We’ve listened to a ton of music throughout our lives, but few have stuck with us quite like My Chemical Romance have. Gerard, Ray, Frank, and Mikey have created such a beautifully immersive musical world for us to step into time and time again, all rooted in a desire to change the world and save lives. And over the years, even with a devastating breakup and some reunions, they’ve gotten to do just that. Their music is often equally as calming as it is energizing, as hopeful as it is frustrated. There’s duality and a parallel between fictional and real worlds, letting us escape what we’re dealing with while helping us find ourselves in the process.
To celebrate My Chemical Romance’s incredible music and legacy, we’re looking back at some of the biggest things we’ve learned from them over the years, and the biggest ways they’ve impacted our lives!
“You sing the words, but don’t know what it means…”
When you were 14 or 15, there’s a good chance you were drawn to MCR because of the anger and raw feelings that lay on the surface of their music. It’s a cathartic way to feel less alone in such isolating emotions, and there’s something so oddly satisfying about following along with Gerard’s “but where’s your heart?” growl as you listen to ‘Famous Last Words.’ But just minutes later on the same song, they have you singing things like “I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone.” Part of the magic of My Chem is that they embed messages of hope and courage into your brain, even if you think you’re just singing about frustration and loneliness.
They even acknowledged this idea in a way in their high school-themed ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’ music video – Gerard says “you sing the words, but don’t know what it means.” You won’t truly know what some MCR lyrics mean until you get older and can look back on how they helped you through hard times. It’s like they were telling us that we wouldn’t fully understand those lyrics, or what we might be going through, in our teens!
In a similar way, the group’s image as this dark, scary band does the same thing… which we think is very intentional. Your parents may have freaked out just a bit the first time you brought a My Chemical Romance CD or vinyl home, only seeing scary makeup and parental advisory stickers without realizing how many encouraging messages are hidden in their music. Meanwhile, if you were an emo tween, there’s a good chance you didn’t think about those messages at the time, focusing on their anger as an outlet for your own. You need to look beyond the surface to see what a special band MCR is and to get the full picture of what they’re expressing.
“They’re teaching me to kill, who’s teaching me to love?”
So yes, beyond the anger and darkness of My Chemical Romance’s music, there’s a whole lot of hope, courage, and warmth. And that wasn’t necessarily common on the 2000s rock scene! Each of MCR’s albums has a bit of violence, supernatural or otherwise, but there was always a purpose to it. See the caring relationship on Bullets’ ‘Vampires Will Never Hurt You,’ the ill-fated love on Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge’s ‘Give ‘Em Hell, Kid,’ the exploration of pain on The Black Parade’s ‘Mama,’ and the protectiveness on Danger Days’ ‘Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back.’
And alongside each of those songs, there’s a more tender declaration of love and care on each album. Behind ‘Our Lady Of Sorrows’ is the romantic ‘Demolition Lovers.’ Behind ‘I Never Told You What I Do For A Living’ is the story of a man sent on a mission to kill just to be reunited with the woman he loves, and the care-filled ‘The Ghost Of You.’ Behind ‘House Of Wolves’ is the misleadingly-named ‘I Don’t Love You,’ which sees The Patient begging his partner to fall out of love with him so she isn’t as hurt when he dies. Behind ‘Na Na Na’ is the vulnerable ‘The Only Hope For Me Is You.’ Even on the Conventional Weapons series, songs like ‘The Light Behind Your Eyes’ hide behind ‘Gun.’ and ‘Boy Division.’
As much as some of MCR’s music is about being hurt by someone, there’s just as much compassion for those doing the hurting – with limits, of course. The guy on Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge never gets reunited with his lover because of his killing sprees, after all! It reminds us that we’ll all make some questionable choices in life, whether it’s others we’re hurting or ourselves. What matters is that you pick yourself up and try your best to spread light to the people around you.
“I’m unashamed, I’m gonna show my scar…”
Perhaps the most impactful part of MCR’s legacy is how they were never afraid to be exactly who they are, even if it wasn’t perfect. Especially if it wasn’t perfect. Throughout their discography, there’s an element of self-sacrifice, whether it’s to vampires on Bullets’ ‘Vampires Will Never Hurt You’ or to BL/IND agents on ‘Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back.’ And in a way, the band sacrificed parts of themselves to tell us these fictional and not-so-fictional stories, showing their mistakes and darker sides to the world to help us feel less alone in acknowledging our own.
So much of their storytelling reminds us of the “would you destroy something perfect in order to make it beautiful?” slogan from the Danger Days era. A lot of the characters in their music don’t get their “perfect” ending, instead becoming an underdog with flaws and questionable qualities that we still find a way to root for. But in the process, they created a beautiful world for us to get lost in, noticing lyric parallels and connections to our own lives.
“Oh, how wrong we were to think immortality meant never dying…”
We all remember where we were when we first read Gerard’s MCR breakup letter, whether you were in the fandom at the time or discovered them later on. It closed off with “it can never die… It is not a band – it is an idea,” and we think that showcases what a special act My Chem really are. Even in the ways they described death in so many songs, they really encouraged us to make the most of our time on earth and the life we were given.
For example, the general opinion on The Black Parade is that it’s an album about death, but really, it’s an album about choosing life. We know things are looking dismal for The Patient from the very start, but the last song on the album aside from the hidden track is ‘Famous Last Words,’ which fades out with a chorus of “I am not afraid to keep on living.” On the hidden track, ‘Blood,’ we’re back into the hospital imagery as he finds a way to push through even if it’s difficult. Throughout the album, The Patient looks back at different moments of his life, returning to so many different pains he’s experienced, but also getting to admire the good parts in a new light.
That idea also comes up in MCR’s career trajectory – as you may know, Gerard has said he originally saw The Black Parade as their final album, but we eventually got Danger Days, which has a much brighter aesthetic and more outwardly hopeful ideas. Sometimes even in the face of death or a difficult time, you have to pick yourself back up and push through. And in one of the spoken Danger Days interludes, ‘Jet Star and the Kobra Kid / Traffic Report,’ Dr. Death reminds the Killjoys to “die with [their] mask on if [they’ve] got to,” insisting they keep their individuality and personality even to their last moments. You have to embrace who you are and hold onto that no matter what, because you’ll always have yourself and your vision. That’s your true legacy.
Four wise men once taught us that “you only live forever in the lights you make,” and My Chemical Romance has been a consistent light in our lives that we couldn’t be more grateful for. They’ve poured their hearts into something that will live on forever, in all of us and in generations to come.
What are your favorite My Chemical Romance songs? What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from them over the years? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
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