What Does this song mean???

Question

I was wondering if anyone could tell me exactly what the song Welcome to The Black Parade, by My Chemical Romance is about. It seems kind of confusing.

Answer 1

It's about the main character of the album, Patient. He begins to die at a tragically young age. The band believes that when you die, death comes to you in a memory. As Patient is dying, he sees his strongest memory which is the memory of going to the parade with his father when he was younger.

Answer 2

After learning of his illness, reflecting on his life, and dealing with all the issues of mortality, the Patient's own mortality is quickly coming to an end. This illness is most likely heart cancer, since many references at cancer are made throughout the album, and in Dead!, the doctors tell the Patient "they found a complication in your heart". Here the Patient is drifting between life and death, and so death is coming for him in the form of his strongest memory. The Patient's fondest memory is of his father taking him to town as a boy to see a parade ("when I was a young boy, my father took me into the city, to see a marching band"). The Patient's father asks him as a boy "Son, when you grow up, would you be the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?", perhaps preparing the Patient for his future illness, and asking him if he will have what it takes to mentally overcome it and be an example for others who follow in his footsteps to be strong. The Patient's father also tells him "someday I'll leave you a phantom, to lead you in the summer, to join the Black Parade." This hints that the Patient's father most likely died before the Patient, and will help him join the Black Parade (in other words be there when he dies to help him in the afterlife). The song also shows that the Patient most likely had a very good relationship with his father, since his fondest memory in life occured when he was with his father. This may be the opposite of the relationship he has with his mother, which is further detailed in the song "Mama". However, the band has stated that "Mama" represents Mother War, a mother who lost her child(ren) in war. She also represents loss, and so may simply be another figure in the Black Parade.

The Patient passes into a realm of life and death, and sees the Black Parade. The Black Parade seems to take place in the city that he saw the marching band in his youth, only now the city is barren, and more macabre. He sees the performers of the Black Parade, only they too are more macabre than those of the parade he saw in his youth, and seem to represent emotions and other parts of his life. The Black Parade tell him of "the disappointed faces of your peers", which have no effect on the Patient, as he states he "could not care at all", showing he will no longer let anyone dictate his actions, and hasn't quite repented yet (as he does in Famous Last Words). He still doubts himself ("I'm just a man, I'm not a hero" in reference to his father's question at the beginning of the song). He is still firm in his doubt of the world ("you can try, you'll never break me"). Finally The Black Parade assures him that his "memory will carry on", and though he may be dead and defeated his "weary widow marches on." Thus trying to encourage him that he isn't as evil as he thinks, and that if he joins them what he leaves behind in life will be fine.

The song is visually represented by its music video. Some have argued that there is a flaw with the actor portraying the Patient, in that he is not bald, when most people who have cancer and go through chemo are bald. This however is not always the case, so its not necessarily a flaw.

Answer 3

The black parade is death. This is a song about surviving and carrying on in spite of the hurt of dead loved ones.

Answer 4

"We'll carry on, we'll carry on./ Believe me, though you're dead and gone, your memory will carry on." sort of says to me that he has lost someone close to him (father? "When I was a young boy/ my father took me into the city/ to see a marching band/') and is holding the parade in his lost and loved one's honor to help carry on their memory. Look at their official website because it has some somg meanings and you will find out that a lot of thier songs are about death and loss. Nobody knows more about loss than Gerard Way; we see that in Helena.

Answer 5

its about a man (the patient) who finds out hes dying at a very young age and gerard way beleives that when you die your strongets memory is where you go. the patients is going to the parade with his father so thats how death comes for him.

Answer 6

I'm not sure what it is about, but you can go to www.songmeanings.net and you should find what you're looking for, it's a great site.

Answer 7

I think its about death. In their music vid, they are all dressed up as skeletons and its in black and white.

Answer 8

you could find learics on the web that might help

Answer 9

i have no freakin clue, thats why i stick to rap and rock that i actually understand!!lol

Answer 10

have you watched the video yet? maybe youll understand it if you see it