My Chemical Romance: Teenagers Meaning
Song Released: 2007
Teenagers Lyrics
With all the lies in the books
To make a citizen out of you
Because they sleep with a gun
And keep an eye on you, son
So they can watch all the things you do
Because the drugs never work
They're gonna...
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But if you're troubled and hurt what you've got under your shirt (your skin, yourself), will make them pay for the things that they did
sounds to me like some self-cutting matter... If you hurt yourself, you'll make those around you (people, who love you) pay for something they did to you... you "punish" your parents for making you feel bad, for hurting you, by hurting yourself... parents normally suffer when their kid hurts her-/himself and feel guilty and so on... Then the ideal reaction for you would be your parents apologizing to you and treat you like a prince(ss)... I think that's one of the main reasons why teenagers cut theirselves...
and the first part, from "they're gonna clean up your looks" to "so they can watch all the things that you do" sounds like education, police, state... but maybe it has a deeper meaning...
let's play the song backwards!! ^^ -
I think its based on the way teenagers act towards others but the song is amazing and so true. MCR forever!
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I agree with almost everything. The song is pretty straight forward not much metaphors. It's about teenagers trying to fit in and when they don't they can act out in violent ways. which scares him. and I know plenty of teenagers that find this song amusing. and yes adults do listen to this. I was ofended when the person said adults don't listen to this. I know plenty of other adults like myself that do listen to this. I have loved rock music all my life and just because I get older does not mean I am going to change my taste in music. but then again I am 25 still young and in college.
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Okay, so obviously very few of you have actually seen fuse's "dfused" show, it's a "making of the video" thing and this is one of the videos they did. on the show Gerard said that the song started out being about how he was scared of teenagers, but it evolved [more or less] to be about how adults [in general] are scared of teenagers.
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Teenagers interpretation:
(Note: all my interpretations are just a story that I give to the lyrics,as you would've seen if you've read my "sharpest lives" interpretation)
this story is about a straight a student (you know the sort of kid that usually never gets into trouble) that's new to an area of houses, who has no friends, who finds that a group of teenagers start giving him trouble. (lets call the kid Gerard)
they're gonna clean up your looks with all the lies in the books to make a citizen out of you - this is when he first meets the local teenagers, they tell Gerard to change his lifestyle, to start becoming a trouble maker (this is sort of their test to see if he'll fit in with the rest of them.)so they tell him that they're robbing a lady's house the following night at midnight,and they invite him to come.
because they sleep with a gun and keep an eye on you son, so they can watch all the things you do - this is where they warn him "DON'T SAY A WORD TO ANYONE,we will know",and from that moment Gerard feels like he's always being watched.so that night Gerard doesn't show at the lady's house.
because the drugs never work they're gonna give you a smirk,because they've got methods of keeping you clean - after Gerard successfully fails the teenagers test the teenagers see that Gerard isn't gonna fit in (this is where they start pestering him)they invite him out one night,Gerard goes (against his better judgment because his mother said he should get to know the new kids) only to find out they called him out to do drugs (but the teenagers knew he was too "wimpy" to try)so they found it amusing to see a kid talk his way out of doing drugs.
they're gonna rip off your heads your aspirations to shreds, another cog in the murder machine - this is where Gerard starts getting terrified of the teenagers, feeling that he can't tell his parents about it, even more so dreading whats gonna happen on the first day of school (knowing that the teenagers go to the school he going to attend).
they said all teenagers scare the living shit out of me - this again talks about how he is scared of them.
they could care less as long as someone'll bleed - this is showing that the teenagers are amused by peoples misfortunes, and that they don't preferably choose Gerard as a victim its just he is a really easy person to pick on.
so darken your clothes or strike a violent pose - this shows that to try and not be tormented by the teenagers, Gerard had learn t that if he was different and had fit in from the start that he wouldn't be constantly bullied by the teenagers.
maybe they'll leave you alone but not me - this shows how Gerard feels alone, that he can't talk to anyone about it (since he feels like they're always watching),this is slowly driving him insane
the boys and girls in the clique the awful names at the stick your never gonna fit in much kid - this at Gerard's first day at his new school,where the teenagers start showing off in front of a group of girls by pushing Gerard around and treating him like shit.
but if your troubled and hurt, what you got under you shirt will make them pay for the things that they did - earlier that day he took his dads gun from the drawer to scare the teenagers, but while the teenagers where pushing him around in front of the group of girls he gets pushed past his limit, he pulls out the gun and shoots everyone in the group of teenagers that had constanly tormented him and made him feel like complete trash.
-------------------------------------
the end. -
I don't think this is about Gerard disliking teenagers as many others seem to think, to me this seems to mean that Gerard is sympathizing with teens about how adults so often stereotype them as scary people with guns or clique members whose sole purpose in life is to make people insecure, he says "so darken your clothes / or strike a violent pose" which I think basically means why don't you live up to their expectations of you.
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Alright, I'm going to run through the lyrics and point out... Important... places....
They’re gonna clean up your looks
With all the lies and the books
To make a citizen out of you
[Basically, adults are trying to change teenagers into normal, everyday people]
Because they sleep with a gun
And keep an eye on you,son
So they can watch all the things you do
[Adults are paranoid because of how horrible/crazy teenagers have become]
Because the drugs never work
They’re gonna give you a smirk
‘Cause they got methods of keeping you clean
[Adults have methods of keeping you off drugs - keeping you clean - and always know what you are doing]
They’re gonna rip off your heads
Your aspirations to shreds
Another cog in the murder machine
[er.....]
They said that teenagers scare
The living shit out of me
They could care less
As long as someone’ll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me
[Teenagers are really scary now-a-days. They live to make people miserable and are starting to become violent and into the darker scene. They will never leave us alone]
The boys and girls in a clique
The awful names that they stick
You’re never gonna fit in much, kid
[School is very clique-y now. You don't fit in, your nobody]
But if you’re troubled and hurt
What you got under your shirt
Will make them pay for the things that they did
[I actually think this is a reference to the Columbine shootings, but who knows? When teenagers are hurt or troubled, they will take revenge]
They said all teenagers scare
The living shit out of me
They could care less
As long as someone’ll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me
[Same as other chorus....]
Oh yeah
They said all teenagers scare
The living shit out of me
They could care less
As long as someone’ll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me
All together now
Teenagers scare
The living shit out of me
They could care less
As long as someone’ll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me x2
Of course, this interpretation might be a little bit off, but who knows? -
This song is basically about how teenagers aren't the same as the ones like thirty years ago. You hear so many stories about teens doing drugs smoking and using violence as the answer. at the end of the music video, it says violence is not the answer, so that says it in a nut shell
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This is really about how us teens are CRAZY and how you never no wut we're gonna do & how nowadays there's a lot more bullying w/ the internet & all and how some kids r taking matters into there own dangerous hands. Haha, it reminds me that I'm listening to a 30 year old sing, not a 19 year old!
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"so darken your clothes
or strike a violent pose
maybe they'll leave you alone
but not me"
I think that's referring to if teenagers shoot people or kill themselves or anything of that nature its the bands like MCR that take them blame hence "they'll leave you alone but not me" -
This song is all about irony...how society looks at teenagers and how teenagers look at themselves. They aren't saying anything bad about teenagers; in fact, they're defending them. If you took the time to read or listen what the band has to say about the song, you'd find that out. The whole album tells a story, like a rock opera.
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There are a lot or entries here that say it's about how terrible Teenagers are, but it sounds to me like it's about most adult's stereotype of Teenagers.
They're gonna clean up your looks
With all the lies in the books
To make a citizen out of you
[Adults want to change teens into being just like them, basically taking away their individuality, which MCR wants you to express]
Because they sleep with a gun
And keep an eye on you son
So they can watch all the things you do
[Adults are paranoid that teens are going to act up and give us this terrible image]
Because the drugs never work
They're gonna give you a smirk
Cause they got methods of keeping you clean
[Somehow I think this is an ADD/ADHD reference]
They're gonna rip off your heads
Your aspirations to shreds
Another cog in the murder machine
[Adults can keep us from living our dreams]
They say, now
[I think this is supposed to be like a quote]
"Teenagers scare the living shit out of me
They could care less as long as someone will bleed"
[the stereotype that all teenagers are basically monsters]
So darken your clothes
I'll strike a violent pose
Maybe they'll leave you alone
But not me
[basically telling us to speak out against the stereotype while the parents keep their eye on MCR for "influencing" it]
The boys and girls in the clique
The awful names that they stick
You're never gonna fit in much, kid
[the shit teenagers go through these days and why we act up in the first place]
But if you're troubled and hurt
What you got under your shirt
Will make them pay for the things that they did
[I think this is some sort of reference to their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album. It's all about revenge, and they wore bullet proof vests on stage. Maybe saying that their music can stop us from pulling that stuff.] -
I think it's about teens inability to be looked at as equals any more, and about how everyone is afraid of teens, I think it was about that...
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How adults are always trying to change their kids .... especially if their emo or goth or punk or something.. They try to make them into the ideal person( which is basically the worst person in the WORLD) a prep because they scare the shit outta them
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