My Chemical Romance: Famous Last Words Meaning
Song Released: 2007
Famous Last Words Lyrics
That I can't make you stay
But where's your heart
But where's your heart
But where's your
And I know
There's nothing I can say
To change that part
To change that part
To change
So many
Bright lights they cast a...
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1TOP RATED
anonymous Feb 1st 2007, 15:46 report
this song is about how mikey is a manic depressive. The song was written one night in the paramour house when the guys were writing the black parade. mikey had a series of nervous breakdowns and left the house. My Chemical Romance ceased to exist for a short time. Gerard came downstairs and found ray playing his guitar. They wrote the song to encourage themselves and encourage mikey finally realizing that they will be okay and they did have the strength to continue to live and continue to make amazing music.
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2TOP RATED
danixmoonshine Dec 20th 2006, 11:30 report
This song's meaning is generally open for interpretation. When you first hear it it sounds like a desperate song and that the patient 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.
Although there are many meanings, a popular one among fans is that 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'. Please note that there are many ways that the song can be interpreted and that this is also open to interpretation, as is any other song and the ending is a very crucial point in the songs meaning, but unless a member speaks out truthfully about what the song means in detail, we will never fully know the Patient's destiny.
In an interview, Gerard Way was quoted as saying, "At first I thought [the patient died], but the more I think about it, the more I think he's not dead. Maybe this is all in his head. Maybe he can fight. Now I think he has a choice to live." The song's meaning is generally open to interpretation, as said before, because its lyrics never really tell one way or the other whether the patient dies.
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. -
3TOP RATED
anonymous Jan 12th 2007, 10:32 report
According to Gerard he wrote the song about Mikey about 2 weeks after Mikey had left the band and moved out of the house. He poured all his thoughts about Mikey's health and his anger and his worry into the song with help from Ray and Famous Last Words was the result. When Mikey heard it he fell back in love with his band and rejoined.
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anonymous Mar 7th, 17:29 report
The song is about mikey leaving the band. He was in a deppressed state and they went to stay at a hotel and Mikey and Gerard had to stay in the same room (I see you lying next to me With words I thought I'd never speak Awake and unafraid Asleep or dead) thinking Mikey could have been dead.(I'm not afraid to walk this world alone)Mikey leaving him and him being alone without his brother Mikey.
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anonymous Feb 5th 2012, 12:21 report
Songs can be interpented in so manny ways.
I think the main message is "Just keep on living because it gets better."
I think they wrote this song for Mikey. I know for a fact that he had some issues - I don't know the label and I also really don't believe in labeling people to understand things. So anyhow I think it is just about his issues and I also herd that he used to just go in to Gee's room because he would just be so freaked out. Hence "See you lying next to me -" Yeah, I think it is a song they wrote for Mikey.
It is a good song though, it saved me so manny times. My sister also loves it to. She says it is a good song that just wants to make you get up and fight for something. -
anonymous Dec 24th 2011, 21:04 report
I see the song as a conversation between the patient and his girlfriend. I will explain what I see and tell you what is open to interpretation or not. "Now I know that I can't make you stay, but where's your heart" This is his girlfriend saying I know you have cancer and you can't make it go away, but it still hurts me. "And I know, there's nothing I can say, to change that part" That's the patient saying I wish I treated you better. "So many bright lights that cast a shadow but can I speak, well is it hard understanding, I'm incomplete." I think that means the bright lights showing him death is near may have made him realise somethings he never realised before, but even then his girlfriend was a bit nieve to his problems. "A life that's so demanding, I get so weak, a love that's so demanding, I can't speak." So much pressured him in life, his girlfriend never saw it, and he had to be tougher through the times. Then comes the chorus, which is pretty self explanatory, he is not afraid of his problems any more and wants to live again. The second verse means that even though he is not currently awake, he can still tell what is going on, and it basically talks about how weak he is getting. Then comes the part where you decide what happens. Obviously the lines during the solo reference the patient dying. The bright lights are always a sign of death. Some people believe the patient dies right here, and some people believe he wakes up from a dream and sees his girlfriend right next to him in his bed, or he wakes up from a day dream and sees she is actually the one with cancer. The bridge part mentions that somehow, out of a miracle, he sees her lying next to him. And he asks is she awake, and unafraid, asleep, or dead. I think that line makes enough sense. And then the last part of the song is the chorus. I always saw that part as the patient sitting in the hospital bed screaming the final chorus, but that's just me.
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anonymous Sep 27th 2011, 01:00 report
Patient has come to terms with death, and nothing can stop it (Nothing you can say can stop me going home).
The song is a message to Patient's Lover (I'll refer to her as "Lover"). Patient knows he can't make Lover stay, and that he can't change his condition or Lover's decision.
Patient is completely prepared that Lover may abandon him because of his condition and looming death.
However, Patient also makes it clear that if Lover does abandon him, he'll still try to make it, and he's okay going through this alone. Still, he would rather Lover stay (I am not afraid to keep on living... If you stay I'll be forgiven).
The "I see you lying next to me" verse is where the Patient is saying his final goodbyes to Lover.
During these goodbyes, Patient can't tell if he's "awake and unafraid", "asleep", or "dead." In the end, it's never revealed which of these is the case.
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anonymous Jul 29th 2011, 14:15 report
The song is actually a song the band wrote to convince mikey to stay after a fight they got into when he says I know I cant make you stay but wheres your heart he is saying I know that I cant make you stay but we have been through so much dont leave have a heart and accept that we will fight we will disagree but thats what friends brothers and bands do.
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anonymous Jul 27th 2011, 19:28 report
I heard that Gerard wrote this for Mikey when he was alone (single)and he was depressed and suicidal. Apparantly Mikey got scared and got into bed next to Gerard for comfort from his brother, hence 'i see you lying next to me, with words i thought i'd never speak, awake and unafraid, asleep or dead' because he never thought Mikey'd get depressed. He's basically trying to get Mikey to apreciate life again, trying to make him think in a positive way again, 'i am not afraid to keep on living, i am not afraid to walk this world alone, honey if you stay you'll be forgiven, nothing you can say can stop me going home' This is saying that he shouldn't be afraid, shouldn't be afraid to carry on and that he can carry on with life. This is just what i've heard, but it makes sense to me :)
I actaually love mcr so don't hate on them or i'll get pissed :D -
anonymous Jul 10th 2011, 22:53 report
This song saves lives. A lot of people here have talked about the meaning of this song within the album, and they're right, but I think it's so much more than that. It's about more than a cancer patient.
I think it's basically saying that, yes. There are going to be times where you are going to want to die, and just end it all because you can't take it anymore and you want it all to just go away. And yes, there are going to be times when you are going to be left alone, out in the cold of a sharp, cruel, merciless world. There are going to be times where you don't think you have the guts to keep living through all of the horrors that life can and will throw at you at every turn. Life is a terrible place to be sometimes... But you should never be afraid to keep walking yuor own path, and you shouldn't worry if others follow you or love you or hate you. You need to live your life, be yourself, walk your own way, be your own person. People will try to knock you down because you're different but as long as you are strong and believe in yourself and know that life is worth living, then they can't touch you. You always have something to live for, even if it's only to spite the people who are making your life a living hell. Life is worth living, even if you're living it alone.
That's just how I see it... -
anonymous Jun 6th 2011, 01:07 report
I think the main idea of this song is that the patient learns a life lesson through a twisted memory. The Black Parade taught him he can live and now he has a choice to. The whole point was that he actually tried to cope with his girl friend's death. She was the one who really died and the lines I see you lying next to me with words I thought I'd never speak, awake and unafraid asleep or dead? Implies that he wakes up from his dream to find she is dead. He misses her but will live even if he has to walk the world alone.
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anonymous Apr 10th 2011, 16:01 report
I almost think that this is in the perception of the patient who is dying's love because the patient is lying next to her and she has words she thought she'd never speak and she is awake and unafraid whether he love/the patient is asleep or dead. She then talks about how she'll be forgiving if he somehow lives even though he has broken her by getting sick ect.And at the end the girl finally is able to say the words that she thought she could never say that she can live without him even though he was her true love. The girl is determined to push through the pain and she going to keep living even though this has happened.
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anonymous Apr 9th 2011, 17:36 report
This song is actually all about choosing what happens to the patient. Some wish to believe this was all a state of mind and he woke up and realized how beautiful life is through his dream. Others believe he was laying in his coffin next to his lover showing she forgave him and they died together. (How she died is unknown) Another theory is that she forgave him and he says in the last line that he loves her but no matter what she says he'll die but he did in fact learn a lesson. Basically, the only thing that is confirmed is that the patient has learned his lesson but much like all the MCR songs, the meaning is up to the listeners to decide and the patient's fate is in your hands.
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anonymous Apr 4th 2011, 21:19 report
this is about mikey. gerard and ray wrote it after he left. and as he heard it...he came back. good story behind it,actually. i can never picture mcr without mikey way. i'm even depressed now that bob's gone. what more if mikey's gone? but im also kind of happy they're all happy now.
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anonymous Jan 4th 2011, 10:02 report
For me, this song is about The Patient dying,and joining the black parade. "I am not afraid to keep on living"-as a member of the black parade. And Death encourages him to walk with The Black Parade-"Honey, if you stay you'll be forgiven". It's also him finally at peace with this recurring lover he seems to have fought with-most notably in Cancer, How I Dissapear, and The Sharpest Lives-"I know, that I can't make you stay, but where's your heart?". He's saying that he knows that he can't force her to be with him in his last hours, but if she ever really loved him, she would. He starts to get fustrated-"Is it hard understanding, I'm incomplete?"-and she agrees to stay with him, and they fall asleep together. He tells her he loves her-"Words I thought I'd never speak"-and when he wakes up, he is dead. His ghost watches the couple for a while-"I see you lying next to me...Asleep or dead?" and then goes to join The Black Parade.
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anonymous Nov 11th 2010, 12:06 report
Well, Gerard said in an interview that this song was written just after he broke up with his girlfriend, and it's completely about her..
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anonymous Jun 3rd 2010, 11:31 report
On the surface, this song follows the album (The Black Parade) concept by concluding it for the patient, the basic message being that he accepts that if he dies, he will die, and if he lives, he will live. There is also an element of "Last Chance" here, where he "see(s) you lying next to me", representing him waking up, if briefly, to say his "Famous Last Words"
However, this song is significantly more related to MCR's anti-suicide message. Note the element of "Loss" at the beggining, when Gerard sings "I know I can make you stay, but where's your heart?". The "great expectations" (So many bright lights that cast a shadow) are seen as too much sometimes, as he is "incomplete". The desperate tone of the song adds to this, and considering the context in which the song was written (When the band were at a desperate point), this first part seems to be about giving up
Despite this, the song has generally optimistic lyrics. "I am not afraid to keep on living" links to "Welcome to the black Parade"'s "We'll carry on", and the song itself wraps up with "With words I thought I'd never speak", proving that however bad things get, they will, eventually, improve. What is important to note is the song (and also the album)'s circular structure, Going from hopeless to optimistic, and then repeating the first chorus. This a reminder that life follows a circular pattern, and that bad stuff will happen, and it will be balanced by good events
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anonymous Mar 19th 2010, 07:43 report
This song, like all MCR songs, is ambiguous. Gerard loves to create songs that can be interpreted more than 1 way. Now I realise the album is based on a cancer patient and I also realise that the patient is the main storyline behind all of the songs but Gerard is an artist and I beleive this song can be interpreted as a relationship ending. "Now I know that I can't make you stay but wheres your heart????"- This line can be interpreted as Gerard pleading with his partner not to leave him. " Im in complete"- he feels alone without her. "A love that's so demanding I can't spk"- The relationship was a very emotionally draining. "Honey if you stay ill be forgiving" if she stays he will forgive her for all the torment of his feelings. "cuz I see you lying next to me with words I thought id never spk awake and unafraid...... asleep or dead" The reference to him lying there saying words he never thought he could, can be interpreted as him expressing a love so pure, so intense that it overwhelms him. He didn't think he could ever love someone the way he loved her. In terms of the 'awake and unafraid'- when he is with her he feels alive and believes she is is reason for his very existence.....without her he feels like life is worthless to the point where he feels "asleep or dead."
This was written by Blake. F -
anonymous Feb 15th 2010, 15:15 report
I know this may not be the real meaning of the song, but this is my version.
In my mind the song is about a relationship. He can't make her stay, she has no heart, he has nothing to say about her cheating on him (there's nothing I can say to change that part)
There are so many bright times they've had together whith now makes the situation feel more miserable. But can he say that he feel so sad? Even though he isn't saying anything, can't everybody else see he's incomplete?
The life without her is demanding, all right, but the love is also demanding...
Then comes his famous last words. He is ready to trie to move on, but he tells her that if she wants to come back to him, he'll forgive himself for leaving her. But no matter what she says, he'll do this on his own grounds (home).
And then, can you see he's happy, his eyes are shining, because he has gone through the hard periods of regret and missing? No, because he is only faking (jet black hotel mirror) and he is weak from the loss of her. Love is demanding now, since he still loves her.
Then the famous last words again, and the bright lights (the happy times) that always has blinded him.
Then suddenly he is seeing her lying next to him, and he says those words he thought he'd never speak (awake and unafraid, asleep or dead). Then it is sung a numbe rof times, until the famous last words appear again. But this time they are true. They are also no longer the usual 'famous last word', but rather 'the famous words that came true at last'.
But that's just my mind, it's really written about a patient and so on. -
anonymous Feb 15th 2010, 12:21 report
I believe this is a song earlier in the Patient's life, about either a Girlfriend or wife. It is a 2-way conversation about his wife/gf leaving him
Now I know
That I can't make you stay (here the patient is saying that he knows whatever he says, she won't stay)
But where's your heart (Here the female is asking him if he even has a heart)
But where's your heart
But where's your
And I know (The patient says that nothing he can say will change the past.)
There's nothing I can say
To change that part
To change that part
To change
So many
Bright lights they cast a shadow (All the fun times and all the bad)
But can I speak (She keeps trying to interrupt him)
Well, is it hard understanding
I'm incomplete
A life that's so demanding (She demands too much from him)
I get so weak (He gets tired)
A love that's so demanding (Again, she bosses him around)
I can't speak (She never lets him speak his mind)
I am not afraid to keep on living (This time, the girl says she's not afraid to live without him)
I am not afraid to walk this world alone (She's not afraid to be single)
Honey, if you stay I'll be forgiven (The patient says he'll feel forgiven if she stays)
Nothing you can say can stop me going home (The girl says there's nothing that can stop her from going away)
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
Is it hard understanding
I'm incomplete
A love that's so demanding
I get weak (This last paragraph I guess he's suffering)
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey, if you stay I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home (Same thing as above)
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey, if you stay I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home
These bright lights have always blinded me
These bright lights have always blinded me
I said (The beautiful have always betrayed him, like in The Sharpest Lives)
I see you lying next to me
With words I thought I'd never speak
Awake and unafraid
Asleep or dead (He blacks out, and wakes up next to the girl)
'Cause I see you lying next to me
With words I thought I'd never speak
Awake and unafraid
Asleep or dead
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey, if you stay I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey, if you stay I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey, if you stay I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home (Here either they argue again, or he remembers the fight. -
anonymous Feb 15th 2010, 01:20 report
Honestly, I don't care what the song means, all I know is that it's a great song, my favorite actually. And that it has something to do with dying and possibly Mikey
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