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The Phoenix Lyrics

Put on your war paint

You are a brick tied to me that’s dragging me down
Strike a match and I’ll burn you to the ground
We are the jack-o-lanterns in July
Setting fire to the sky
Here, here comes this rising tide so come on

Put on your war paint

Cross walks and crossed hearts and hope to die
Silver clouds with gray lining

So we can take the world back from the heart-attacked
One maniac at a time, we will take it back
You know time crawls on when you’re waiting for the song to start
So dance alone to the beat of your heart

Hey Youngblood, doesn’t it feel like our time is running out?
I’m going to change you like a remix
Then I’ll raise you like a phoenix
Wearing all vintage misery
No, I think it looked a little better on me
I’m going to change you like a remix
Then I’ll raise you like a phoenix

Bring home the boys in scraps
Scrap metal the tanks
Get hitched, make a career out of robbing banks
Because the world is just a teller, and we are wearing black masks
"You broke our spirit," said the note we pass

So we can take the world back from the heart-attacked
One maniac at a time, we will take it back
You know time crawls on when you’re waiting for the song to start
So dance alone to the beat of your heart

Hey Youngblood, doesn’t it feel like our time is running out?
I’m going to change you like a remix
Then I’ll raise you like a phoenix
Wearing all vintage misery
No, I think it looked a little better on me
I’m going to change you like a remix
Then I’ll raise you like a phoenix

Put on your war paint

The war is won before it’s begun
Release the doves
Surrender love
(x4)

(Wave the white flag!)

Hey Youngblood, doesn’t it feel like our time is running out?
I’m going to change you like a remix
Then I’ll raise you like a phoenix
Wearing all vintage misery
No, I think it looked a little better on me
I’m going to change you like a remix
Then I’ll raise you like a phoenix
(x2)

Put on your war paint
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Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

This is the "battle cry" of the album. Telling the younger generation that what they call music (i.e. rock and roll) isn't music at all.

This is the head on the pike to serve as a warning to all. They are saying that the world is falling apart around us and the younger generation that were given the "torch" of rock to protest and disrupt aren't living up to their responsibilities. It's also the tough love lesson to those same misguided "young bloods".

Kind of saying, "Hey Beiber! You fucking suck! Now let me show you how to be a rock musician you pussy!"

"Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time running out?" Is a sarcastic line basically saying, "We need to get working at changing the world now or we lose our chance."

"I'm gonna change you like a remix. Then raise you like a phoenix." is where they say, "We're going to show you how to do this. Take your musical queues and put meaning into them, and then it's up to you to carry the torch properly." It's the Kung Fu master using the young student's moves against him.

Look at it in the context of the rest of the songs (except the last one, which is the other bookend where the torch is passed): Perfect example is "Just One Yesterday". Musically this is calling out to Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" which is shallow song about a jilted lover telling her ex how much he'll miss her. Fall Out Boy "remixes" it and then raises it to give it a deeper and more complex meaning, but still keeping in the same "jilted lover" vein. I mean holy crap: "And now I'm here to give you all my love, so I can watch your face as I take it all away." Brutal to say the least, and this is the warning in "The Phoenix"

@naunga I actually disagree. I obviously don't have any proof at all, and it could well be that you're right, but I don't really see any evidence for the idea that Fall Out Boy were trying to call out people like Beiber, or people like Adele (and they're not the same kind of people; Adele's music is massively different to Beiber's, it has a significantly different fan base, and she actually writes/co-writes all of her songs).

This song is clearly primarily about Fall Out Boy themselves, and perhaps also about them compared to inauthentic musicians in a general sense,...

@naunga You spelled Bieber wrong

Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

Put on your war paint (get ready for a fight)

You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down Strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground (something is holding me back) We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky (we are different and fall out of line, out of conformity and will cause a stir/troubles/change) Here, here comes this rising tide, so come on (a wave of us is coming)

Put on your war paint

Cross walks and crossed hearts and hope-to-dies (promises made) Silver clouds with grey linings (promises are all fake always have a catch or condition - the grey part of the silver)

So we can take the world back from a heart attack (the world is about to destroy itself and we have to save it) One maniac at a time we will take it back (only the brave and the nonconformists/risk takers/people who think differently will be able to seize back control of how the american system works (also western civilization in general i believe can be inferred as well)) You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start So dance alone to the beat of your heart (time will pass you by and nothing will happen so do something now, stop waiting for other people to solve your problems)

Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out? (speaking directly to youth obviously, a collapse seems to be coming, we have to prevent it) I'm gonna change you like a remix (start over, and think for yourself) Then I'll raise you like a phoenix (newly born individual free of conformity) Wearing our vintage misery (still wearing the clothes we bought when were still just a 'consumer' - walking brands) No, I think it looked a little better on me (joke that our style still makes us look cool) I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Bring home the boys and scrap scrap metal the tanks (move money out of defense and the army, bring us back to home, to fix it) Get hitched, make a career out of robbing banks (get married/do whatever you want and get ready to start upending the current financial system) Because the world is just a teller and we are wearing black masks (literally bank teller, the banks are controlling everything and we will steal away their power but we will be anonymous when we are doing this) "You broke our spirit," says the note we pass (you will think our spirit is broken but it's a lie, we will not be subjugated anymore)

So we can take the world back from a heart attack One maniac at a time we will take it back You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start So dance alone to the beat of your heart

Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out? I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix Wearing our vintage misery No, I think it looked a little better on me I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Put on your war paint

The war is won, before it's begun Release the doves, surrender love (people already have the power of love inside fo them, and love can conquer all, love for each other that we all inherently have is what will save us in the end)

The war is won, before it's begun Release the doves, surrender love

The war is won, before it's begun Release the doves, surrender love

The war is won, before it's begun (Wave the white flag!) Release the doves, surrender love (Wave the white flag!) (telling the system to just quit and give up control so that we can be truly free)

Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out? I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix Wearing our vintage misery No, I think it looked a little better on me I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out? I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Put on your war paint

My Interpretation
Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

-"Seal the cloud" should be "silver cloud with gray lining". It's an inversion of the old expression that every cloud has a silver lining.

-Not sure if "Youngblood" in the chorus is a reference to the movie. Makes sense, but could just be "young blood" (double meaning, if the former)

Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

I think the song's not only about how they want to fix this younger generation, aka. The Young Blood, but also about them coming back. ("So we can take the world back from a heart attack, one maniac at a time we will take it back")

In the context of The Young Blood Chronicles: The first video was My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark, in which they're burning all of their old Fall Out Boy stuff, so they can rise from those ashes (like a Phoenix) and start again with a whole new sound (I'm gonna change you like a remix, then I'll raise you like a phoenix)

"You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start": I'm not entirely sure about this one, but I think this might be about how waiting for the release of each part of The Young Blood Chronicles will seem like an eternity (it does for me)... Just a thought

My Interpretation

@Astridologist I think that part "about time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start" might symbolize their hiatus again. Your interpretation is so good, gave me goosebumps!! :) Especially the part about how they are burning their old Fall Out Boy stuff so they can rise from the ashes, like a phoenix. I just love FOB- always have since day one and when they came back with My Songs, my boyfriend played the music video online while I was sleeping and I kid you not, I woke up out of dead sleep and screamed that's Patrick!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL...

Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

"Wearing our vintage misery No; I think it looked a little better on me"

I've been watching interviews on them lately, mostly back before their hiatus, and it popped up a lot that they were labelled as en "emo" band. I'm thinking maybe that could have something to do with that first line, but what follows is purely guess.

I'm wondering if this "vintage misery" they have, they accepted it as their "style" (using the word as loosely as possible) and other people are trying to imitate that, but FOB was the real deal, vintage misery looked better on them.

Memory
Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

Youngblood is slang for someone younger then you. They are saying to the younger generation of music that their time isnt up and they are basically taking their old style but no one does it like FOB.

Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

In teh music video i see no flying chicken on fire y u do dis

Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

Wearing our vintage misery No, I think it looked a little better on me I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix i feel like the first line is saying that they are stuck in their "old school" music style. Then there are other people saying that there music is like the "old school" music but FOB is saying "no, your not we are and we rocked it until you made everyone betray us" (looked is in past tense so..yeah) so basally they made fun of FOB. Then this is FOB telling the newbies that they will show them real music ley them rise and cure them of all the shitty music.

My Interpretation
Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

Stand back people. I'm a FOB expert, and I'm about to blow you away with the meaning to these lyrics... This song is actually about their change of style. And how they fought against it in a "war" of sorts.... I'll only have time to interpret a few lyrics, but you'll get the idea when I'm done.

"We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky Here, here comes this rising tide". Jack-o-lanterns of course don't belong in July. Here, they describe themselves as standing out and earning fame. (yes, the fire represents fame. I'll get to that later)

"So we can take the world back from a heart attack. One maniac at a time we will take it back. You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start So dance alone to the beat of your heart" These lines are referring to their hiatus. They expected to 'take back the world' with their original style, however 'time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start'... implying everyone no longer cared about their original style since new styles were the pop songs.

Most of the chorus is from another voice, promising them if they change their style 'like a remix', they'll become even more famous than before. Hence, the phoenix. As I said, fire represents fame. A phoenix creates much more fire than a jack-o-lantern.

"scrap metal the tanks" Of course tanks are used by armies to fight wars. By scraping them, it means surrender. The next line "the world is just a teller and we are wearing black masks"; this is another clever metaphor. Sell-outs are said to steal money from the world rather than earn it, since they write music completely based on what will sell rather than what they really feel. "You broke our spirit" is once again stating their surrender.

Now that you know these lyric meanings, the rest should come obvious. To support this theory, let me remind you all of the music videos that followed this album. They were tortured, had all their own albums burned, and literally died at the end, which was left with the song titled "Save Rock and Roll". These music videos symbolize the death of the old Fall Out Boy.

My Interpretation
Cover art for The Phoenix lyrics by Fall Out Boy

Put on your war paint ( A war is beginning)

You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down Strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground ( If you start a fight will fight back harder) We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky Here, here comes this rising tide, so come on ( We're coming back )

Put on your war paint

Cross walks and crossed hearts and hope-to-dies Silver clouds with grey linings

So we can take the world back from a heart attack One maniac at a time we will take it back
You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start So dance alone to the beat of your heart ( do what you want even if its alone)

Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out? I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix ( To all the new "punk rock" bands we're gonna show you how its done.) Wearing our vintage misery No, I think it looked a little better on me ( Fall out boy and Fall out boy fans are considered "emo" and now there's the new black wearing bands. And in a funny way the say we pull it off better.) I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Bring home the boys and scrap scrap metal the tanks Get hitched, make a career out of robbing banks Because the world is just a teller and we are wearing black masks "You broke our spirit," says the note we pass ( I think of the as they are the bank robbers wearing black ski masks and the world is the teller and they tell society they broke their sprits.)

So we can take the world back from a heart attack One maniac at a time we will take it back You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start So dance alone to the beat of your heart

Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out? I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix Wearing our vintage misery No, I think it looked a little better on me I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Put on your war paint

The war is won, before it's begun Release the doves, surrender love ( their punk rock battle is a guaranteed win for them so just give up)

The war is won, before it's begun Release the doves, surrender love

The war is won, before it's begun Release the doves, surrender love

The war is won, before it's begun (Wave the white flag!) Release the doves, surrender love

(Wave the white flag!) ( surrender )

Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out? I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix Wearing our vintage misery No, I think it looked a little better on me I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out? I'm gonna change you like a remix Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Put on your war paint

In my personal opinion I think this is one of the greatest songs ever. Each time I listen I just feel so powerful.

My Interpretation