Welcome to the Black Parade
(Toro/Iero/Bryar/G. Way/M. Way) Performed by My Chemical Romance
When I was a young boy
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band
He said, "Son when you grow up
Would you be the savior of the broken
The beaten and the damned?"
He said "Will you defeat them
Your demons, and all the non-believers
The plans that they have made?"
"Because one day I'll leave you
A phantom to lead you in the summer
To join The Black Parade"
When I was a young boy
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band
He said, "Son when you grow up
Would you be the saviour of the broken
The beaten and the damned?"
Sometimes I get the feeling she's watching over me
And other times I feel like I should go
And through it all, the rise and fall, the bodies in the streets
And when you're gone we want you all to know
We'll carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And in my heart I can't contain it
The anthem won't explain it
A world that sends you reeling from decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all
So paint it black and take it back
Let's shout it loud and clear
Defiant to the end we hear the call
To carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches
On and on we carry through the fears
Ooh oh ohhhh
Disappointed faces of your peers
Ooh oh ohhhh
Take a look at me cause I could not care at all
Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Go and try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
I won't explain or say I'm sorry
I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar
Give a cheer for all the broken
Listen here, because it's who we are
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
Just a boy, who had to sing this song
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I
Don't
Care!
We'll carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
You'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches on
Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Go and try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part (We'll carry on)
Do or die, you'll never make me (We'll carry on)
Because the world will never take my heart (We'll carry on)
Go and try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
(We'll carry on!)
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band
He said, "Son when you grow up
Would you be the savior of the broken
The beaten and the damned?"
He said "Will you defeat them
Your demons, and all the non-believers
The plans that they have made?"
"Because one day I'll leave you
A phantom to lead you in the summer
To join The Black Parade"
When I was a young boy
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band
He said, "Son when you grow up
Would you be the saviour of the broken
The beaten and the damned?"
Sometimes I get the feeling she's watching over me
And other times I feel like I should go
And through it all, the rise and fall, the bodies in the streets
And when you're gone we want you all to know
We'll carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And in my heart I can't contain it
The anthem won't explain it
A world that sends you reeling from decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all
So paint it black and take it back
Let's shout it loud and clear
Defiant to the end we hear the call
To carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches
On and on we carry through the fears
Ooh oh ohhhh
Disappointed faces of your peers
Ooh oh ohhhh
Take a look at me cause I could not care at all
Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Go and try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
I won't explain or say I'm sorry
I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar
Give a cheer for all the broken
Listen here, because it's who we are
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
Just a boy, who had to sing this song
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I
Don't
Care!
We'll carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
You'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches on
Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Go and try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part (We'll carry on)
Do or die, you'll never make me (We'll carry on)
Because the world will never take my heart (We'll carry on)
Go and try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
(We'll carry on!)
Truly, this song belongs to a generation that came long after mine - I remember how affected Mallory was by it when it was first released - but even so, I've always thought of Welcome to the Black Parade as an awesome epic; in the belting along to the radio tradition of Queen or even the sartorial sense of Adam Ant, and probably since "true" MCR fans dismiss this song as poppy or commercial, then it can belong to me, too; it is certainly in line with other songs I've posted here. So, even though I chose this as very loosely related to what I wanted to write about this week, I completely enjoyed singing along with it just now.
The very loose connection: As the bookstore that I work at is in the process of moving, we have very limited stock, and knowing this, the regular customers have stopped coming in. So, even though it is summer break and we should be swarming with beach readers and families looking for activities, we're not presenting anything and it has been quiet and dull. The other day, it was so quiet overall, that some workers from the attached Starbucks brought over some summer refresher drinks and cakepop samples on a tray - bringing some up to cash for us, and walking around the store with the rest.
A short time later, a woman came up to me to purchase a kid's book, and when I asked if she had a rewards card with us, she replied, "To be honest, this is only the second time I've been in your store and I will not be coming back."
That certainly surprised me, I tried to explain about the low stock levels (which she said was not the problem), and I asked if she cared to share her experience with me. She said, "It is chaos in here! So noisy, and kids...just running around...and...and...(with a quivering finger pointing in the direction of the kid's department) they're giving out food in there. I just wanted to yell out - IS THIS A PARADE OR A BOOKSTORE?!"
Now, I have no idea how chaotic it actually was in the kid's department, but I have seen it, heard it, when it was absolute bedlam, and this wasn't like that. I think this was just a lady who doesn't like kids, and if she has reached her fifties (by the looks of her) without coming to our local bookstore more than twice, then she probably doesn't care much about books either; leaving me without much I could say or do to improve the experience for her going forward. The biggest takeaway is: IS THIS A PARADE OR A BOOKSTORE?! This very quickly became a decent punchline with those people I told the story to (what does it even mean? It's not like we're a library), and it made me wonder how often people burst out with unintentional catchphrases like that?
It reminded me of a story from a couple of weeks ago: Kennedy was in her Fringe play (2018 A Sex Odyssey) - a play about a group of twenty-somethings travelling to Mars in order to repopulate the human race in the aftermath of climate disasters on Earth - and after it was over, a woman went outside (where people were waiting to go in to see a different play) and she started shouting in exasperated bewilderment, "IT'S JUST PEOPLE. HAVING SEX. ON A SPACESHIP." Now, not only could that plot synopsis have been gleaned from the play's title and description, but a fellow actor who knew that Kennedy's aunt and uncle were in attendance for that performance came to report the story to her, afraid that the crazy woman outside matched Kennedy's description of Lolo. Of course, that wasn't Lolo, but it was a great new catchphrase for the show.
Such tenuous connections (which don't do justice to the serious undertones of this song), but that's all I felt like sharing this week. And again, I totally enjoyed relistening to the song. To carry on! We'll carry onnnnnnn!
