Music Anthology Role play

In this analysis I will analyze the song " Teenagers" written by " My Chemical Romance". The thematic of the lyrics of its songs is mainly focused on political controversy, and memories of life experiences.

First off the singer of this song, Gerard Way, embodies the voice of a resented teenager towards the attitude of the government, or the adults. It is clear that he plays the role of a person that is warning the youth of the way in which it is being manipulated, while at the same time he is giving advice about what to do against this manipulation.

The main theme of this song is therefore manipulation that "they" is enforcing to the teenagers. When Gerard says " They" we can discern that he is referring to the author of the manipulation, which in the mean time the targeted audience of the song, or the audience that has to understand the message of this song is the teenager.

                                     If we take a look at the chorus of the song:



                        " They said that teenagers scare the living shit out of me
                                the 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."


What is clear just by looking at the chorus is that when Gerard says they, he is referring to a group of people that is oppressing his targeted audience, therefore, that is the reason why in the third line of the chorus he is giving advice to the audience about what to do against this oppressor.

Looking at the three main strophes that make up the song, it is possible to recognize three sub themes in which this idea of manipulation is further expressed, along with other ideas that relate to it. In the first strophe:


                                   " They're gonna clean up your looks
                                     With all the lies in the books
                                       To make a citizen out of you
                                        Because the sleep with  gun
                                    And keep an eye on you son
                                So they can watch all the things you so."


There are several times in which "they " is used again. In this strophe the main idea is the fact that Gerard wants to transmit to his audience, the teenagers, that somebody is deceiving them, and controlling them, in order to make them be the class of people that they want to be. Furthermore, in this verse the word citizen makes the difference, since the idea that the oppressors what to shape the characteristics of the audience, being the teenagers, in some way is a proof that shows that the oppressor is the government. Besides of that, in the first two verses, the singer uses an assonance, as a rhetorical device, to slow the tempo of those first two verses, putting emphasis on them, therefore giving those first two verses a higher value, or importance.



                                 "Because the drugs never work
                                   They're gonna give you a smirk
                                  Cause they got methods for keeping you clean
                                They're gonna reap up your head,
                                 Your aspirations and shreds
                                 Another cog in the murder machine.


In the second strophe there are important literary features and details that play an important role in adding importance to the main theme, the manipulation. First off in this strophe the singer uses two metaphors. In the second verse, when the singer says " They're gonna give you a smirk", he is not literally meaning it, but instead he is meaning that the government,or oppressor over the teenager, is going to play the role of a friendly and inoffensive organization in order to act as a double edged sword, since a smirk portrays the idea of a fake intention. Secondly, there is a use of connotation when Gerard says, " They are gonna reap up your head", again it is not the literally action what matters here, but the idea that the government is gonna implant a way of thinking into the minds of the youth, in order to make them forget about their dreams and make them become the kind of citizen they want. Finally in the last verse there is use of metaphor as well, with the intention to portray the idea that  manipulation the minds of the teenagers, and controlling them is just a part of the big puzzle, that the government is carrying out to take advantage of the citizens in order to only benefit itself.


                           "The boys and girls in the clique
                              The awful names that they stick
                             You're not gonna fit in much, kid
                             But if you are troubled and hurt,
                           What you got under your shirt
                             Will make them pay for the things they did"

In this last strophe the main idea being expressed by the singer is the fact that at one point the teenagers can take action over this situation, and make a difference. In order to portray this idea, the singer uses Imagery, to make the audience either think about the resented feelings of a broken heart, after being deceived, and manipulated, or also think about the strength that the teenagers have to make something happen, motivating them in either way to do something about this manipulation. This last idea is expressed in the last verse, " Will make them pay for the things they did".



All in all, in this song the main theme is the manipulation. The singer, and author of the song portrays the idea that the government manipulates the youth, or the teenagers, not allowing them to dream, and manipulating their minds through school, in order to create a specific sample of individual. As it has been discussed, the use of metaphors, connotation, and assonance helps the author to depict the message. Finally, as secondary message of the song, the author uses Imagery to express the idea that it is possible to do something about this manipulation, encouraging the teenagers to look to what they have inside of them.