What does The Sharpest Lives mean?

My Chemical Romance: The Sharpest Lives Meaning

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The Sharpest Lives Lyrics

Well it rains and it pours when you're out on your own
If I crash on the couch, can I sleep in my clothes?
'Cause I've spent the night dancing
I'm drunk, I suppose
If it looks like I'm laughing, I'm really just asking to leave

This alone,...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    MCRocker666
    click a star to vote
    Jul 5th 2007 !⃝

    This is the 4th song of the 14 explaining The Patient's death. This song I believe is a reflection of an event from his past. A girl, (maybe the one who died in How I Disappear) cheated on him.

    "This alone, your in time for the show. You're the one that I need, I'm the one that you loath"
    -Says that she can come and watch his self destruction, (the show) and that he needs her, but she hates him.

    Now, because of this occurance, he is abusing drugs. ('Cause I love all the poison) "Why don't you blow me a kiss before she goes" is asking for a piece of closure.

    "Give me a shot to remember, and you can take all this pain away from me" Saying, kill me, remember what I did to make you do this to me; but It will relieve my pain.

    "A kiss and I will surrender. The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead" Saying come back to me.. a kiss will signify that you are mine again, and I will surrender my heart to you.

    "A light to burn all the empires. So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be" Meaning demolish these things that are so beautiful and make something that you need go away.

    "In love with all of these Vampires, so you can leave like the sane abandon me" He is in love with all of these things that are out to hurt him.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    murdocking
    click a star to vote
    Jan 16th 2007 !⃝

    First of all this is a really lone interpretation.

    i think this song is about a guy (lets call him bob,to make it less confusing) catching his girlfriend (who he lives with)cheating on him with a close friend of his own,exept his girlfriend doesn't know that he caught them,since he just kept it quiet and didn't confront her.

    First of all in the song it shows how bob felt thinkin about the girl and his friend when he first found out about them."well it rains and it pours when your out on your own"
    and then bob gets angry at her and tries to make an excuse to sleep somewhere else than the bed they share (which is the place he caught her cheating).so bob just tells her he wants to sleep on the couch "if I crash on the couch can I sleep in my clothes?"but then she see's that bob looks upset,and ask him why he's upset,but bob lies and just says he's been dancing all night (which he actually was until he came home early and saw his girlfriend cheating)and he's drunk."well I've spent the night dancing I'm drunk I suppose."and then she (relieved) laughs about it because she thought bob caught her cheating,and bob just laughs to fit the moment even though he really isn't happy."if it looks like I'm laughin I'm really just askin to leave"

    and after weeks of her continously cheating on him "without him knowing",bob finnaly goes crazy with angry after holding it in so long,and gets the idea to kill his girlfriend infront of his friend(who is the one having the affair with his girlfriend).so one day his friend arrives at his house after he invites him.the friend gets in the house and see's that bob's girlfriend (the girl the guy was having an affair with)"This alone your in time for the show"and then the friend see's the crazy look in bobs eyes and instantly knows what he's trying to do."Youre the one that I need,im the one that you loathe."and then bob,see's that the friends gonna try and fight back,but this only makes him crazier and angrier "you can make me corrode like a beast in repose,because I love all the poisen."and then he says that he isn't the little boy he used to be (probably a past reference to the times they used to have together when they were little)."and away with the boys in the band"

    so bob tells his friend how their affair was hell to him "and I've been on a bender and it shows"so bob gets out his gun and points it to his girlfriend to show that if his friend tries to fight back he'l just kill her "so why don't you blow me a kiss before she goes?"

    bob then gets hit with reality,and realises what he's doing.but he figuires he's too deep in to get out now,so if his friend tries to fight,he would still shoot his girlfriend even though inside he wouldnt want to."give me a shot to remember"and bob just keeps lying sayin that if his friend fights back he'd be doing bob a favour saying he'd just take the pain away."and take all the pain away from me"
    but inside bob just wishes this could all end with an apology "a kiss and I will surrender",but bob realises he's too deep in to get out now,and he can't think of a way out of the situation "the sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead".bob realises that this is the biggest thing he's ever done "a light to burn all the empires"its so big that he's ashamed to end it so easily."so bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be"and then bob thinks that his friend is the one that made the first move on his girlfriend (causing his girlfriend to fall in love with him),sucking his girlfriend in with his charm."in love with all of those vampires"and then he gets the idea to kill his friend instead and letting his girlfriend go (leaving her lonely and depressed) so she can knows what it was like to feel abandoned "So you can leave like the same abandoned me"

    so then bob finnaly loses the last straw and goes crazy,and shows his real colours."theres a place in the dark where tha animals go.you can take off your skin in the cannibal glow"so then bob points the gun at his friend and shoots him continously,mocking his girlfriend assuming that she lived her life under the gun anyway with all that pressure she had to keep the affair a secret."juliet loves the beat,and the lust it commands".his friend,just having realised what happened to him (after shock) dies."drop the dagger and gather the blood on your hands.romeo."

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 8th 2007 !⃝

    It is about drugs. The sleeping in his cloths, is not depression its him so drugged out he passes out. Its not about another person not liking him drinking. It's about him needing the drugs but it is bad for him. drugs are destroying him but he can't quit because he needs them so much.

    This has nothing to do with the patient. just cause he wrote one song about a patient does not mean the whole album is about him. Maybe a couple of songs, but this is straight forward drugs. He does drugs cause he feels lonely that's was the first line of the song is talking about. He uses drugs as an escape from the pain in life. When he is drunk he looks like he is having fun, but in the inside he is in pain. alchohol is a cruch to get him through life. Vampires refer to the people in life that suck kthe blood(life and happiness) out of you. come on he says give me a shot to remember. He means a shot of alchohol. Once you sit and really listen to the words its straight forward meaning. Its easy for me to understand what he means and comes from cause this is has always been my use for alchohol.

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 7th 2020 !⃝

    It kind of reminds me of a vivid and deeply infatuated love, possibly from the perspective of someone with borderline personality disorder.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 9th 2020 !⃝

    Okay, so I think this song is about the relationship "The Patient" had with his lover, and the drinking problems he had, too. Apparently, "The Patient's" lover had a devastating end to her life. It is revealed (or in my story) that the lover was shot right in front of his eyes...by someone "The Patient" had known since childbirth. I'll reveal the murderer at the end of this theory. Now onto my theory.
    The first verse is about "The Patient" being alone and suffering his drinking problems. "Well, it rains and it pours...." doesn't actually mean it's raining and pouring outside. It means he was very lonely.
    The second verse starts my story on the murder. The first two lines are the murderer speaking, then the third line is "The Patient", the fourth is the murderer, the fifth and sixth lines are "The Patient", and the last line is the murderer. The "poison" is the drugs, and the "boys in the band" are the boys he would hang out with at the nightclub.
    The third and sixth verse is about the murderer letting him have a chance to not let his "love" get killed, but turns out HE MURDERS HER ANYWAY!
    The fourth, seventh, and eight verse is continuing his drinking problems in the past and the cancer he is suffering in the present. "A light to burn all the empires....So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be..." means that the "light" is cancer, and the "empires" are his pasts. The bright "light" makes it feel like the "sun is ashamed to rise and be!", meaning it feels like his life will be of everlasting pain and regrets, making his world seem dark and spiteful. Also, the "vampires" are the doctors and nurses that are trying to cure him and let him live.
    The fifth verse is about being in the night clubs. The "animals" are obviously the drunk customers, the "Juliet" is "The Patient's" lover, and the "Romeo" is "The Patient". (According to the deaths of "Romeo and Juliet", "Romeo" died by poisoning himself, and "Juliet" died by a dagger. Could the "poison" be the cancer, and the "dagger" be the gun? I guess so....) "You can take off your skin..." means the "skin" is your normal, human self, and the "cannibal glow" is the alcohol or the new, hypnotized human you have become. "Juliet loves the beat...." means "The Patient's" lover was still madly in love with him. "Drop the dagger and lather all the blood...." could mean that "The Patient" was done with her ("Drop the dagger"), and he just kept "lathering" it in her face that they were done, or it could just mean "Just forget it. I need to move on with life. I can't keep thinking about her."

    So, I guess you're guessing who the murderer of "The Patient's" lover is.....Drum roll, please....."THE PATIENT'S" BROTHER FROM MAMA!!!! I'll share my theory on "The Patient's" brother in Mama. Another thing to add is that "The Patient's" lover was mentioned in most of the tracks, even during the ones he had cancer in, so my theory MIGHT make more sense than the ones that "The Patient's" lover was cheating on him. Like, why would a cheating girl visit the "love of her life" in a hospital while he's dying last minute? It doesn't really make that much sense....

    Remember, this is just a theory, and this whole theory could be entirely wrong! (I'M DEFINITELY WRONG!)

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 16th 2015 !⃝

    I used to be a drug user and this song really reminds me of a junkies life.
    When something bad happens to someone and leads them towards drugs to try to escape the pain they feel.
    Sounds like a heroin addict. Homeless and couch surfing, sleeping in the only clothes they have. Poison refers to heroin and taking a shot is taking a hit of heroin to remember the hurt and then take the pain away. Vampires can refer to how junkies roam the streets at night looking for their next hit and sleeping during the day. The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead as self destruction, a life of crime and always watching your back because you get mixed up with bad people. And while you are on drugs you don't know what you are capable of. Turning into a beast in looks and behavior. You lose everything even your loved one. Unless you drag your spouse into the life style. And even the possibly of losing your partner to an OD. Burning empires is like burning all of your bridges with lies and deceit that come with a drug addict lifestyle. Have any of you seen someone on Crystal meth?they are known for doing the Crystal dance, they sway their hips and can't stay still and they are up for days and they are paranoid and how fast their looks decay.

    To me this song reminds me of someone abusing alcohol and drugs.

    And its quite easy for someone with cancer to become addicted to opiods, since they are prescribed them for their pain. I actually knew a few people who had cancer and were abusing their pain meds by injecting them or selling them. They also lost their spouses and families because of how the drugs changed them.

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 10th 2014 !⃝

    Well, since the album IS supposed to have a plot to it, I think I should have a crack at it. I think it's about The Patients father, who is alcoholic, and often abuses The Patients mother, who is also mentioned in Mama. I personally like this meaning, because it really enhances the opening of Welcome To The Black Parade.

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 2nd 2014 !⃝

    I think this song is about someone being in an unsteady/abusive relationship but they're also doing drugs. "You're the that I need, I'm the one that you loath" can relate to someone doing drugs that still loves the person they're with but the person they love hates them for the person they've become, thus leading to an unsteady relationship. "So you can leave like the sane abandoned me" could relate to the other "sane" people including the person they love leaving them. "There's a place in the dark where the animals go, You can take off your skin in the cannibal glow" could mean a place where the person is accepted with his addiction. "Juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, romeo" could mean that because of the person doing drugs, their partner wants to abuse them for doing the wrong thing and the person on drug's still loves him/her.

  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 5th 2011 !⃝

    Until I learned that The Black Parade was a concept album with a STORY, I'd always assumed that this song was about some guy who'd fallen too deep into S&M.

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 19th 2011 !⃝

    I'm not really sure if this song is about the #1 interpretation (which happens to fit the song quite well) or about how people say Gerard Way said the song was about a past drug problem. But I think that you can believe whatever and that the song can mean whatever you believe it means.

  11. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 6th 2011 !⃝

    i think all these songs are the patient remembering his life..
    he misses his girl
    he had addictions
    it messed him up

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 22nd 2011 !⃝

    Haha I can't believe thats the top rated one XD ^
    Very imaginative, and I lolled every time I read 'bob' :')
    It's clearly about his alcoholism...
    x

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 24th 2011 !⃝

    If t looks like I'm laughing I'm really just asking to leave this alone you're in time for a show "" is one line guys. Read it all together. He's saying he's faking a smile because he doesn't want to talk about it and he's just putting on a show.

  14. Dalamanza
    click a star to vote
    Mar 19th 2011 !⃝

    I think that this is a song about the patient's past life with the girl from 'this is how i disappear'. I don't think the girl died, i think that she left him, and I think that this song is saying that she left him coz of his drug problem. "'Cause I love all the poison away with the boys in the band". This is him telling us about him and his mates and maybe 'peer pressure' to start taking drugs and get really drunk.


    "This alone, you're in time for the show" - she's gonna be there to see him when he's drunk - maybe he abuses her?

    "You're the one that I need
    I'm the one that you loathe" - she hates him coz he's always drunk and on drugs, but he can't let her go

    "You can watch me corrode like a beast in repose" - she's gonna watch him as the drugs ruin him and turn him mad ("ive really been on a bender and it shows") and make him 'decay'

    'Cause I love all the poison
    Away with the boys in the band" - he LIKES the drugs that he takes with his mates and is very addicted now.

    "Give me a shot to remember" - maybe she points a gun at him, or maybe this is a metaphor for the pain that he would feel when she leaves him

    "your kiss and I will surrender" - when she shows that she still loves him it calms him and drives away the drug problems for a bit

    This is one interpretation (tho not very good). I agree with murdocking as well - the patient could be remembering the girl that cheated on him (the girl in how i disappear)

  15. Dalamanza
    click a star to vote
    Mar 19th 2011 !⃝

    I think that this is a song about the patient's past life with the girl from 'this is how i disappear'. I don't think the girl died, i think that she left him, and I think that this song is saying that she left him coz of his drug problem. "'Cause I love all the poison away with the boys in the band". This is him telling us about him and his mates and maybe 'peer pressure' to start taking drugs and get really drunk.


    "This alone, you're in time for the show" - she's gonna be there to see him when he's drunk - maybe he abuses her?

    "You're the one that I need
    I'm the one that you loathe" - she hates him coz he's always drunk and on drugs, but he can't let her go

    "You can watch me corrode like a beast in repose" - she's gonna watch him as the drugs ruin him and turn him mad ("ive really been on a bender and it shows") and make him 'decay'

    'Cause I love all the poison
    Away with the boys in the band" - he LIKES the drugs that he takes with his mates and is very addicted now.

    "Give me a shot to remember" - maybe she points a gun at him, or maybe this is a metaphor for the pain that he would feel when she leaves him

    "your kiss and I will surrender" - when she shows that she still loves him it calms him and drives away the drug problems for a bit

    This is one interpretation (tho not very good). I agree with murdocking as well - the patient could be remembering the girl that cheated on him (the girl in how i disappear)

  16. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 11th 2011 !⃝

    This is about romeo and juliet. If any of you illiterate people read it you could see the similarities. And no, i didn't just said that because of the part where they said ROMEO and JULIET, but because i've read the play numerous times.

  17. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 31st 2010 !⃝

    While Gerard may have made this song as a personal tale of drug addiction, it definitely falls in line with the story of The Patient - I doubt that MCR would contaminate the storyline by throwing a totally unrelated song right in the middle of the track list after already establishing the Patient's identity. In keeping with looking back on his life, the Patient thinks about the times he was a party and drug addict. Gerard is literally using personal experience and injecting it into the Patient's character for backstory because he can relate to it.

  18. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 21st 2010 !⃝

    The song is about the patient in his room. The drugs they give him calm him and he is then able to relax to remember his past life. Before he got cancer. And all the of the vampires. well this is what most patients call nurses when you have cancer. Why? Because you are always giving blood to them to test.

    Come on people, this whole album is written as a story about a person (presumably male) who gets cancer, dies by the song The black parade, and then the rest of the album is the patients ghost trying to cope with what he can not control.

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