I Am Not Afraid to Keep on Living: An In-Depth Look at the "Long Live the Black Parade" Tour

"Son, when you grow up, would you be the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?" - Welcome to the Black Parade

I was one of the fortunate ones who was able to attend the My Chemical Romance Long Live the Black Parade tour in Chicago and while I could go on about how the energy of concerts is an energy that cannot be replicated, I plan on saving that for a different conversation. In this space, I want to focus on the meaning behind Act 1 of the concert and the message behind the little stage play that was held.

Welcome to the Black Parade

The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance (MCR) came out in 2006, and I remember listening to it for the first time and what some of those songs meant to me in that time period. Even as an adult, the album screams the question “What does it mean to truly be alive?” through themes of existentialism, death, and the afterlife. While many of the tracks on the album seem bleak, listeners are engaged in a story from the eyes of a dying person. Tracks such as Famous Last Words and lyrics such as:
“So paint it black and take it back, and let's shout it loud and clear

Defiant to the end, we hear the call”

Remind us that there is a life to live after all, no matter what someone else may tell us.

Long Live the Black Parade

Propaganda and False Truths

From before the main show starts, the large screens begin to depict these strange rules and wanted posters. Some in English and some in a made-up language that takes from Cyrillic. These rules are different for every venue, but I’ll be focusing on the ones that were in Chicago. These led to the introduction of a powerful individual who was seen sitting on a throne in the back, and orders were given to members of the band. The story in the beginning is one of following orders of this higher-ranking official and “the show must go on”. These rules and the powerful leader are the antithesis of the meaning behind The Black Parade. 

This becomes a conversation of propaganda and false truths.

The face value is the relationship contract that happens when people become lovers, friends, co-workers, supervisors, etc. Relationships that are abusive and with heavy manipulation can apply here as well, but for the sake of conversation and general relation, we will be sticking with talking about things that are toxic but not abusive. Toxic relationships don't often start off that way, or the toxic person doesn't come forward with that, often because they don't recognize it themselves. There is a promise of a good relationship of any kind, and then as time goes on, the relationship becomes toxic either because of the single person or because of disruption on both parties. Without proper communication with the other party out of fear, even healthy relationships can have toxic moments.

Past the face value, we can look at how we get our information overall. Social Media, in particular, has become the new way to keep up with the latest, and not all of it is true or the complete truth. It’s becoming harder and harder to sort truth from half-truths. From propaganda stating that the newest program that will cure your health, cure your mental health, help you lose weight, help you be happier, etc., to the paid advertisements stating how wonderful all these things and places are, those who just want a place to belong and a place to help them are easily swayed by these products and places. When these things either don’t work or these places don’t feel right because they aren’t what they promised, we see a decline in mental health. People now feel as if they are “wrong” or “stuck” in places they thought they would belong, and struggle to get out of it for one reason or another.

These individuals, often, are no longer living a life they want to live but one they feel they are forced to. As a counselor, I see this in people who try anything they can to be happy in these moments. Trying to lose weight with the new "fad" diet. Trying a new beauty product. Idolizing social media influencers who don't allow anyone to see the mask fall. They develop skills they have to use to survive in these groups because the promises made were false, including believing that they are the "broken" or "wrong" one because it's worked for so many others, why not them.

Breaking Free and Acting Out

As the story continues, the main character rips up one of the orders he is given and decides to take a stance and advocate for himself and what he believes in. While for him this ends in death, this shows a moment of freedom and taking the first step into living a life he wants to live. Free of the teachings that were forced upon him to follow. Now we step into the meaning of The Black Parade.

The main character has done what was asked of him, more and more reluctantly, until he could no longer go along with what he was asked to do. I tell my clients who have reached a breaking point:
“We can only take so much; a cornered animal can only suffer so much before they bite…”

Unfortunately, that animal will be seen as the “bad” one by those who pushed them to that point, and that is a fear that holds so many back. No one wants to be the villain in another person’s story, but sometimes we have to to find our own happiness. This goes from leaving toxic relationships to communicating how someone’s actions hurt. This fear might protect us from hurting someone and, in turn, protect ourselves, but eventually it leads to resentment and regret. We are not only holding back our own growth, but also the growth of the relationship and the other person. 

“Where would I be if I had broken up with that person sooner?”
“Would the friendship have been better if they had known?”

This metaphor for fighting against a powerful figure extends beyond the face value. Fear can be a driving force for change or one that keeps us stagnate. There are many places where the fear of making the “wrong” choice or being seen as the “bad guy” by those who deem it “incorrect.” We can be afraid of choosing the wrong restaurant, afraid of picking the wrong color for our walls, afraid of a failing grade, and the list of fears goes on. It is in these moments that we remind ourselves that fear is a natural emotion to have. We are going to face things that we are afraid of, we are going to fail, we are only human. We do it anyway, we do it scared. This is what it means to be alive: to be afraid of an action we know is the correct one for us, face it in the best way we know how, and to keep walking forward -- one step at a time. In the words of MCR:

“I am not afraid to keep on living

I am not afraid to walk this world alone.”