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Disenchanted (My Chemical Romance song)

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"Disenchanted"
Song by My Chemical Romance
from the album The Black Parade
ReleasedOctober 23, 2006 (2006-10-23)
Recorded2005
GenreEmo[1]
Length4:55
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rob Cavallo

"Disenchanted" is a song by the American rock band My Chemical Romance from their third studio album The Black Parade (2006). A power ballad, the song is centered around the album's central figure, "The Patient", as he nears the end of his life and reflects on his past. It was the first song to be performed live from the album, with an early version titled "Shut Up And Play" being performed throughout the bands 2005 tour. It was then almost cut from The Black Parade, until the bassist Mikey Way advocated for its inclusion in the final album. The song has been met with mixed responses from critics, with some viewing it as well-written, and others considering the song to be forgettable.

Background and release

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"Disenchanted" was created during My Chemical Romance's 2005 tour to promote Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004),[2] originally being titled "Shut Up And Play". It was the first song performed live from The Black Parade (2006). Despite this, the song was almost cut from the final album, though the bands bassist Mikey Way managed to advocate for the songs inclusion.[3] The Black Parade was released on October 23, 2006 via Reprise Records;[4] "Disenchanted" is the 12th song in the standard tracklist.[5]

Composition and lyrics

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"Disenchanted" is one of three power ballads from The Black Parade, alongside "I Don't Love You" and "Sleep".[6][7][8] The song starts and ends with an acoustic guitar,[9][10] an instrument that the band hadn't dominantly used in any prior songs.[10] The lyrics, sung by frontman Gerard Way, revolve around the album's central figure, "The Patient", as he nears the end of his life[6] and reflects upon his past.[11] Some of his reflections include criticizing his idols, and describing life as a "lifelong wait for a hospital stay". Despite the dark lyrics, the song itself is relatively upbeat.[7]

Reception

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Reactions towards "Disenchanted" were mixed, with some believing it to be a memorable, well-written power ballad,[6][7][8] and others believing it to forgettable.[9][11] In an readers poll for Alternative Press, "Disenchanted" was voted as the third best song by My Chemical Romance. The magazine's Alessandra Schade described the song as overlooked in comparison to other ballads from The Black Parade, though still stood out from the rest of the album. She wrote that the tone of the songs lyrics were some of the best songs about life and death that the band had written, describing it as a "truly masterful power-ballad that ruminates on the futility of life."[6] Writing for Paste, Eli Enis wrote that the song's lyrics were "some of the most tragic subject matters" on The Black Parade, serving as a "gut-punching reminder of our inescapable morality" as well as a "right-hook to the rockstar facade." He described the song as of My Chemical Romance's "most poignant artistic statements".[7] Louder's Marianne Eloise ranked "Disenchanted" as the 14th best song by the band, writing that the band created ballads "like nobody else", and described the song as a "Queen-like" effort.[8]

Ariana Bacle of Entertainment Weekly felt that the song wasn't "worth writing home about on its own", but viewed it as a nice "calm before the storm" song as the final track in the album before "Famous Last Words", as well as a break from the rest of the albums energetic songs.[9] Writing for Loudwire, Jake Richardson described "Disenchanted" as one of the worst songs created by the band. In a play on the songs title, he felt that the song delivered a "disenchanted" message towards people trying to discover the band during its height in popularity.[3] Another editor for Alternative Press, Mackenzie Templeton, felt that while the songs lyrics and their delivery were able to pull the listener in, it was not as unique as other songs from The Black Parade.[11]

Live performances

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"Disenchanted" was performed alongside every other song from The Black Parade in 2007 as part of the bands touring set list.[12] The song then went seventeen years without being played live, only being performed during When We Were Young 2024, also alongside every other song from The Black Parade.[12][13]

References

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  1. ^ "10 Years Later, My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade Still Speaks to Emo Internet Kids". Spin. Retrieved November 13, 2024. They reinterpreted the weepy, glammy power ballad for the emo circuit, like on "I Don't Love You" and "Disenchanted."
  2. ^ Cooper, Ali (October 23, 2020). "16 things about 'Black Parade' even My Chemical Romance probably forgot". Alternative Press.
  3. ^ a b Whitt, Cassie (2019-03-24). "Every My Chemical Romance Song Ranked From Worst to Best". Loudwire. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  4. ^ "My Chemical Romance set release date for new album". Alternative Press. July 31, 2006. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  5. ^ "The Black Parade — Album by My Chemical Romance — Apple Music". Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Schade, Alessandra (July 26, 2023). "Fan poll: 5 greatest My Chemical Romance songs of all time". Alternative Press.
  7. ^ a b c d Enis, Eli (January 21, 2020). "The 10 Most Underrated My Chemical Romance Songs". Paste.
  8. ^ a b c Eloise, Marianne (2024-05-27). "The 20 greatest My Chemical Romance songs ever". louder. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  9. ^ a b c "Every song on My Chemical Romance's 'The Black Parade,' ranked". EW.com. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  10. ^ a b Blackie, Andrew (November 8, 2006). "My Chemical Romance: The Black Parade". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012.
  11. ^ a b c Templeton, Mackenzie (January 22, 2020). "'The Black Parade' ranked from good to peak My Chemical Romance". Alternative Press.
  12. ^ a b Scarlett, Liz (2024-10-21). "Watch My Chemical Romance play The Black Parade album in full at When We Were Young festival". louder. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  13. ^ "My Chemical Romance Break Out Live Rarities At When We Were Young: Watch". Stereogum. 2024-10-20. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
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