Welcome to the Black Parade

Thanks Obama

Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

"MCR is making a comeback???? I don't have words :D"

This track is not only one of the most popular singles from the album, The Black Parade, but it is MCR's highest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100. It also made its way into the Top 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (x).

I think the song is best appreciated with some context. The Black Parade is a rock opera, which means that it "tells a coherent story, and may involve songs performed as if sung by separate characters in a drama, as in classical opera" (x). It's even more involved than a concept album, which might only maintain an ambiance or find cohesion in some abstract, artistic form (x).

The narrative in The Black Parade is based on a character called "The Patient." The album discusses his death and the memories of his past life. 

Welcome to the Black Parade, the fifth track on the album, touches on the events of the entire story. Even the music video is important, having been cited by lead singer Gerard Way as "the definitive video for the record" which "summed up the album."

Guitarist Ray Toro said of The Black Parade:

The intention was to make something that was classic, something timeless, something that 20 or 30 years from now, parents could play for their kids and say, “This is what I was listening to when I was your age. Check it out, it’s still f***ing cool." We wanted to make a record you could pass down. There’s a lot of music out now that doesn’t feel like that. (source)

I dig it.

Anyway, now that the journey of the album is covered, let's talk about the journey of the song, because there certainly is one.

You start out with that iconic piano refrain. It's slow, almost hesitant. It's gentle and lonely and broken and haunting.

Then the layers start adding up, one by one.

The piano. Then it's piano and vocals. Then it's piano and vocals and a guitar. Then suddenly you're listening to the full band, and you're all suited up and ready to join the black parade.

By the end of the song, it's frantic and powerful and anthemic, and you no longer feel so alone.

Overview:

Genre:
Pop Punk / Alt Rock

Favorite Lyrics:
'Cause the world, will never take my heart
Though you try, you'll never break me


Verdict:
MCR will carry on.