"Famous Last Words" is a song by American rock band My Chemical Romance. It was released as the band's second single on January 22, 2007 from their third studio album, The Black Parade. It is also the band's ninth overall single. The music video premiered on December 12, 2006 on MTV2 and on December 13, 2006 on the Much Music program, and on MuchOnDemand in Canada.
In the United Kingdom and other territories, the single was released as a two-part square shaped vinyl picture disc. Part one came in a gatefold stickered clear sleeve, with a space to 'slot' part two into.
The Black Parade is the third studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance. Released on October 23, 2006 through Reprise Records, it was produced by Rob Cavallo, known for having produced multiple albums for Goo Goo Dolls and Green Day. It is a rock opera centering on a dying character with cancer known as "The Patient". The album tells the story of his apparent death, experiences in the afterlife, and subsequent reflections on his life.
Four singles were released from the album: "Welcome to the Black Parade", "Famous Last Words", "I Don't Love You", and "Teenagers". The Black Parade has received generally favourable reviews, and the band achieved its first number one single in the United Kingdom with "Welcome to the Black Parade". The album debuted at number two on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and is also certified as Platinum by the RIAA, as well as a Platinum certification in the United Kingdom and a Gold certification in Argentina by the CAPIF and in Chile by the IFPI Chile. The Black Parade was given the Platinum Europe Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for 1 million sales in Europe.
The limited edition boxed set also earned My Chemical Romance a Grammy Award nomination. In the video game Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360 version), the song "Dead!" was added to the game's track list prior to the earlier PlayStation 2 version, and the three songs "Teenagers," "Famous Last Words" and "This Is How I Disappear" are available for download. The Black Parade has sold 1,610,000 copies in the United States as of October 2010, and has sold 3,000,000 copies worldwide. The record was reissued as a 10th Anniversary Edition on September 23, 2016 in celebration of the album’s release.
The limited edition boxed set also earned My Chemical Romance a Grammy Award nomination. In the video game Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360 version), the song "Dead!" was added to the game's track list prior to the earlier PlayStation 2 version, and the three songs "Teenagers," "Famous Last Words" and "This Is How I Disappear" are available for download. The Black Parade has sold 1,610,000 copies in the United States as of October 2010, and has sold 3,000,000 copies worldwide. The record was reissued as a 10th Anniversary Edition on September 23, 2016 in celebration of the album’s release.
Gerard Way said in an interview with Kerrang! magazine that the line, "I am not afraid to walk this world alone" played some part in the break up with his then girlfriend, known as "Katmandu." The last lines of the song imply that the patient's lover is in fact the person who has died. "I see you lying next to me with words I thought I'd never speak" suggests that the Patient's lover is lying next to him in a coffin, as he speaks about her during the funeral service. The line "Awake and unafraid, asleep or dead" is further evidence that the Patient is alive and has entered into some new state of self-perception, that he has cleared himself of regrets. However, there is no mention of the Patient's state; whether he has recovered from his illness or not. Though the song is named "Famous Last Words", that term is generally used when someone has died, and they have said their Famous Last Words. My Chemical Romance drummer Bob Bryar suffered third-degree burns on his arms and legs during the filming of the song's music video.
The official video for "Famous Last Words" was directed by Samuel Bayer and was filmed before the band had even named the song. The music video is a performance dominated video, however, there are aspects of a narrative as the video is a continuation of the story that is featured in the ‘The Black Parade’. So this video is connected to the other music videos from the songs on the album ‘The Black Parade’. The music video shows the Black Parade float that the band performed on in "Welcome to the Black Parade" burning and destroyed. The rest of the background is scattered with burning props from the "Welcome to the Black Parade" video, and fire is seen all around. It becomes immediately apparent that this is a rock music video as the band is presented as rebellious guys wearing black jackets fighting conformity by using a remote location with blazing fires in the background which connotes that they are in danger but could also be subtly implying that these men are dangerous.
The fire is a symbol for the passion and anger that is expressed throughout the song. All followers of The Black Parade have abandoned the band, and they appear to be in a desperate state. Lead singer Gerard Way looks particularly rough, and he seems be dying or extremely ill because of the makeup he is wearing, especially around his eyes. This makeup is similar to that worn by The Patient in the "Welcome to the Black Parade" video. The costumes of the band members are black which is a colour that is associated with rock because of the negative connotations attached to it.
The fire is a symbol for the passion and anger that is expressed throughout the song. All followers of The Black Parade have abandoned the band, and they appear to be in a desperate state. Lead singer Gerard Way looks particularly rough, and he seems be dying or extremely ill because of the makeup he is wearing, especially around his eyes. This makeup is similar to that worn by The Patient in the "Welcome to the Black Parade" video. The costumes of the band members are black which is a colour that is associated with rock because of the negative connotations attached to it.
Way adopts a wide-eyed, insane-looking facial expression. So the video can be seen to be following rock music video stereotypes as over exaggerated facial expression are a key feature in most modern rock music videos as it reinforces the brash and crazy nature of rock music. The facial expressions are highlighted by a sequence of close ups throughout the video. The editing of the video is fast paced and constantly cuts between the different band members playing their instruments to demonstrate their musical ability. There is also a variety of low angle shots which empowers the band members and makes them visually striking. The visuals of the video also synchronise and follow the lyrics of the song, for instance Gerard way emphasises the expansion of his ‘Eyes shining bright’ as he forces them open with his hand and when he lies down and references seeing the patient’s lover (who is deceased) lying next to him however it is implied that she is buried next to him ‘I see you lying next to me’.
Moreover, some of the scenes in the music video are recorded from a handheld camera and so there is a lot of shaking, however, it could be argued that the shaking represents the mental instability of the members which runs with the theme of instability that is one of the main focuses of the song as the song is about the loss of a lover and the emotional trauma that ensues. This is reinforced and expressed via the jump cuts of Gerard’s over exaggerated facial expressions. Chaos then ensues as fast paced editing with cross cutting and jump cuts takes over and out of focus shots shows the flames growing and the band descending into madness for the final chorus. The fact that the shot if out of focus implies that they are losing control. In addition, there is a close up of Gerard’s hand reaching up which suggests that he is calling out for help but no one is answering so he is going to have to go through this on his own, this suggests that he is actually afraid to go through this grieving process on his own and therefore challenges the lyrics of the song as he states that he is ‘Not afraid to keep on living’ and that he ‘Not afraid to walk this world alone’.
Moreover, some of the scenes in the music video are recorded from a handheld camera and so there is a lot of shaking, however, it could be argued that the shaking represents the mental instability of the members which runs with the theme of instability that is one of the main focuses of the song as the song is about the loss of a lover and the emotional trauma that ensues. This is reinforced and expressed via the jump cuts of Gerard’s over exaggerated facial expressions. Chaos then ensues as fast paced editing with cross cutting and jump cuts takes over and out of focus shots shows the flames growing and the band descending into madness for the final chorus. The fact that the shot if out of focus implies that they are losing control. In addition, there is a close up of Gerard’s hand reaching up which suggests that he is calling out for help but no one is answering so he is going to have to go through this on his own, this suggests that he is actually afraid to go through this grieving process on his own and therefore challenges the lyrics of the song as he states that he is ‘Not afraid to keep on living’ and that he ‘Not afraid to walk this world alone’.
In some parts of the video, he can be seen wearing a mask with a skull design on it. The mask could be subtly hinting towards the demons inside of him that he is struggling to control. This would make the video relatable to the target audience as it is a stereotype that only people who have social issues or depression listen to rock music so this allows the music video to connect with the audience and makes it become more personal to them which establishes a strong link between the audience and the artist. The band's condition deteriorates as the song goes on until they revert to thrashing around in the dirt while performing. At the end of the video, they drop their instruments and run away from the burning float.
Although this video appears to represent a relatively basic concept in comparison to past videos, it is regarded by fans as by far the darkest video the band has created. In an interview for the music video, Way said that it was written at "the darkest period in this band's career". A shortened edit of the song is used in the video, with one bridge and two chorus repeats removed. The instrumentals at the end of the song continue in the video, with a sustained guitar chord accompanying the last few vocal lines; in the album version, they were faded out by engineer Chris Lord-Alge until only Way's voice and a harmony of other band members can be heard, along with a backing of soft organ chords.
Drummer Bob Bryar sustained second and third degree burns on the back of his legs while shooting the video, yet persisted in staying until the recording was finished. This burn later resulted in gangrene. Way tore muscles in his leg and foot when Frank Iero tackled him while he was in a kneeling position, leaving him in a hospital for several days. Way recalls that, during the filming, they were all "mortified" from the engulfing flames surrounding the set. After the stay in the hospital, the doctors refused to let them perform in San Diego as the band originally planned. Ray Toro fractured his fingers also during shooting and Bob Bryar received multiple blisters around his hand as a result of extreme playing over a long period of time.
The video premiered in the United States on Total Request Live on January 11, 2007. On January 24, 2007, the video reached the No. 1 spot on TRL, and spent nine days at the top of the countdown, before becoming the band's first video to retire on the countdown on March 26, 2007. The US version of the video is mostly the same as the version first seen in the UK, the only difference being that it completely cuts out Bryar's incident with the heat at the end of the video. This version has started to air on British television, or at least on the music channels Scuzz TV and Kerrang! TV. The video has been viewed more than 80 million times on YouTube. As of January 19, it is the fourth most viewed video in the "music" section (behind videos such as their own video for "Teenagers"), and the seventh most viewed video on the entire site.
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