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Burn Bright Lyrics

So give me all you’ve got,
I can take it
We walked alone in your city lights

Did you make it?
We lit the fire and it’s burning bright

Did you take it?
Kissed all the boys in your city lights

Did you make it?
Left all the stars in your city nights

Can you fake it?
I lost my way in your city lights

Count your men
We stole the fire
And it’s burning bright

So give me all you’ve got,
I can take it
We walked around in your city lights
‘Cause it makes me who I am
We lit the fire
And it’s burning bright
Not ashamed of what I am
I took the pills
For these empty nights
‘Cause it makes me who I am

They always told me that
You'll never get to heaven
With a love like yours
Well if you’re lost little boy,
The cameras pull you right back down, yeah

It’s like a chemical burn,
I’m peeling off your skin, yeah
And when you see your face
Well you’ll never be the same again, yeah

'Cause if you just stop breathing,
All stop, stop my heart
I'll stop breathing too

So give me all you’ve got,
I can take it
We walked around in your city lights
‘Cause it makes me who I am
We lit the fire,
And it’s burning bright
Not ashamed of what I am,
I’d trade the world for your city nights
‘Cause it makes me who I am

And it makes me who I am
And it makes me who I am

And though I miss the taste for this,
I confess that I can’t wait,
Until it’s gone
No I mean this every single day
So go when you can’t burn inside
‘Cause the world don’t need
Another hopeless cause
Though it makes me who I am

‘Cause it makes me who I am
And you made me who I am
And you made me who I am
Be afraid of what I am

I can take it
We walked around in your city lights,
‘Cause it makes me who I am
I burned it all and I’ll do it right
‘Cause I’ll never burn away,
I’ll steal the blood from your city nights
‘Cause it makes me who I am

Who I am
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4 Meanings

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Cover art for Burn Bright lyrics by My Chemical Romance

My personal interpretation of this song is that it has parts that recognize the struggles of being gay.

"Kissed all the boys in your city lights" could refer to anyone, but later in the song the person is referred to as "little boy," so you could potentially assume they are male.

"They always told me that you'll never get to Heaven with a life like yours." To me, this could be taken as the known struggle of gay people constantly being told that they can't get to Heaven, that Hell is the only place they are destined to go unless they change their "lifestyle" (which, of course, they can't).

"Not ashamed of what I am." This part really could go either way on fitting into this interpretation, but it could potentially show that the person in question is trying to prove that they have nothing to be ashamed of in what they are.

"And you made me who I am, be afraid of what I am." When I first heard this, I misheard it as "You made be afraid of what I am," which is something that happens to a lot of gay people. But this lyric could work as well. The person in question could be pointing out that the hate they received could just make them stronger, and that everyone who ever did them wrong should be afraid of who they have become.

I don't know, that's just one potential interpretation of an undoubtedly fantastic song.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Burn Bright lyrics by My Chemical Romance

I interpret this song as a description of who he was and hung out with (given the "we"s in the beginning) and kind of explains some bad times. Like "I took the pills for these empty nights" seems to say he did drugs I fill a void left by someone. "They always told me that 'you'll never get to heaven with a life like yours' and if you're lost little boy, the cameras pull you right back down" says he had a bad, less than nice life, and the popularity (the bad kind) of him having that life style tends to depress him even more. "Cause if you just stop breathing I'll stop, I'll stop my heart, I'll stop breathing too" shows that he got a friend who is in the same situation, and he says "I you kill yourself, I'm going with you" the last stanza (I guess..?) says "...I burned it all and I'm doin' fine. And I'll never fade away, if I steal the fire from your city nights." Says he got rid of his drug using, self harming tendencies, and realized that people do care about him, so he'll never truly "fade away"

Thanks for reading my interpretation of "burn bright" by the best band ever!! :D

My Interpretation
Cover art for Burn Bright lyrics by My Chemical Romance

To me it sounds like hes speaking to someone who has been through the same pain as him, which has drove them both to drug abuse. "We walked around you city lights" seems like "We walked around in your issues." And his issues have ended up determining who he is as a person.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Burn Bright lyrics by My Chemical Romance

Correct lyrics are “with a love like yours” (not “life”), and “though I’ll miss the taste of this” (not “...chance...”).

Lyric Correction

@hellno the first of your corrections is wrong, it is definitely "life". Love does not fit the context of the lyrics in the song. Up until this point the whole song has talked about living their life how they want, and not worrying about other's opinions. So in that context "love" makes absolutely no sense at this point in the lyrics.

I think the second correction could possibly be right, but every other source I have found has it as "chance".

@sokorny “Clutching me restored the fire and it’s burning bright”... yeah, that’s only about living life the way you want and nothing suggestive of sexual activity. These lyrics reek of gay panic with a hint of vengefulness. Your interpretation of context vs. my perfect hearing and listening to this wreck of a song 1000 times before catching on because certainly he couldn’t have said that, right?? If official lyrics are ever released, I’m sure all the nicer interpretations (with “life” and “chance”) will prevail.