Annotations for SING

Lyric: I refuse to answer
Annotation:
This line may be an indication of how the singer refuses to acknowledge the world he is in, and seeks to return to the one he once knew. A person who knew the world before dystopia. And when questioned of his intentions he speaks nothing, merely wishing for the reversion to his old memories.

Lyric: Cleaned-up corporation progress
 Dying in the process
Annotation:
Clean corporations suffer for doing things with sympathetic morals.  Corrupt companies orient their morals around what will help them achieve success.  This sacrifices the considerate view and the clean corporations become collateral damage. If you try and understand this as if it were a graph, it results in a horizontal plane of no progress.  While wealth is the obvious counterpoint to “no evidence of progress,” wealth is often considered only one of many enjoyable things in life, almost rendering it invaluable.

Lyric: Children that can talk about it, living on the Web-ways
Annotation:
This line remarks about children spending so much of their time on the internet. He is trying to say that children generally don’t have the power of credibility in person.  On the internet, they are anonymous and social acceptance is free.  Their opinions are simply more valued.

Lyric: Got to see what tomorrow brings
 Sing it for the world, sing it for the world
 Girl, you’ve got to be what tomorrow needs
 Sing it for the world, sing it for the world
Annotation:
A repetition of earlier motifs: standing for everyone, and saving tomorrow.

Lyric: Keep running!
Annotation:
This is encouragement for the people that break away from the norm, and also a reference to the ending of the music video for  “Na Na Na”, where Korse says, “Keep running” as a threat to Party Poison, showing that getting away isn’t a path  without its dangers but giving the phrase the opposite meaning and defying those who threaten individuality.

Lyric: Talk about the past, sir
 Wrote it for the ones who want to get away
Annotation:
He wants to tell people how they got where they are, and do it so people can get out.

Lyric: I am not the singer that you wanted, but a dancer
Annotation:
Gerard is not a prophet; he’s a leader. The use of the word “singer” is an interesting choice, seeing as the song’s name is “SING.” Throughout the song, Gerard is trying to empower his audience and discusses motifs of inspiration and ambition.  That said, Gerard doesn’t view himself as a leader.  He relates to children in a way that his views are socially dismissed based off of purely who he is.  Gerard is known for his expressive stage presence, so it comes as no surprise that he would acknowledge this.

Lyric: Nothing but a dead scene, product of a white dream
Annotation:
The world is bland and gray and no one is wanting or trying to fight back. This could be referring to the alternative music scene, which seemed to have been coming off from its high at the time this song was released. The white race is fairly dominant, so it almost seems wrong for them to have dreams and aspirations when they are on the top of the totem pole. The dominant race becoming greedy, consequently creating the dead scene. This is technically a  double entendre.  While a dead scene is referred to, more precisely, as a generation making no progress.  That said, in a literal sense, the line is referring to poverty.  CONTEXT In terms of the album’s concept, everyone in the Killjoy universe seems to be blindly following Better Living Industries without questioning the company’s motives. Few people think for themselves or make their own decisions, and appear to be brain dead. This is likely an effect of the mind-wiping propaganda BL/I puts out.

Lyric: Sell it ’til your last days
 Buy yourself the motivation, generation nothing
Annotation:
My Chemical Romance always tried to inspire people to make a difference and live their dreams, but often times, people are inspired to do something yet lack the drive and determination to do it. They can’t make positive changes to the world if they’re left without motivation, so they’ll have to push themselves to do so. Simply, the band is urging their audience to make a difference and find meaning.  Whether it be through spreading awareness or investing yourself into a better future for your children, do something for the better. Finally, this line is mocking how materialistic and financially-dependent the world has become today. Studies have shown that the average person spends  thousands of dollars monthly, and a large portion of the things consumers buy aren’t even necessary.  CONTEXT In the Killjoy universe, Better Living Industries is an omnipotent corporation that tricks the public into thinking the pills they sell are the only way to feel any emotions. People get hooked and waste their money on the placebos. However, the Killjoys know about their guiling ways and want to expose the company. This satirical lyric is mocking the consumers of this dystopian world.

Lyric: And raise your voice, every single time
 They try and shut your mouth
Annotation:
Every time they try and stop you, get louder, and make sure you’re heard.

Lyric: You’ve got to make a choice if the music drowns you out
Annotation:
If the noise in the world (the music) is drowning out your voice, you have to choose whether to lay down and give up, or step up your game.

Lyric: Sing it for the boys, sing it for the girls
 Every time that you lose it, sing it for the world
 Sing it from the heart, sing it ’til you’re nuts
 Sing it out for the ones that’ll hate your guts
 Sing it for the deaf, sing it for the blind
 Sing about everyone that you left behind
 Sing it for the world, sing it for the world
Annotation:
Keep singing until the Earth is a better place for everyone. The chorus tells the people of the world to stand up for both their beliefs and for others who can’t speak for themselves. We all must stand up for what we believe in and never stop until those in power realize we are a force to be reckoned with.

Lyric: For every time that they want to count you out
 And use your voice every single time you open up your mouth
Annotation:
This pair of lines tells the people of the world, particularly the rebels, to stand up and scream and be heard, no matter what the people in power do to try and stop you.

Lyric: Sing it out
 Boy, you’ve got to see what tomorrow brings
 Sing it out
 Girl, you’ve got to be what tomorrow needs
Annotation:
The repetition of “Sing it out” introduces the song’s concept: speaking up and being heard. The two other lines talk about “tomorrow” and what it brings. It means that we need to not only live to see tomorrow, but rescue it in a way, by “being what tomorrow needs.” The fact that one line begins with “boy” and the other with “girl” shows that the band mean for everyone, of all genders and races, to stand together.

Lyric: Sing it out
 Girl, before they kill what tomorrow brings
Annotation:
The world has many secrets, and could get fully corrupted or changed for the worse at any given time. If this girl doesn’t take a stand, or “sing”, then someday it may be too late to do what needs to be done.

Lyric: Sing it out
 Boy, they’re gonna sell what tomorrow means
Annotation:
The media is going to manipulate and brainwash the public into wanting a certain future for themselves.

