Annotations for Make Room

Lyric: We are never gonna change the world
 We are never gonna change the world
 ’Cause we are never gonna die!
Annotation:
To me, this is talking about how the killjoys, in their album which they made after scrapping this, live life as if they’d never die, and how they didn’t know how much change they’d actually bring. And in the killjoy comics, their death did inspire a huge change, meaning that they did make change, but the price they paid was death.

Lyric: Drag star, so cool
Annotation:
Drag is when a man dresses up as a woman, usually in a really overdone way, and is playing a character, so to speak. These women, drag queens, are super bad-ass and I have a lot of respect for them. The first time they sang this, Gerard said “dead chic / so cool,” which makes me think they’re talking about gender and clothing here again.

Lyric: Dead chic, so cool
Annotation:
Some people sometimes consider them goth… Death is pretty goth, and chic is kind of like a style of dressing that’s cool or sexy, so this is like, a goth style of dressing. In Vampire Money (Danger Days,) he said “so cool” when he’s talking about the traditional vampire get-up: “Hair back, collar up, jet black, so cool!”

Lyric: Down on the coffin,​ there’s a coffin or two
Annotation:
Make Room!!!, the novel on which the song was titled after, is a futuristic story about overpopulation in America and the dire consequences following. This line could be referring to coffin stacking, an action resorted to in order to save space in graveyards. Coffin stacking is when multiple coffins are stacked one on top of the other in a single plot. It’s possible coffin stacking’s popularity may increase in the future years as space for graveyards decreases. Coffin stacking model pictured below.

Lyric: I know you get excited when the cameras go
 Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta
Annotation:
This line compares the high of being famous and the continuous exposure to cameras to a gun. The excitement could be quite literal, as they are famous and everyone wants to see them, or it could be referring to the adrenaline you get from hearing gunshots.

Lyric: The cannibals are starving when they’re looking at you
Annotation:
This line is referring to the film  Make Room! Make Room! mentioned  above, which the song’s title is based on​. The film deals with futuristic overpopulation and how humanity must resort to cannibalism to resolve the widespread issue of hunger.

Lyric: Well alright, well alright
 Well alright, well alright
 Well alright
Annotation:
This lyric was also recycled into Danger Days on the song  Party Poison- and with  this one. That is used in  Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na).

Lyric: Make room! Make room!
Annotation:
“Make Room! Make Room!” is the original title of the Harry Harrison novel that become the film  Soylent Green. It focuses on how overpopulation will kill us all; likewise, the film suggests that cannibalism will be humanity’s only hope to continue.

Lyric: She’s alright
 Everybody in the room is alright
Annotation:
This could be about that kind of overly optimistic way of looking at things, claiming that everything is fine when it’s not, and just assuming that everything is okay with people simply because they act like nothing is wrong. It’s pretty funny that this is coming from the same band that wrote  “I’m Not Okay.” In addition, this sounds like the type of thing Gerard would say to a crowd on stage to get them all amped up for a concert.

Lyric: Got a taste for the cash and androgyny
Annotation:
Androgyny is defined as the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. Sexual ambiguity may be found in fashion, gender identity, sexual identity, or sexual lifestyle. Gerard has stated that he identifies as non-binary, talking about it once in a  reddit thread: I have always identified a fair amount with the female gender. […] Masculinity to me has always made it feel like it wasn’t right for me. He also put on  his twitter that he prefers he/they pronouns. Many fans also believe Gerard’s character in  Danger Days, Party Poison, is non-binary as well. Gerard himself has referred to the character with they/them.  https://twitter.com/gerardway/status/590960413006663681?lang=en

Lyric: Everybody wants to change the world
 Everybody wants to change the world
 But no one, no one wants to die!
Annotation:
People say they want to make a difference but they don’t because they’re too worried about how helping other will affect them. This section of the song also makes an appearance in the song  “Na Na Na.” Though “Na Na Na” was released first,  Conventional Weapons was recorded before it. In the background, Frank is saying something roughly along the lines of: Well, everybody from the back of my [?] Oh, everybody from the back of my [?] Oh, everybody from the back of the [?] Oh, everybody wants a cameraman as well Oh, everybody from the back of my [?] They’re gonna get ya from the back of my [?] Oh, everybody from the back of my [?] Oh, everybody from the back of the [?] They’re never gonna let ya from the back of my [?] Oh, everybody wants a cameraman as well Oh, everybody from the back of my [?] Oh, everybody from the back of the [?] For mankind For my stars Take it high My world, Shut up and sing! Get, high Get, high Get, high Get, high, money Get, high Get, high C'mon! From all the same cuts Or all the same guts We die! Make room!

Lyric: White lines, nosebleeds
Annotation:
Gerard struggled with substance abuse in  the past, from alcohol to cocaine. “White lines” is referring to how the rows of cocaine before you snort it. them.

