Famous Last Words

Just so people know...
The line is
"I'll be forgiving"
NOT
"I'll be forgiven"

I think its about a boy and a girl. The boy, im my opinion, loves the girl so much--and she knows that. But what she doesnt know that he actually has a mind that knows when he's being used. The girl turns him into this fall back or rebound and the guy, being sweet and smart as he is, lets that be his faith. But he lets her know that he won't become the victim in their absurd and abstruse romance, that he can live without her but would rather have her there.

Twister Party:

Just so people know...
The line is
"I'll be forgiving"
NOT
"I'll be forgiven"

Yeah, i know rite!
people get that line mixed up.
i admit, i WAS one of those people.
Except i read the lyrics on the back of the CD front

Twister Party:

Just so people know...
The line is
"I'll be forgiving"
NOT
"I'll be forgiven"

Well I just checked the inside of my Black Parade cover and it said "I'll be forgiven".

I think this is about the patient who knows that he is going to die. But if he survives he won't be afraid anymore because of what he went through. (Maybe?)

MiDesfileNegro:

Twister Party:

Just so people know...
The line is
"I'll be forgiving"
NOT
"I'll be forgiven"

Well I just checked the inside of my Black Parade cover and it said "I'll be forgiven".

Maybe the "I'll be forgiving" was just on some prints? I think it sounds more like "I'll be forgiven", or maybe even "I'll be forgivin' "...but at the same time, I guess what does the patient have to be forgiven for from whoever he's singing that song to? And if he's saying "Honey if you stay I'll be forgiven" it doesn't make as much sense as opposed to "Honey if you stay I'll be forgiving"

I hope that made sense xD

always:

Maybe the "I'll be forgiving" was just on some prints? I think it sounds more like "I'll be forgiven", or maybe even "I'll be forgivin' "...but at the same time, I guess what does the patient have to be forgiven for from whoever he's singing that song to? And if he's saying "Honey if you stay I'll be forgiven" it doesn't make as much sense as opposed to "Honey if you stay I'll be forgiving"

I hope that made sense xD

I don't know, i think "I'll be forgiving" carries connotations of a threat? I don't know why, it's just my first reaction to that is that it's a threat of sorts. I know that probably didn't make sense... trust me, I know what I mean

Plus, "Honey if you stay I'll be forgiven" carries the same kind of pleaing effect that the first line has - "Now I know, that I can't make you stay, but where's your heart?"

Plus it fits better with the theory that this song's for Mikey

This song's meaning is generally open for interpretation. When you first hear it it sounds like a desperate song and that the patient from The Black Parade is very ready to die. But he is saying that if I live I will live and am not afraid to. This song also shows great courage and determination as the patient seems determined he is not going to die.

It also sounds like the Patient is ready to go to Heaven, and as 'the lights are blinding' him, he appears there, however, when he opens his eyes, he sees him self laying next to his lover. He speaks the words that he never though he would, "I love you/I'm sorry" but he does not know if he is dead or is alive.

He then realises that there is nothing to fear in life, only times that he should grieve and that he is "Not afraid to keep on living" and regardless of what could happen, he is "Not afraid to walk this World alone", he will keep going in life no matter what, because he now sees the beauty of it.

The two final lyrics are very debatable. There are two ways that this could be taken, that the Patient was allowed to say a final goodbye to his lover and then pass on to the afterlife, whether it is in Hell or Heaven (Now that he is forgiven), or whether he is allowed a 'second chance' for lack of a better phrase.

Following the second chance, it seems that the Patient's lover does not yet realise he is going to stay and live, so she says that she will be forgiving of what he has done if he stays, the Patient then replies, maybe even in a jokey sort of way, that there is nothing you can do to stop him living anymore, he is back and is staying.

If you follow the fact that these are his 'Famous Last Words' and that he is now going to the afterlife, then his lover would be replying to him saying that she does not want him to go and she will forgive him if he stays, but the Patient has to go, and seals his death by saying that nothing she is able to say will be able to bring him back to life, or as the song says, 'home'.

The last lines of the song imply that the patient's lover is in fact the person who has died. "I see you lying next to me with words I thought I'd never speak" suggests that the Patient's lover is lying next to him in a coffin, as he speaks about her during the funeral service.

The line "Awake and unafraid, asleep or dead" is further evidence that the Patient is alive and has entered into some new state of self-perception, that he has cleared himself of regrets. However there is no mention of the Patient's state; whether he has recovered from his illness or not.

But that's just my opinion, again, this song has a lot meanings, and this is just one of the many.

William Control:

Just so people know...
The line is
"I'll be forgiving"
NOT
"I'll be forgiven"

oops! *guilty*
that makes so much more sense =]

this song is obviously about not being afriad of life while you have it. it can be taken on multiple levels... to go with the story of the patient, to go with anyone's daily life, and to go with what gerard was going through when he wrote the song. i think we all understand the first two very well.
i really like to think about it in terms of gerard though, because thinking about what he must have been feeling when mikey left makes the song so much more powerful.
"now i know that i can make you stay, but wheres your heart?"
Gerard could talk Mikey into staying at the paramour even though his depression, but asking 'wheres your heart' is almost as if he's feeling betrayed that Mikey has to leave.

"and i know theres nothing i can say to change that part"
theres nothing he can do to change mikey's depression. he feels hopeless.

"so many bright lights that cast a shadow, but can i speak?"
there are so many forces greater than us that shine above our heads and make us nothing more than the shadow below them, but will someone for once just listen to what i need to say?

"is it hard understanding im incomplete?"
gerard is incomplete without his brother

"a life that's so demanding, i get so weak. a love thats so demanding, i cant speak"
his passion for his music is so demanding and takes such a toll on him emotionally that its draining him. also, its almost ironic, that a passion for singing makes it so he cant speak. 'i cant speak' could also refer to him not being able to convey what he really wants to say to the world.

*my favorite part*
"i see you lying next to me, with words i thought id never speak, awake and unafraid, asleep or dead."
Mikey used to come into G's room at night when he couldnt sleep, and would sleep on the floor next to Gerard. I picture Gerard waking up in the middle of the night, seeing Mikey sleeping on his floor, looking down at all the doubts he had written about his brother and his life and wondering 'how could i even think that? of course things will be okay.'

I think..that its about Mikey...of Gerard not wanting to loose him to depression..

The line sounds like "Honey, if you stay, you'll be forgiven."

icyplut007:

"i see you lying next to me, with words i thought id never speak, awake and unafraid, asleep or dead."
Mikey used to come into G's room at night when he couldnt sleep, and would sleep on the floor next to Gerard. I picture Gerard waking up in the middle of the night, seeing Mikey sleeping on his floor, looking down at all the doubts he had written about his brother and his life and wondering 'how could i even think that? of course things will be okay.'

Completely get where you're coming from!
Never thought of it like that but it makes so much sense

i think this song is about a relationship between a boy in the girl but the girls is like so demanding and bossy( "a love that's so demanding i can't speak" ) that the boy is like threatening to dump her so he's basically saying look 'i have no problem dumping you, im not afraid walk this world alone' basically he's saying 'look i can live without you, i dnt need you' ( "i am not afraid to keep on living i am not afraid to walk this world alone" )

I think the song was written for those who rely to much on a relationship with a boy friend or girl friend, such as I.
The song sounds as though he is saying he knows he can't make her stay, but the therm "But where's your heart." could mean why would you leave someone that loves you so much.
Then the song says "I am not afraid to keep on living..." and you know the rest. Could mean the guy realizes that he can live on with out love and he can walk the world alone.

In my other post, it does sound like Honey, if you stay, you'll be forgiven., but in the live version, it sounds like the actual line Honey, if you stay, I'll be forgiving.


Its said its about Mikey leaving Paramour, which makes a lot of sense, really.

i think that famous last words is about a girlfriend leaving the character because he has cancer, the black parade being based around the patient who has cancer, but the character being confident that he doesn't need this person in his life if he can't have her in his life.

um....i dont think really i think so but this is my opinion its about a couple,girlfriend and boyfriend in other words lover )..............(i can't make you stay but were's your heart )(but were's your heart (theirs nothing i can say to change that part ) a couple when their breaking up (im not afraid to keep on liveing im not afraid to walk this world alone honey if u stay youll be forgiven nothing you can say to stop me going home that he or she said that it was okay if he left and if he/she stayed they will be forgiven then when gerard says i see you lieying next to me with words i thought i NEVER speak AWAKE and UNAFRAID ASLEEP or DEAD THE WORDS WERE (I love you) thats why its called famous last words cause couples always say that before they go to make them stay if he or she still loves them .............

i think its about not being afraid and being courageous to take on all the stuff life is gonna throw at you. Being able to go on even though you may feel or really be alone.

I've just been thinking about this line xD

'Can you see?
My eyes are shining bright,
Cause I'm out here, on the other side,
Of a jet-black hotel mirror,
And I'm so weak'

'Can you see? My eyes are shining bright' - with tears, maybe? The plea of 'can you see?' could possibly be Gerard asking Mikey to see things from where he's coming from... I dunno.

'I'm out here, on the other side' - perhaps Gerard is using the idea of a physical distance to describe the fact that he feels emotionally distant from Mikey?

'A jet-black hotel mirror' - well, if it's jet-black you can't see your reflection in it. Maybe he's saying the person he sees in the mirror isn't who he feels he is? I think the fact it's a 'hotel mirror' could reflect the whole idea of fame that 'these bright lights have always blinded me' touches on.

'I'm so weak' - well, he feels weak. Maybe connecting back to the jet-black mirror, perhaps his reflection [and maybe by this he could mean the image of him that is seen by the world] is that of a strong man, when in fact he feels weak from worrying about Mikey?

Just some thoughts :]

Guys... MCR has much different meanings than this. It really helps to get the " my chemical romance welcomes you" .. It's on iTunes for $1 and thru explain the whole black parade album. Maybe not in complete detail but it sheds a lot of illumination. I have also rarely hears them refer to themselves when writing. The black parade is a concept album.. It's about the patients life. Not Gerards.