Topic > The optimism depicted in the song Welcome to The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

While My Chemical Romance seem emo, depressed and suicidal, their songs actually say the opposite. The lyrics of most of their songs actually send a message of hope to fans and not to give up. Many kids admired My Chemical Romance and their music and were saved by the inspiring lyrics of the songs. Their most famous song to inspire this feeling of hope is “Welcome to the Black Parade.” They inspire hope through the plot, scenes and lyrics contained in the song and music video. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The song begins softly with a piano playing slow, sad-toned notes. The entire video begins in black and white with a man on his deathbed watching TV. Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, is on TV and starts singing about a Black Parade with relative calm. The text begins: When I was a little boy, my father took me into town to see a marching band. He said, “Son, when you grow up, would you be the savior of the broken, the defeated, and the damned?” he said "Will you defeat them, your demons and all the unbelievers, the plans they have made?" “For one day I will leave you, a ghost who will guide you in the summer, to join the Black Parade” The scene changes from the hospital room to scenes of a parade. As the song progresses, the volume increases and the man begins to die. The nurses gather around him and hold his hand as he is dying. dark circles appear and disappear around his eyes. He then reaches out into the air as Gerard reaches across the TV. The TV explodes, the music stops, and the hospital room walls collapse. Now, at the beginning of this scene, the lyrics talk about how when this man was taken to see a marching band by his father when he was a little boy, his father then asked the boy what he was going to do with his life, if he was willing to change the plans of others to ensure that good prevails and whether he would leave a mark when he dies. This means that the patient looks back on his life and wonders if he accomplished what his father asked him to do. Gerard Way symbolizes the leader of the Black Parade as he is on top of the float, and also the patient's father as he turns to the patient to help him join the Black Parade. As the song's lyrics get louder, he gets closer and closer to death and this memory, until finally the music stops as he turns to his father (Gerard Way) to help him join the Black Parade. When the walls collapse, the patient dies. The lyrics also show that the father hopes his son will do great things. He wants his son to be a “savior.” This means that he wants his son to become something great to help the world and save the less fortunate. This would be “the defeated and the damned”. The father shows hope that his son can achieve these great things, even sacrificing himself for the common good. He also explains to his son that one day he will die and be no more, but when his son dies, he will be there for him too, in life and in death. The video then extends into a scene where there is a parade float with people in funeral clothes around it and the band on top of the float wearing marching band uniforms. The tempo and volume of the music increases and seems rebellious and destructive. There is ash in the air as if something is burning and the whole scene is still black and white except for the red on the parade float and costumes. The lyrics end in a verse that states: Sometimes I feel like 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. The person who kept watch is his motherbecause at the beginning of the song it only mentions that he has a father, so it means that his mother is deceased and watches over him. He feels he should go because he doesn't want to disappoint his parents who care for him and sometimes feel like giving up. The “rise and fall” defines the high and low points that everyone has in their life. It was up to him to overcome all the difficult times and make a difference in those moments to be remembered or at least make an impact before he dies. The people in the background are the bodies that were in the streets and have passed into the afterlife like the man who died in the hospital room. They are also the people he tried to help save or had no chance to save because of the situations they might have found themselves in. This is a message of hope for the public because, whatever he went through, he made it even with a huge weight on his shoulders and he made it even if at times he wanted to give up, "feeling that I[he] I had to go." In the next scene the band mainly sings the chorus: We'll carry on, We'll carry on And even 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 doesn't explain it. The lyrics are the focal point of this part of the video. It is said that even though the man is dead, he will not be forgotten and has impacted the people in his life, so they will "move on". The impact he had was so strong, he made the people he impacted so touched or changed that there are no words to describe how he helped their lives. This means that he accomplished what his father wanted him to do: "defeat all demons and unbelievers" and be the "savior of the broken, the defeated, and the damned." The people he helped say that even though he is gone, they will "move on" instilling a message of hope in audience listeners. The scene then flashes back between the gang and the parade participants with the lyrics: A world that sends you who are recovering from decimated dreams Your misery and your hatred will kill us all. So paint it black and take it back Let's shout it loud and clear Defiantly to the end we hear the call (And after this verse back in the chorus) These lyrics say the The world is full of "misery and hate" and will give you "decimated dreams, but you should take what the world gives you and make it useful for yourself and turn it into something that will be worth giving back to the world. This shows hope even in the darkest moments because it gives the audience the feeling that no matter what happens to them in life, they can always change it to make things work out for them in the end. It also means telling the audience that they should never give up hope even until the end and that they should once again "move on". The next scene opens with a small group of parade participants holding a sign that says “Hungry in the land of plenty”. The man is officially inducted into the Black Parade by receiving a medal. The last bridge of the song is strong and full of emotion. Again and again we carry the fears Disappointed faces of your peers Look at me because I couldn't 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 want to play this part I won't explain or say I'm sorry I have no shame, I'll show my scar Give a round of applause for all the broken ones Listen here, 'cause that'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! (The song ends returning to.