My Chemical Romance - I’m Not Okay
Well if you wanted honesty, That's all you had to say. I never want to let you down or have you go, it's better off this way. For all the dirty looks, For photographs your boyfriend took, Remember when...
Well if you wanted honesty, That's all you had to say.
I never want to let you down or have you go, it's better off this way.
For all the dirty looks,
For photographs your boyfriend took,
Remember when you broke your foot from jumping out the second floor?
Gerard Way appears to be bitter. He claims that if the subject had just wanted him to tell the truth, then they should have said so – though conversely, its not like they went up to him and went “ooh Gerard, you sexy minx you, could you lie to me? That may well make my year, and would be an ace birthday present” so on that note he appears to be confused. Generally, it is a given that you are telling the truth unless otherwise stated, for it is generally regarded as being the “default” setting of communication. Despite this, it is clear that Way has lied to the subject and as such feels that he has let them down; but whilst he never wanted that to happen, it is clear that something has indeed happened that makes it okay for him to lie. It appears that Gerard has something despicable – like forget the subjects birthday, or make a crude “your mum” comment when the subjects mother passed away that year. Not that I am accusing Gerard of these somewhat heinous acts, for that would in itself be unforgivable – I am merely trying to put these things into context.
Although it then appears that Gerard Way has been giving this subject dirty looks! My oh my! Although, there could be connotations for this; he could simply be looking at her in a menacing and really not altogether that nice manner, which just isn’t overly cool, or he is looking at her and imagining that she (for one assumes the subject is a she, for heterosexuality is again the default setting, and Gerard gives no indication of being orientated otherwise) has removed all of her garments. For shame Gerard, for shame. It also appears that her boyfriend has been taking photographs, but of what? For all we know her boyfriend has enrolled in a photography course and has become increasingly interested in capturing beautiful landscapes – which I suppose might mean that he has no longer got the time for the subject, and Gerard, er, feels sorry for her? Its not clear at all what he intends by stating this – although Gerard then brings up what can only be a painful memory for the subject, who broke her foot when she jumped out of the second floor (presumably after some over-celebration that her boyfriend was accepted into a photography course).
I'm not okay.
I'm not okay.
I'm not okay.
You wear me out.
Gerard Way is not okay. Apparently. This is because he is tired of the subject, whos constant confusing state of mind is greatly tiring Gerard. Bless him.
What will it take to show you that it's not the life it seems?
I told you time and time again you sing the words but still don't know what it means
To be a joke and look
Another line without a hook
I held you close as we both shook for the last time
Take a good hard look!
Gerard appears to wish to convince the subject that life is not all that it seems. This is because he believes the subject of the song to be naïve, and that nagging mother in him just can’t have the subject not knowing about the real world. I mean, she obviously lives in a dream world where her boyfriend is a successful photographer-in-waiting with a bright career ahead of him, and she obviously believes that she is to be a part of this glamorous career; the first lady of photography, as it were. It appears that the subject enjoys a bit of singing but whilst she sings the words, she doesn’t actually realize what they mean (like the home boys I know who enjoy “Pretty Fly For A White Guy” by The Offspring, a song that takes the mickey out of them), and as such meaning that she is probably a chav. He then sprouts some stuff about song lyrics about jokes and lines without hooks and all of that fun, but doesn’t reveal what we really want to know; why has he befriended a chav? Is this a chav who can be converted? It is a bemusing situation indeed, although it appears that they may well be parting, as they hold each other close for the last time before parting. Which is good, as much as I don’t really like Gerard Way, I don’t want him associating with chav-like creatures. That’s just low.
Forget about the dirty looks
The photographs your boyfriend took
You say you read me like a book, but the pages all are torn and frayed
Gerard wants the chav subject to forget about the aforementioned dirty looks and also to forget about her photographer boyfriend (possibly ex by now) and his budding career. Gerard then states that whilst the subject claims to be able to read Gerard like a book (and I can’t imagine it being a particularly well written book, nor a book with the selling power of, say, the Harry Potter franchise), he is indeed not a very good book – the pages have been torn and frayed and in general, not looked after all that well. I would doubt that he is a hardback edition either, for with hardback editions pages don’t tend to get torn and frayed that easily – not for many years, anyway.
I'm okay.
I'm okay!
I'm okay, now
(I'm okay, now)
Gerard Way appears to be okay. But why? Little has changed in his circumstances throughout the song, and whilst the chav girl may well have left her boyfriend, I doubt it will ever work for them. For a start, Gerard Way does not appear to have any ambitions photography wise, which is something she clearly goes for. Though I didn’t know that photography was a career often admired by chavs – but hey, you learn something new every day I suppose.
But you really need to listen to me
Because I'm telling you the truth
I mean this, I'm okay!
(Trust me.)
The subject really needs to listen to Gerard apparently, because he is adamant that he is telling the truth – he is indeed okay (even though in the next verse, a song segment involving a foul word, he then admits that he is far from okay, and it is probably this constant sense of confusion that adds to the sense that he is not okay. He is probably just okay but thinking he is not okay because everyone else seems a bit happier, but they aren’t really – everyone has the same miserable fears and the such like. A good lesson in general for “emo” kids that). Way appears to have truth and lies blurred in a constant sense of the unknown, and not even knowing himself what is fact and fiction. Like a member of the “Jedi” religion (a religion so the national census would have us believe).
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
Well, I'm not okay
I'm not o-fucking-kay
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
(Okay)
Gerard is not okay.
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