Annotations for Welcome to the Black Parade

Lyric: A world that sends you reeling from decimated dreams
Annotation:
The world is ugly!

Lyric: And take it back, and let’s shout it loud and clear
Annotation:
The Previous Sentence of the song says that funerals are too dreary and sad and that the misery would pull them all down. So the Person of this story throws a parade “So paint it black and take it back and lets shout it loud and clear” Wanting to change the meaning of funerals to mean a celibration of life, and the people that lived

Lyric: And though you’re broken and defeated
Annotation:
Broken and defeated could refer to the state of mind and  body that the narrator is in right now. The narrator is at the end of their life and they know they are going to die therefore they are “broken”. Furthermore, the narrator feels like life has “defeated” them because they are about to “lose” their life.

Lyric: On and on, we carry through the fears (Oh, ha, ha)
 Disappointed faces of your peers (Oh, ha, ha)
 Take a look at me, ’cause I could not care at all
Annotation:
During the first two lines of the bridge, someone (possibly family or former friends) are speaking negativity to The Patient, trying to put his mood down further as he recalls his favourite memory. In the last line, The Patient seems to be retaliating to these claims, stating that he doesn’t care about their harsh opinions or the truth of reality around him and won’t let it interrupt his last living moments.

Lyric: Your misery and hate will kill us all
Annotation:
This line may refer to The Patient’s family, who are trying and failing to improve The Patient’s mood as he begins to slip from the mortal realm, seeming to be complaining about the fact that he won’t be remembered and the world will “carry on” just fine without him there.

Lyric: Defiant to the end, we hear the call
Annotation:
Although the narrator doesn’t want to die they hear the call of, possibly, either death or their family telling them to be strong.

Lyric: And though you’re broken and defeated
Annotation:
Relates to the narrator’s weak mental and physical state. This is because they know they are going to die and are disturbed about it.

Lyric: And in my heart, I can’t contain it
 The anthem won’t explain it
Annotation:
‘In my heart I can’t contain it’ refers to The Patient’s strong feelings for the memory of his father taking him to a parade and his feeling that he can no longer contain it inside his heart. He needs to get it out. ‘The anthem won’t explain it’ suggests that The narrator feels that no one else understands why this memory is so strong and powerful.

Lyric: Paint it black
Annotation:
A possible reference to The Rolling Stones' song  Paint It, Black, talking about the funeral of a girl from her lover’s viewpoint and expressing his want of the color of everything to match his mood (by painting it black).

Lyric: We’ll carry on, we’ll carry on
 And though you’re dead and gone, believe me
 Your memory will carry on, we’ll carry on
Annotation:
This could have a double meaning. It could be saying that when the patient dies, the world will carry on without him just the same. This could link to the song  “Dead!” and the  lyric: I think they never liked you anyway Alternatively, it could also mean that the patient will carry on his beliefs and independence even after death. This relates back to the  first line of the verse: Do or die You’ll never make me

Lyric: [Intro]
Annotation:
The song’s intro is a chilling series of piano notes that is jokingly said to be the easiest way to make a fan of  My Chemical Romance cry.

Lyric: Do or die, you’ll never make me
Annotation:
He is suggesting that people can do what they want but he will keep being himself and powering on to do what he wants. He prefers making himself happy over others. “Do or die” suggests “go hard or go home” or “we came here to do it and I’m not leaving before we have”

Lyric: Because the world will never take my heart
Annotation:
No matter what the world says about Gerard, it will never change the way he thinks about anything. Maybe he has a  bulletproof heart? For example, MCR was frequently noted as an emo band.  In an interview with  Rolling Stone, Gerard talked about this classification: Basically, it’s never been accurate to describe us. Emo bands were being booked while we were touring with Christian metal bands because no one would book us on tours. I think emo is fucking garbage, it’s bullshit. I think there’s bands that unfortunately we get lumped in with that are considered emo and by default that starts to make us emo. All I can say is anyone actually listening to the records, put the records next to each other and listen to them and there’s actually no similarities. I think emo is a pile of shit. Despite this classification, Gerard protested against it, and never let his music be classified as something it’s not. It works the same with anything for him; he stands up for his beliefs.

Lyric: And other times, I feel like I should go
 And through it all, the rise and fall, the bodies in the streets
 And when you’re gone, we want you all to know
Annotation:
He feels like he’s insignificant. This could be referring to the band’s  previous album, in which they had many ups and downs. ‘Rise’ could be referring to the band’s great rise in fame. The last line finishes off the message, prefacing the next verse in which you’re reminded that there’s more to life than death. In  an interview, Way was asked what he hoped  The Black Parade would inspire. He answered that he wanted acceptance for everyone. I don’t want people to be afraid of living, which I think is everybody’s biggest fear. I want people to express themselves how they want. […] So if it’s happening there, it’s happening everywhere. I’m very much into acceptance.

Lyric: Your weary widow marches
Annotation:
This is the first reference to the Patient’s lover (who we meet later in  “I Don’t Love You” and  “Famous Last Words.” His ‘weary widow’ is the woman he’s left behind.  This is similar to the concept of the band’s  previous album, where the lovers must continue on their own before their final reunition.

Lyric: Go and try, you’ll never break me
 We want it all, we wanna play this part
 I won’t explain or say I’m sorry
Annotation:
He won’t let the fact he’s dying keep him from playing his part in the world. He’s the savior now, the dying savior, and he won’t let death get the better of him. The Patient won’t apologize for who he is or explain, no matter how the society puts pressure on him. The Patient won’t apologize for his death, nor will he explain why he must go.

Lyric: He said, ”Son, when you grow up, would you be
 The savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?”
 He said, ”Will you defeat them, your demons
 And all the non-believers, the plans that they have made?
Annotation:
His father asked him to overcome his difficulties in life, to help the people around him that were in difficult situations, and to be an awesome person who would stand up for the weak. The way this story is told gives it strong overtones of Christian symbolism. The speaker’s father corresponds to God the father; the son to Jesus, tempted by Satan and his own human frailty; and “a phantom to lead you” to the Holy Spirit. God is showing “The Patient” the afterlife and promises him a future in the parade if he uses his music to reach the “beaten and the damned.”

Lyric: I’m unashamed, I’m gonna show my scar
 And give a cheer for all the broken
 Listen here, because it’s who we are
Annotation:
He’s not ashamed to admit that he’s led a broken life. In this line, the protagonist let’s the world know that he really  doesn’t care. Sure, he’s been ‘broken,’ but he knows he’s not the only one. He’s addressing all the people who are broken – or those who succumbed to the world’s taunts – and telling them that they were the strongest. The protagonist is following his  father’s advice and is inviting everyone who’s ever been hurt to join him in his cheer.

Lyric: Because one day, I’ll leave you a phantom
 To lead you in the summer to join the black parade”
Annotation:
A phantom is defined as an appearance or illusion without material substance, as a dream image, mirage, or optical illusion. “The Black Parade” symbolizes the metamorphosis of death into the afterlife in this song. The father is saying that he will soon die and join the supernatural procession that leads the patient into the Beyond. This also continues on the Christian overtones of the story. The “phantom” is the third part of the  Trinity, the  Holy Spirit/Ghost. The Holy Spirit is often seen as the loving and guiding side of God.

Lyric: Just a man, I’m not a hero
 Just a boy who had to sing this song
 Just a man, I’m not a hero
 I don’t care
Annotation:
The hero in the real world is usually not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of heroes. Despite the idea of perfection and inhuman abilities expected of a hero, they are simply average people. Earlier, the protagonist explains his father’s high expectation of him, asking him to be a hero. He said, “Son, when you grow up Would you be the savior of the broken The beaten and the damned?” By not giving up – staying true to his dreams and persevering past sorrow – he stood up for the ‘damned’ and became the hero his father had requested. Although he’s done all this, he still does not see himself as a hero. He wasn’t the one who came up with this idea of salvation; his father was. The protagonist was simply following his father’s instructions and he doesn’t want the credit.

Lyric: Sometimes, I get the feeling she’s watching over me
Annotation:
“She” might be the personification of Death — Death constantly has an eye on him because he will have to die soon. Alternatively, this could be referencing the biblical character  Mary or the  Black Parade character Mother War, shown below, who is onscreen at this time during the music video.  It could also be a reference to Gerard and Mikey Way’s grandmother Elena Lee Rush, known to fans as  Helena. This seems to be the only reference to her on the album, although it’s possible there are some hidden ones.

Lyric: When I was a young boy, my father
 Took me into the city to see a marching band
Annotation:
Way believed at the time that upon death, one would be greeted by their most fond memory and taken to the afterlife. The entire album is set as a rock opera, where The Patient slips toward death. Recalling his past, he sees his favorite memory: his father taking him to see a parade. However, as shown by  one of the album covers, the Black Parade is made up of dead people. Therefore, The Patient’s father is showing him the afterlife. This feeds into the Christian overtones of the story.  Alternatively, Way  mentioned how his father—quite literally—took him to see a marching band. I have a really strong memory of my dad taking me and Mikey to a parade. I remember the big inflatable balloons, even the ones of cartoon characters I loved, were so imposing. Unlike The Patient, Way stated that this was not his happiest memory. But he liked it because a parade could be a funeral or a celebration, and for The Patient, it was both.

