chemical Romance, plays The Patient emphasizing the emotions he goes through after death. Confused about the feelings he’s experiencing, The Patient laughs his conflicts off to cope.  My Chemical Romance recalls this theme of Death and introduces happiness in a project focused on despair to portray how people may express emotions different from how they really feel. They also introduces positivity to  show how negativity can swayed to fuel positivity.

Lyric: Yeah
Annotation:
This song starts right where the previous track on the album,  “The End.”, finishes. On the one hand, the word “yeah” is used as a filler word to create a link between the two songs. The vocals start right after the flatline of a heart rate monitor can be heard, so on the other hand, it could just be that the Patient wants to clarify that he died.

Lyric: Have you heard the news that you’re dead?
 No one ever had much nice to say
 I think they never liked you anyway
Annotation:
The Black Parade tells the story of a character named The Patient, a lonely man who gets cancer and ultimately dies. However, the final song on the album,  “Famous Last Words,” has thrown some fans on a loop about whether he actually passes away — on the track, frontman  Gerard Way sings: I am not afraid to keep on living I am not afraid to walk this world alone

Lyric: Tongue-tied and oh, so squeamish
Annotation:
This is probably about how The Patient felt in his  teen years — an awkward outsider. His teenagehood is further described in  “Disenchanted,” where he admits he was cast out. I spent my high school career Spit on and shoved to agree So I could watch all my heroes sell a car on TV

Lyric: (La la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la)
 If life ain’t just a joke, then why are we laughing?
 (La la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la)
 If life ain’t just a joke, then why are we laughing?
 (La la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la)
 If life ain’t just a joke, then why are we laughing?
Annotation:
This line highlights the mix of emotions The Patient feels when he finds out he has just two weeks to live. As he approaches death, he insists that life is meaningless. However, this is likely just his way of comforting himself, because later in the album it is proven that he has a lot to lose —  “This Is How I Disappear” and  “I Don’t Love You” are both about a love interest who he cares about immensely. In addition, he shows fear towards losing a loved one in  “Cancer.”

Lyric: And if your heart stops beating
 I’ll be here wondering
 Did you get what you deserve?
 The ending of your life
Annotation:
This section seems to come from The Patient’s mother — their twisted relationship comes to fruition later in the album on  “Mama.” With this connection in mind, it’s likely that his mother is angry at him for going to war and possibly killing innocent people during battles. “Did you get what you deserve?” is a callback to  “Cemetery Drive,” which appeared on the band’s sophomore album,  Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.

Lyric: And in my honest observation, during this operation
 Found a complication in your heart, so long
 ’Cause now you’ve got
 Maybe just two weeks to live
 Is that the most the both of you can give?
Annotation:
The Patient is speaking with his doctor in this section.  The doctor promises to be frank, and tells him that he has a heart problem, which is likely  cancer, and his life is coming to an end. The Patient pleads with him, asking if there are any ways to save him. The last line may be related to  “Heaven Help Us,” a song written for  The Black Parade that was eventually scrapped. In the song, the speaker is pleading for God to lend him a hand. This could be connected because The Patient doesn’t want to lose his life, but he would need a miracle to stay alive.

Lyric: One, two, one, two, three, four
 La la la la la, la la la la la la
 La la la la la la la, well, come on
 La la la la la, la la la la la la
 La la la la la la la, oh, motherfucker
Annotation:
This is where the stress of knowing he’s going to die gets to him and brings out his insanity which will be exposed more later in the album.

