Annotations for The Light Behind Your Eyes

Lyric: As we fade in the dark, just remember you will always burn as bright
Annotation:
The phrase “burn as bright” is echoed in the title of the song “ Burn Bright,” another song from the  Conventional Weapons EPs. Like “The Light Behind Your Eyes,” “Burn Bright” has been noted by Gerard to be about the band.

Lyric: And if they only knew what I would say
Annotation:
The feeling of emptiness after a loss is very common among people who have lost friends or relatives. The wish and desire to speak to them once again or connect with them to share your emotions is almost always present after a loss.

Lyric: [Outro: Gerard Way]
Annotation:
As the rest of the instruments fade out, Gerard’s voice is still there, encouraging the listener to desperately hold on. He’s still here to support his daughter, even through the bleakest and most trying times. This might correlate  with the first line, pointing out that despite his great losses, he’s still here, and Bandit should be, too. As the outro goes on, it grows softer and softer. The song can serve as a bit of a long-distance lullaby for his daughter, as he can’t be with her due to his demanding musical career. Or perhaps he’s dying, but still encourages his daughter to keep fighting with his final breath. Even if he knows he can no longer be with her, he knows his legacy won’t stop with him.  His story will continued to be told my family and fans alike, even for generations to come.

Lyric: I’ll fail and lose this fight
Annotation:
According to  NME, lead singer Gerard Way relapsed into alcoholism shortly after the release of My Chemical Romance’s 2010 album  Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. As described by Way, in comparison to his previous struggles with drugs and alcohol during the recording of  Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, “there was more at stake this time”, due to having a daughter named Bandit. I relapsed, not into drugs but booze. I was self-medicating again to get through, and I’d forgotten how miserable that made me. It took me to the dark place again, but there was more at stake this time. I started to face the hypothetical reality of Bandit not having a father. The repetition of “lose this fight”, starting first as “one day” – something in the future, changing then to “I will”, and then to “I lost this fight”, implies that Way is talking about his struggles with alcoholism and the possibility of not being around for his daughter. At the time of writing this song, it is possible that he had spiralled and was thinking of the worst possible outcome – not being around for Bandit – being a serious possibility. I started taking that seriously, thinking, ‘I want her to have a dad. A guy that’s present. Because one way or another – either by death or by asylum, she’s gonna be fatherless if I keep this up.’

Lyric: One day, I’ll lose this fight
Annotation:
According to  NME, lead singer Gerard Way relapsed into alcoholism shortly after the release of My Chemical Romance’s 2010 album  Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. As described by Way, in comparison to his previous struggles with drugs and alcohol during the recording of  Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, “there was more at stake this time”, due to having a daughter named Bandit. I relapsed, not into drugs but booze. I was self-medicating again to get through, and I’d forgotten how miserable that made me. It took me to the dark place again, but there was more at stake this time. I started to face the hypothetical reality of Bandit not having a father. The repetition of “lose this fight”, starting first as “one day” – something in the future, changing then to “I will”, and then to “I lost this fight”, implies that Way is talking about his struggles with alcoholism and the possibility of not being around for his daughter. At the time of writing this song, it is possible that he had spiralled and was thinking of the worst possible outcome – not being around for Bandit – being a serious possibility. I started taking that seriously, thinking, ‘I want her to have a dad. A guy that’s present. Because one way or another – either by death or by asylum, she’s gonna be fatherless if I keep this up.’

Lyric: Never let them take the light behind your eyes
Annotation:
Gerard said they wanted this song to sound  High Hopes by  Pink Floyd.  Poles Apart from the same record  The Division Bell has these lines addressed to David Gilmour’s former bandmates Syd Barrett and Roger Waters: And that you’d never lose that light in your eyes? and I never thought that you’d lose that light in your eyes Gerard also said it is about “our own mortality as a band, the friends, bands that broke up…” From Poles Apart genius annotation: “Poles Apart” addresses the major two changes in leadership during Pink Floyd’s duration, and their impact from Gilmour’s point of view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVWxFDMCC3Y https://genius.com/Pink-floyd-poles-apart-lyrics

Lyric: Sometimes, we must grow stronger
 And you can’t be stronger when I’m gone
 When I’m here no longer
 You must be stronger, and
Annotation:
Everyone dies. Its a natural part of life that everyone has to deal with. From a father to a daughter (Like the original context), it shows that the father realizes that his time will be over eventually and the daughter will have to live on without him. Here, Gerard informs his daughter that he will leave this world someday, but she needs to stay strong for him. Gerard knows he will not be around forever. Eventually, Gerard and the rest of the band will die, but they will live on through their music and their memories. But with newer generations willing to carry his flag,  his legacy will surely carry on.

Lyric: Never let them take the light behind your eyes
 I failed and lost this fight
Annotation:
“The light behind your eyes” means your life, as some people say when people get excited, they look alive because their eyes shine. Gerard (lead singer) wants to keep fighting for you, but the next line “I’ve failed and lost this fight” means he knows he can’t keep supporting, and once he stopped, they died, and Gerard (lead singer) is looking back onto his mistake  According to  NME, lead singer Gerard Way relapsed into alcoholism shortly after the release of My Chemical Romance’s 2010 album  Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. As described by Way, in comparison to his previous struggles with drugs and alcohol during the recording of  Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, “there was more at stake this time”, due to having a daughter named Bandit. I relapsed, not into drugs but booze. I was self-medicating again to get through, and I’d forgotten how miserable that made me. It took me to the dark place again, but there was more at stake this time. I started to face the hypothetical reality of Bandit not having a father. The repetition of “lose this fight”, changing then to “I lost this fight” implies that Way is talking about his struggles with alcoholism and the possibility of not being around for his daughter. At the time of writing this song, it is possible that he had spiralled and was thinking of the worst possible outcome – not being around for Bandit – being a serious possibility. I started taking that seriously, thinking, ‘I want her to have a dad. A guy that’s present. Because one way or another – either by death or by asylum, she’s gonna be fatherless if I keep this up.’

Lyric: So long to all my friends
 Every one of them met tragic ends
Annotation:
My Chemical Romance (especially Gerard) have lost someone in life. For Gerard it was Elena Lee Rush in 2003. After the death Gerard dedicated a song to her on 3 Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Tragic ends are very common in their albums. For 3 Cheers for Sweet Revenge it was the fact that the ‘Demolition Lovers’ went down in a gunfight. In The Ghost of You (part of 3 Cheers for Sweet Revenge) music video, around the bridge of the song you will see that Mikey Way dies in the video. For The Black Parade, it is about The Patient, the protagonist of the story, and his battle with cancer for two weeks. For Danger Days, it was pretty much all of the band members alter egos. In the music video for SING, all of them are taken out by BL/ind (Better Living Industries) in fact in the song Jet-Star and the Kobra Kid/ Traffic Report, you can hear Dr Death Defying say about how both of them were ‘ghosted’ and in Goodnite, Dr. Death, Dr Death Defying tells that all of the Killjoys (Party Poison, Fun Ghoul, Jet-Star and The Kobra Kid) have been killed.

Lyric: If I could be with you tonight
 I would sing you to sleep
Annotation:
Many people fall asleep to music. For fans of MCR, listening to this music as they fall asleep would be similar to Gerard coming and singing them to sleep himself. However, he states that he isn’t capable of singing them to sleep. This could be because of Gerard’s own death or perhaps the breaking up of his band. Additionally, Gerard could be talking to someone he personally knows, such as his daughter. Because he was often gone touring, he wouldn’t be able to make it to her bedside to sing her to sleep.

