Annotations for Party Poison

Lyric: (体が痛くなるまで！)
Annotation:
Translation: Until our bodies get sore!

Lyric: Slide up the faders
Annotation:
Faders, a type of DJ equipment, are what control the volume in an audio setup. In this lyric, and the one following Light up the stage and watch me kick out the jams The gang are clearly pumping up the volume in preparation for a party.

Lyric: Hide your eyes, I’m gonna shine tonight
Annotation:
PROPOSED SUGGESTION: This may be a reference to the Killjoy’s masks, or it could be a metaphor, referring to how big a scene the Killjoys make in their rebellion; how bright they “shine”. Hide your eyes could be saying to take cover, because they’re going to do damage.

Lyric: Ain’t a preacher gonna save me now
Annotation:
Gerard is joking about how many conservative religious people want to “save” anyone who has interests too different from theirs; he (or Party Poison) is too far gone to be saved by some preacher. Also, this doesn’t NOT mean he doesn’t believe in God- in a 2019 episode of the podcast Carry the Fire, Gerard said that he now practices a loose form of witchcraft/paganism/spirituality. And song meanings evolve with time, babeyyyyyyy

Lyric: Everybody, pay attention to me
 I got the answer, I got the answer, yeah
Annotation:
Party Poison is telling the zone runners to listen to him. Throughout the comic and the music videos, the Fabulous Killjoys are seen as the prophets and protectors of The Girl who is the savior that will deliver the citizens of Battery City from the hostile tyranny of Better Living Industries. He’s using these lines as a call to action for anyone listening to him, needing more zone runners to rally to the rebellion against Better Living Industries.

Lyric: Everybody, hit the pyro cue
 We’re gonna blow this off and show you what we do
Annotation:
Pyromania is a physiological disorder causing an obsession with lighting things on fire. This theme of fire is seen all around  Danger Days, being seen from the  music videos to the  comic series. Gerard signals everyone that  the party will reach ‘a new level’; this is due to the cue he’s giving, indicating everyone to lose control (blow this party off). Nevertheless, the reference to fire and pyromania may connect to the idea that  living this lavish lifestyle of partying could lead to harm, just as playing with fire could get you burnt. The lyrics “blow this off” can also be interpreted as the laser guns the characters in  Danger Days use.

Lyric: Grab a seat, I’m going to show you how
Annotation:
He’s saying that what he’s about to say/show something that describes how he feels about his life and how he doesn’t treat it like a party. “Grab a seat” refers to him saying that it’s gonna take a while, because the person is hooked on the party life and won’t understand his point if view easy, so he’s gonna take a while to explain it. “Show you how” refers to him actually explaining his point of view in very clear, concise words so even the stupidest person could get it.

Lyric: Well, alright, well, alright, well, alright!
 Oh, oh, oh, oh, well, alright
Annotation:
Throughout the song, partying is portrayed as a negative thing, like  in the chorus. If the Killjoys were to throw a party, it would probably attract attention from the likes of BLI’s draculoids, who they’re trying to avoid. “Kill the party tonight” is probably a way of saying “keep it quiet” or “stay serious.”

Lyric: (体が痛くなるまで！)
Annotation:
Translation: Until our bodies are sore

Lyric: (体が痛くなるまで！)
Annotation:
Translation: Until our bodies are sore

Lyric: (みんなで踊ろう！)
Annotation:
Translation: Let’s dance together

Lyric: (みんなで踊ろう！)
Annotation:
Translation: Let’s dance together

Lyric: 有名になりたいの？
 マジで？
 永遠と生きたい
 私は爆発する！
Annotation:
Translation from Japanese: You wanna be famous? Seriously? I want to live forever I’m going to explode!

Lyric: Subatomic, never get the best of me
Annotation:
“Subatomic” is short for subatomic particle, which is a particle that is smaller than an atom. To get an idea of the size of an atom, watch  this video. The writer is depicting his idea of how he has never had the smaller issues of life ruin his day. The world is too busy and bustling to have your agenda wrapped around problems that will vanish in your last moments.

Lyric: This ain’t a party, get off the dance floor
 You want the get-down? Here comes the gang war
Annotation:
A lot of people go through life care-free and aloof, and Gerard lives by the opposite philosophy: life isn’t a party, so stop treating it as such. If you don’t take your life seriously, then people won’t take  you seriously. Gerard would rather  strike a violent pose and intimidate people rather than being seen as a joke. In the latter two lines, he may be somewhat sarcastic, taunting those who dance through life. It’s almost as if he’s saying “you really want to have fun?  Here come the important and serious events in life.” This section seems to contradict part of their song  “Sing,” in which Gerard says: I am not the singer that you wanted, but a dancer

Lyric: Ain’t a DJ gonna save my soul (My soul)
 I sold it long ago for rock n’ roll (Whoa-oh)
Annotation:
With today’s  new and evolving music, songs are now turning towards the electrical, computerized noises and using less instrumental sounds. The killjoys are orating that the people who lead the sound of computers, will never expand their vision or make them wiser. In fact, these kids are married to the life of rock and roll, it is now impossible to reorganize their lifestyle. This could be a reference to their 2002 song  “Vampires Will Never Hurt You,” in which the speaker asks that his lover “save his soul.” The track was on their first album, before the band hit the big time. Now that they’ve reached fans all over the world, they could be called rock legends. This  jetset life has taken a toll on them, and the stressful responsibilities of being a rockstar are rumored to have been a force behind the band’s split. Gerard may be trying to express that he has lost himself, or his “soul,” over the span of the band’s career. It is also possible that this is a reference to Black Sabbath’s album,  We Sold Our Soul to Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Lyric: And keep your cars, and your dogs, and your famous friends
Annotation:
Gerard doesn’t want any part of the whole fancy cars, pedigree dogs, and famous friends scene.  He’s doing just fine without all that fake jazz, and enjoys his simplistic life. A similar idea is explored in the band’s song  “Planetary (Go!)”: You keep eternity, give us the radio  The Killjoys have a pretty sweet car of their own in the music videos for  “Na Na Na” and  “Sing.”

Lyric: [Intro: Eri & Gerard Way]
Annotation:
According to frontman Gerard Way, the Japanese in this song was spoken by  a Japanese woman named Eri, who was a  friend of a friend. In an  interview with Warner Music Germany, Way discussed this song’s use of Japanese: That was the bit that made it feel futuristic and new, you know? And that was amazing to me once that was on there. It obviously recalls the opening of  David Bowie’s  Low, where the Japanese woman speaks for about a minute before the song really starts. Because  Low doesn’t feature any Japanese vocals, Gerard Way was likely mistaking it with David Bowie’s 1980 album  Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), which opens with spoken Japanese from  Michi Hirota in its first track,  “It’s No Game (Part 1).”

Lyric: Ain’t nobody gonna take my life
 Ain’t nobody gonna get the best of me
Annotation:
This song is written from the perspective of frontman  Gerard Way’s alter-ego, Party Poison. Party Poison is a member of the Fabulous Killjoys, a group of rebels who fight to take down Better Living Industries. BLI is gaining too much power, yet most of the public is oblivious. The Killjoys aim to show everyone their true nature. Party Poison isn’t going to let anyone live his life or make his decisions for him, especially BLI. He won’t fall victim to their malevolent ways.

Lyric: Drop the needle when the tape deck blows
Annotation:
“Drop the needle” is referring to a record player and cassette tape. When the cassette player breaks, use the vinyl—just don’t stop the music. Alternatively, this could be a metaphor. When what we’re doing—the cassette tape—doesn’t work, we’ll just go back to the old stuff—records. It’s the same song, but at the same time, it’s completely different. My Chem ‘reinvented’ themselves during the  Danger Days era, going from a death theme to a brightly-colored one.

Lyric: Light up the stage and watch me kick out the jams
Annotation:
This is likely a reference to MC5’s influential punk song  “Kick Out The Jams.” In an interview about  Danger Days, Gerard Way mentioned that one of the bands he took inspiration from for the album was MC5.

Lyric: Streetwalking cheetah with a capital G
Annotation:
The “G” likely stands for Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance. In this album, and the music videos of its songs, Gerard adopts the persona of the titular Party Poison. This is a reference to  “Search And Destroy” by Iggy Pop and the Stooges (“I’m a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm”).

Lyric: みんな！
 車は満タンだし
 スーツケースには爆弾詰めている
 人生は短くて、行く道は危険が多い
 だから、踊ろう！
Annotation:
In English, this translates to: Everyone! The car has a full tank So we’re packing the explosives in a suitcase Life is short, and there are many dangers on the roads we travel So let’s dance! This song is implied to be “the traffic” report of Dr. Death-Defying’s radio station, which would explain the mentions of cars and such.

Lyric: If we were all like you in the end
 Oh, we’d be killing ourselves by sleeping in
Annotation:
This is an allusion to  “Save Your Generation” by  Jawbreaker: I have a message: “Save your generation.” We’re killing each other by sleeping in Frontman Gerard Way  explained this connection during an interview: I felt like we did still wanna remind people like, yeah partying’s cool, but hard work is great. And making art is great. And doing, just getting up and doing anything is great, and not being lazy or sleeping in. And there’s a sentiment borrowed from Jawbreaker  Dear You, which is the opening  song about his generation. It’s like, “we’re killing ourselves by sleeping in.” And I always loved that because it’s very true. I was in my twenties and I was doing that very thing. I had friends that were doing that very thing. You can kill, you can murder yourself by sleeping in and not doing anything. The idea is that someone could be wasting their life if laziness gets the best of them, or by sleeping in. Instead, the listener is encouraged to go out, fight, and create. It is also worth noting that in Gerard Way’s comic book series based on the album, many of the Killjoys  sleep in discarded body bags which litter the desert. The soldiers of the antagonistic company are ordered to retrieve as many body bags as possible in the morning, so someone could literally kill themselves by sleeping for too long.

Lyric: ’Cause all the good times, they give you cancer
Annotation:
Many things that are good or fun these days lead to something bad. Considering that the song is called “Party Poison,” this lyric could be a nod to  lung and  liver cancer, which are results of excessive smoking and drinking. Both of these activities are commonplace at parties. This line is directly linked to the band’s song  “Cancer.” Frontman  Gerard Way discussed the connection after being asked about it in an  interview with  Village Voice: We’re definitely a self-referential band, and like, I especially, always end up abhorring what we did in the past. And I don’t know why that is, I think the only way I can move forward is attacking it. I like how bands growing up… like,  the Beatles were extremely self-referential and at times poking fun at who they used to be. I think it’s healthy because if you dwell on who you used to be and you always cherish it and you always talk about how amazing that was, then you’re not gonna grow. You’re always going to be like, ‘remember when we were the Black Parade and we were blowing up pyro and we were playing 10,000-person arenas?’ And if you get caught up in that it’s no good.

