What does Cancer mean?

My Chemical Romance: Cancer Meaning

Album cover for Cancer album cover

Cancer Lyrics

Turn away.
If you could, get me a drink of water
'Cause my lips are chapped and faded.
Call my Aunt Marie.
Help her gather all my things
And bury me in all my favorite colors.
My sisters and my brothers.
Still, I will not kiss you.
'Cause...

  1. anonymous
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    Mar 16th 2011 !⃝

    The song is about the patients thoughts and feelings at this time and also how he is going to miss seeing his loved ones like someone has already said.

  2. Gillianfn
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    Sep 22nd 2009 !⃝

    Last year I lost one of my closest friends to Malignant Melanoma. This song could have been written by him.

    Towards the end it was his 30th birthday and he texted me to say "I hope you're not planning to visit, because I don't want to see you" I had to respect that, but it hurt so much.

    He was buried in the football strip of his favourite team, so the favourite colours rings true for me.

    Whilst I hate the song, somehow I love it, it always makes me cry, but I can't stop listening to it. He'd be so cross if he knew!

  3. anonymous
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    Aug 23rd 2009 !⃝

    Well the obvious awnser is that it's a song about dying of cancer, but with like most MCR lyrics it can be interprated. I saw an interveiw with Gerard and he said "It's also about leaving a bad relationship or depression" such as when the song says "the hardest part of this is leaving you" fits in well with the relationship theme, where you want to stay, and be with that person but you just can't. With depression comes the feeling of being sick, (ok not nearly as bad as cancer, granted) but theres still that idea of feeling like your always sick, and "soggy from the chemo" can be interprated as tears, or medication as people always say things like 'it helps to cry' or give you medicine, but (like chemo) it can sometimes have no effect.

  4. anonymous
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    Feb 11th 2009 !⃝

    I beleive that this song is at the part before we get to the doctors and nurses trying to take'blood' from 'patiant' but this is the most emotional part of 'patiants' story because it is at the near end of his life where the cancer has taken over his body and 'patiant' is bed ridden and scared of leaveing this world.

  5. XxXHeavenHelpUsXxX
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    Nov 20th 2008 !⃝

    "Cancer" depicts the most emotional point in the Patient's story. Here the Patient is tired and bedridden from the cancer that is surely killing him. He is starting to come to terms with the fact that he will die, and begins to make arrangements and requests for his inevitable death, ("Call my aunt Marie, help her gather all my things, and bury me in all my favorite colors"). As he is doing so, he realizes that there is still something he just can't quite accept, and that is having to part with the one who loves him the most, his lover ("The hardest part of this is leaving you"). He tells his lover that he will not kiss her, possibly because he wants to sever his connection with her as much as possible to make it easier for him to cope with having to leave her. Also he may be regretful of being spiteful to her like he was in "I Don't Love You", and may feel that he does not deserve her forgiveness, which is a point that is touched on more in "Sleep". He goes on to somewhat apologize for his erratic behavior, saying he's just "soggy from the chemo". Finally he asks her that even if she were to leave him at this moment, he requests just one thing of her, that she'll never marry. ("And if you'd say goodbye today, I'd ask you to be true"). "Cancer" shows that the Patient still has the potential to go to heaven, and that he isn't all bad. This foreshadows his eventual change of attitude in "Famous Last Words".


    ^^^That is the best MCR interpretation I have ever heard! also lets not forget that even though The Black Parade is a conception album every song holds a base in reality so this song is also just a very thick mediphor of the process of losing someone.

  6. anonymous
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    Sep 10th 2008 !⃝

    I know FOR A FACT that this song is about the death (due to cancer) of Gerard's (now ex) girlfriend's ("Eliza Cuts", a.k.a Elizabeth Morthland) grandfather. He died of cancer in about 2006...the lyrics explain themselves

  7. anonymous
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    Jul 18th 2008 !⃝

    I'm sorry but Cancer has nothing to do with a Prostitute called Gina or aids...its about a patient diagnosed with guess what CANCER :)
    (no offence)...

    I will not kiss you,
    'Cause the hardest part of this is leaving you

    This part is saying (obviously) that the hardest part of dying is leaving the people or person that he really cares about whether they be his lover,siblings,parents or so on...

    Now turn away,
    'Cause I'm awful just to see
    'Cause all my hairs abandoned all my body,
    Oh, my agony,
    Know that I will never marry,
    Baby, I'm just soggy from the chemo
    But counting down the days to go
    It just ain't living
    And I just hope you know

    By this verse you understand how much its a struggle with all of the chemo (chemotherapy) and how he is forever in agony and that it is no way to live a life...also that it is getting to the stage that he actually wants to die...

    Know that I will never marry,

    the Patient is thinking about all of the things that he will never get to do

    powerful song...LOVE IT!!

    KEEP IT UP GUYS!!

    I LOVE YOU MCR!! ... especially Gerard...ur such a beautiful singer :) LOVE YOU!! <3 :)

    -Ur biggest fan...Emma

  8. narabinai
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    Jul 14th 2008 !⃝

    I lost my father to Cancer a year ago and feel I never really comprehended all the pain he was going through and the shame he must have felt of defeat. "turn away" don't look at me, this is not who I really am. I love how this song is not softened up. It shows the pure harshness of cancer, but still poetically: "all my hairs abandoned all my body"

    Cancer takes so much away but even though he's gone through all of that pain and agony, the hardest part is saying goodbye to those that he loves, family and other loved ones. "If you say goodbye today, I ask you to be true" You never know if that's the last time you'll see them again, so let it be a Good Bye.

  9. anonymous
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    May 9th 2008 !⃝

    I didn't like the song when I first heard it but after a while it grew on me and now its probably one of my favorite songs by mcr, I think you gotta take the song by face value, it's about suffering, death and leaving your loved ones behind, which is really the theme of the whole cd.

  10. anonymous
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    Mar 4th 2008 !⃝

    Basically this song is saying that cancer is destructive and a sad thing to see happening to anyone. A patient's point of view on how they're getting their family to distribute their belongings and how they are slowly leaving everyone they know.

  11. anonymous
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    Dec 6th 2007 !⃝

    I really like the first part of this song.

    If you could get me a drink,
    if you you could call my aunt marie and help her gather all my things,
    if you could bury me in all my favorite colors,
    Still I will not kiss you..

    The cancer patient is trying to look strong in front of her lover.. I can imagine the patient throw this sad humor with a weak faint smile in his shattered body...
    And he doesn't want to kiss his lover because it will make it harder for him to let go, coz he knows his time is coming..

    a very beatiful song with powerful lyric, I can't imagine how MCR write this song, it is as if the writer himself is having a cancer...

  12. anonymous
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    Dec 4th 2007 !⃝

    Um NO Gerard already had a tribute for his grandmother in Helena, this song is a completely different story. Its not about a prostitute either lol. The fact that he will never marry is because he's young and he's dying. It has nothing to do with "failing relationships" he's dying. Plain and simple. This is his final goodbye to the world and he just wants you to know that its harder for him than it is for you.

  13. xDoMeAFavourx
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    Nov 24th 2007 !⃝

    This song is obviously a song about someone dying of cancer, and it's from the patients point of view, it's also about the fact that they know they're going to die and have given up all hope, this I stated when the lyrics are like:Bury me in all my favorite colors my sisters and my brothers. Cancer isn't about just anyone dying of cancer it's about a young person this is because the lyrics say:Know that I will never marry.

    love this song... There's so much emotion and power in it, LOVE IT

    Oh And My Chemical romance Kick Serious Ass

    Mucked Up Lil' Emo Girl

    xx

  14. peteinmypants
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    Nov 24th 2007 !⃝

    It's how the patient is dying.

  15. ninjacait
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    Oct 23rd 2007 !⃝

    Whoever said this: "Well, I think this is about a prostitute named gina and here lifestyle when she is diagnosed with cancer and aids. A very inspirational song about prostitution and disease." is really tight. Do you know that it's really really really sad to lose someone of cancer and making fun of a song that's kinda about it is really mean to all those people who have. I have not lost anyone to cancer but I could have twice.




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