Work Text:
Seeing as this is going to be long, detailed, and probably repetitive, I'm going to jump straight into the story. You might've heard of the Summer of Like. You might not have. If you haven't, you're gonna learn about it. If you have, you might learn something new.
HeyChris, an author and friend of Pete Wentz (bassist and lyricist from the band Fall Out Boy) reported Pete and Mikey Way (bassist from the band My Chemical Romance) meeting in 2003 when My Chem played the Fireside Bowl (in Chicago, Pete's hometown.) HeyChris said that he, Pete, and the rest of Fall Out Boy (Patrick, and Joe at the time, they had no drummer.) came to see them play, but at the time they weren't friends, they had only just
met
.
Later on, both bands played side stages Teal and Maurice at Vans Warped Tour 2004, that being the first time they ever toured together. At that time, the bands rarely mentioned each other, but Pete began throwing My Chemical Romance lyrics into his Q&A responses.
Q
:
Pete, kisses on the forehead or kisses in the rain?
A
:
kisses on the forehead are for grandmas and sick kids. In the rain. "im so dirty babe."
Q
:
Pete, whats your take on Jersey?... oh and whos your favorite band ever to come out of jersey?
A
:
i love new jersey and jersey girls have cute accents. favorite jersey bands in order: bon jovi spingsteen lifetime old savestheday my chemical romance the early november new saves the day midtown"
Q
:
are there any bands fob fights with? you know, like a 50 cent ja rule type of thing?
A
:
yeah... why else do you think my chemical romance wears bullet proof vests? cause we aim ourz gatz at they facez
Q
:
peter, would you ever date someone 13 years younger then you? or at least be friends with them? p.s. you are hot and i love you
A
:
i don't want to go to jail. im little and i think i would get passed around like a pack of cigarettes. but thank you that is really sweet. i don't really want to do pushups in a drag...
Q
:
I have a favor to ask. Could you pretty please thank My Chemical Romance for me?! during there set at the tweeter, some asshole punched my friend corey in the ribs w/brass knuckles. gerard noticed him on the floor and the band stopped playing & didnt start again until they were sure he was out safe in a stretcher. anywho... you guys rocked the other day. and the crowd was the best of all the ones i was in throughout the day. everyone was definitly looking out for each other. and it was just... awesomely rad. its tru... theres nothing like driving towards the skyline.
A
:
i think we're gonna have to set up a separate q and a just for our my chem questions and requests. good thing they are good friends of ours... and thanks for the nice words.
But the next year things started getting more interesting. On April 16th, 2005, Mikey Way was spotted at a Fueled By Ramen show, watching Fall Out Boy play at the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida. He was seen wearing a white denim jacket that
actually
belonged to Pete. At one point Pete mentioned two things that got him ‘hot and bothered,’ "
1. having a crush on a person i speak to near daily. 2. white denim jackets
." Also, around this time, "sweet little dudes" surfaced in reference to Pete and Mikey. The term referred to a "gang" that Pete and Mikey were in, just the two of them, and Pete actually made a shirt for the gang. He also began to talk about the "gang" in a lot of his Q&A's
Q
:
We want to have sex with Gerard Way. *some details I will not include* Care to hook a couple of sistas up?
A
:
me and mikey way have a gang called The Sweet Little Dudes. You might see us on warped tour.
Q
:
After your show in Des Moines, during all of the picture taking, squealing, and autograph signing, I took a picture with you (Pete). Upon realizing I was far too tall, I made a comment along the lines of "I am an ogre" or something like that, and you responded in a very sweet way. Anyway, to my question- what is your ideal height for a girl?
A
:
i have always kind of been a little dude (hence our gang sweet little dudes)- i have no ideal height for a girl. i have dated girls taller and shorter than me. My favorite is the same size so we can share clothes but i'll take a tall lady if she'll spoon me and keep me warm at night
Q
:
For real, do you and my chemical romance not get along? If so, this is upsetting
A
:
no, actually they are some of our best friends, me and mikey have a gang called "the sweet little dudes". that was a joke hence all the use of words with "z" instead of "s"
Both Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance played in Vans Warped Tour in 2005, which most refer to as "The Summer of Like." Near the beginning of tour there were fan reports of Mikey watching Pete play, but nothing big until Pete began writing on LiveJournal and BlogSpot.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Amazing new mexico sunset. I'm hanging on a bridge with my friend mikey way from my chem. Its all orange and pink above us. We went to another waterpark again. I love high fives again. Totally back in love. Saw the most amazing movie... I think its called spirited away. Watch it.
Peterpan
" I'm hanging on a bridge with my friend mikey way from my chem " Well, sure, they're friends. That's normal. But add in the line "Totally back in love" and you've got a love story. A couple, sitting on a bridge, under the sunset.
July 4, 2005
hot and miserable but totally in love.
Pay close attention to this one- Since it was posted on the Fourth of July, which coincidentally, it the title of a Fall Out Boy song that is believed to be about Mikey. Mentions of Fourth of July and fireworks are repeated throughout Pete's entries.
Thursday, July 7, 2005
hey beauties. hotness on warped tour. checking in. just stealing an internet signal from our friends in My Chem. speaking of, we are really excited to have them on the TRL countdown with us! good music is taking over again.
(...)
i heart leslie simon. go listen to maximo park before you fall asleep. it will make you smile
and miss someone/something you love.
"i sleep with my hands across my chest and dream of you with someone else..."
keep in living (forever).
xo peter
Monday, July 11, 2005
Soooo its been a dramafree summer so far which is amazing. Almost as good as swimming pools and sleepovers. I'm watching the notebook does that make me sucky? Circle y or no. I need to take a shower. Nobody likes a dirty boy.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Though I am over hearing your thoughts on haircuts and pants. I'm over us trying to be perfect tens for your little eyes. We don't care what you think of us. Listen to a song and time your heartbeat. Let it be okay to fall asleep slow tonight. Think about a good friend. Think about god. Think about death. Think about someone elses hand clumsily on your belt in the dark. Think it will be okay.
No more rants
No more poetry
Not tonight.
True love for the believers. Thank you. Keep on l i/o ving
posted by: peterpumpkineater
Sunday, July 17, 2005
wrote you a goodbye note (you just wrote me off) on your arm when you passed out. bestfriends, exfriends- better off as lovers not the other way around. racing through the city in the back of yellow checkered cars. the takeoffs are the worst but the skin from your shoulder to your ear makes it all worth it. and im sorry the way my moods flicker on and off like old light on your porch, but i know you wouldn't have it any other way. sneaking in your window instead of out. the way you hold a cigarette cause you don't know what to do with your hands when we are sitting this close. the way the waists of pants feel better at the ankles. the way you always were my best excuse for calling in sick on everyone else. i miss you.
petey
This entry is also known as the original Bang the Doldrums, previously titled The Summer of Like, but we'll definitely get back to this one later.
There aren't many pictures of Pete and Mikey at Warped Tour, they mostly refused to have their picture taken together. However, they were seen walking around the grounds together, and a lot of time Mikey was seen by the Clandestine tent (Pete's clothing line.) Mikey tended to wear Clandestine clothing quite a bit during tour as well.
There
are
pictures of both FOB and My Chem on stage. They liked to have band members fill in for each other, and lots of times Mikey would fill in for Pete on bass so he could go into the crowd with his microphone. There are also pictures of Pete sitting back and watching Mikey play.
Many reports by fans state that Mikey and Pete were caught holding hands a lot, and Pete dedicated songs to Mikey and call him out on stage to dedicate songs to "Mikey Revenge." Not long after that, Mikey's myspace became "mikey revenge" and Pete made a new shirt for his clothing line that said "I <3 revenge" on it.
"at my warped date i got there early in the morning and hung out by the fob bus because i wanted to get a pic with patrick and around 10 am the door opened and a very tired looking mikey stepped off with pete right behind him and they appeared to be holding hands until they saw the people around and they both refused to have their pictures taken together :["
"Lastly, during Fall Out Boy's set (they were one of the closing bands that night) they dedicated one of the songs to Mike, who was watching from the side of the stage. Pete said "This song is about revenge. Right, Mikey? Revenge!" Mikey smiled and nodded, and during "Grand Theft Autumn/Where is Your Boy" he mouthed along to all the words."
july 21, 2005
hello days out and nights in, handholding and dates that aren't x'd out on a calander "when will i see you again". answering and not guessing. staying up late just cause. mapping out a future with nothing more than four lips and for hopes. dialtones that make your heart flutter. awkward first kisses. hits not misses. kisses that are always on and lights that are always out. walking in the front door and roses waiting on your windowsill. shyness that's ontime and not on cue, lips perfectly made for mine every night and seeing the same face every morning, a warm body to wake up next to and kiss from ear.. shoulder.. hips to toe. kisses to ears that pick up on every little sound, and kisses over eyes that pick up every little detail. someone to make friendship worship. it's always "when we's" and never "if we's", and its always nights painting the town red with your wet fingerprints dried from my lips to my zipper. hello to lust that comes after love, and love that lasts after lust. i still remember when you said "then why are you looking for what you already have" and how my heart skipped a beat and landed in love. most of all...
This one mentions x's on the calendar, which will be mentioned later during song analysis, but also it looks like he's appreciating something that he knows will end, and this is during the middle of Warped tour. Not sure exactly what that means. But it definitely shows him being
very
in love with someone- This is contributed to more a few entries later.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Sometimes when you're feeling this blue the right smile can save you,
posted by: peter
July 26, 2005
your lips are wet from kisses that aren't mine but tears that are
lately i've been into believing fictional stories like the ones about me and you being happy. they've gotta be science fiction cause how else can you have a monster fall in love with a boy with no heart? actually i'm pretty sure you have a heart, but i'm just as certain it'll never be mine. i can tell you're willing to be loved somewhere on the inside but that doesn't do me any good when i'm still seeing things through thick curtains over windows and padlocked doors on the outside. bitter regrets, predictable forfeits. we lit a fire that was nothing but smoke and hot air. ashes. my hands are empty and you hold all the cards, kind of funny how you don't even want them/me. the final nail in my coffin stabbed me in the heart - from my back. you once made my heart skip a beat, now you make it want to skip this. you've got salty mails ripping my wounds open that you're telling me to let heal. love is a mirage, you only think it's there for so long..til you either wise up or die of hydration. love is the way to blow your brains out minus the gun, i swear. it's the stupidest form of suicide cause you don't die. and whatever doesn't kill you only laughs at you for coming close enough to. sorry, it's just the bitterness talking. ignore it/me. i'm just loose words hanging on the ends of your lips, even looser when i'm anywhere near your hips. poetry written from blistered fingertips and sleep deprived eyes that was better before the ink dried. he said, "i should have stayed with her," and i should have stayed away. held together by paperclips and lies, a part of me is still trying to pretend i was (mis)hearing things but even the voices in my head aren't that mean to me. and them "i'm sorry," too late, i'm a better (re)actor than the one you're being to convince me. i'm just convinced that telemarketers are the only people with more hangups than me. you called this before you knew the number, and hung up before you got a responce. tell me any of this will get me somewhere worth being without being left behind. i tried, i gave it/you my all, but all i can do is give up. i don't tell you my insecurities so you can use them against me, but help me get over them. instead you said and did the worst thing you could do. worse than cheating to me, i hope you know. but whatever i don't even know, i guess sometimes it takes losing what you had to see what you didn't.
sooo yeah, this is where i actually admit i'm tired, and i go to bed. sweet. goodnight.
xxoo p
It's safe to assume Mikey and Pete broke up between July 21st and July 26th, but this is dangerously obvious that it was written about Mikey.
"
they've gotta be science fiction cause how else can you have a monster fall in love with a
boy
with no heart? actually i'm pretty sure
you
have a heart..
" This line shows it's clear that Pete is talking about a boy. That's the first sign.
"
we lit a fire that was nothing but smoke and hot air. ashes
." This line parallels to the song Fourth of July by Fall Out Boy, and I'll do a full analysis of that song later on, but it's compared to the line "You and I were fireworks that went off too soon"
Towards the middle of the entry, Pete talks about how love is stupid, how love can tear you apart and leave you alive at the same time, where only five days earlier he was talking about how in love he was.
"
i'm just loose words hanging on the ends of your lips, even looser when i'm anywhere near your hips
" Parallels to Bang the Doldrums, which will also be talked about later- "Happily ever after below the waist."
"
and then "i'm sorry," too late
" -Directly related to Fourth of July again with "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of it."
Phone calls are also mentioned in Bang the Doldrums and G.I.N.A.S.F.S, along with this entry, but these song relations may be looking too far into it for proof.
Also, in February 2005, Pete attempted suicide. He was most likely only becoming stable again by the time Warped tour happened. But within the five days before this entry, something must have happened between him and Mikey that made Pete upset at Mikey, and at love in generally.
August 2005
check your arm. i wrote 'i love you' in permanent marker on it before i left the bus. we're wearing sealed lips to say things how we want to. we're closing our eyes to see things how we want to. i just want the world to understand what we have and at the same time i want to keep it just for us.
i miss your breathing against my neck and the way you said "it'll all be okay" when you knew it never could be. i've become so fixated on what isn't, rather than what is. [...] i like the "could bes" over the "cants".
The thing that sticks out about this entry is "check your arm. wrote 'i love you' in permanent marker on it before i left the bus." Because A) Leaving notes on people's arms in general was a thing couples did, and B) Mikey tended to show up to shows with the phrase "EASY FUCKED" written in his arm in Sharpie.
September 4th, 2005
on the getaway car, the rush of blood to the head: it's strange to find myself again back at the feelings of the blue cover after going through the red and the gold. its kind of always like that. i am sorry if i am not making any sense. but everybody likes to take chances and make bets. i always put my money on the longshots. and no matter where my head was in the world i always dreamed of waking up next to the biggest brown eyes i have ever seen/'meandyouunderneaththehoneymoon'. "go back to what it meant back then": and you imagine yourself moving deep into the summer and disappearing, and for me it was always with you. and then things got crazy. you stopped calling me back. i stopped trying to call but not in my head. and then you got malicious but im guessing only because you learned from the best- take back your taste and all. i never thought it would be just me again. but thats okay. we're gonna hole up and wait it out. i feel like i can see for the first time, like i was born just in the last minute. wake me up. baby boy, you're gonna be okay. hearts between our knees sticking to the summer sheets. are you catching my drift... . its gonna be alright. your love would be hell but its just not hot enough baby.
"meandyouunderneaththehoneymoon" is definitely a parallel to the song "I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off," where it says "Me and you setting in a honeymoon (if I woke up next to you.) But the song analysis will be brought back later, along with other parallels.
Also, "baby boy," which shows this definitely wasn't about a girl, and really, who would Pete be missing just after Vans Warped Tour ended? Mikey.
At the end of 2005, just before Christmas, Mikey got engaged to a girl named Alicia Simmons. Alicia has said she and Mikey were
not
together during Warped 2005. Around this time, Pete posted this:
November/December 2005
i really hate being single. being alone. i don't want to be either. just when i thought i'd be happy life has a way of turning out exactly how i think it will- shitty
i keep waking up with someone new hoping to feel something lasting, to stop facing the same old problems. i have a lot of bad habits i just can't kick. can't teach an old dog new tricks. and i'm as old as they get. when mistakes have warm flesh and all the right words it's really hard to tell them no. when mistakes do what your conscience doesn't you'd rather listen to the mistakes... but really what i want more than anything is one person. someone that calls every day if they aren't hanging out on the tour. [...] so uh someone i can be comfortable with naked. [...] someone that knows the real me instead of just pete from fall out boy and still loves me for me. my heart is lots easier to fool than me.
summer wasn't hot enough but i had hope winter was gonna be the coolest. i obviously thought wrong.
you and me are the last hot day in summer. we're just fading before the fall.
This is definitely about missing someone, maybe even jealousy. Mikey getting engaged to Alicia would probably stir up some feelings in Pete if he was so obviously hung up on the boy.
asked by Meghan! on 2005-11-13 17:95:00
hey! i was just wondering, how good are you friends with mikey way??
answered by peter on 2005-11-13 17-07-00
me and mikey are not in just one gang together, we are in two: the sweet little dudes and the fraternal order of the handsome boy. i call him the duke of handsomeness
February 19, 2006
i feel like howl from howls moving castle embodies every single feeling that goes through my head. that is all. i am in the lobby of a hotel in new york city waiting for something that isn't going to happen. i am calculating all of the legs and drunked stutters. i am precise. i am a machine. i am a hot mess.
In the summer of 2006, directly a year after the so-called "Summer of Like," Pete posted a string of heart-breaking LiveJournal entries.
Friday, July 07, 2006
i'm so sorry, but not really. ('straighten up and die right')
i said i want to be rebuilt like a frank lloyd wright only without all of the water damage. or painted over like a monet only less blurry. she said "no, you're something different". like what? "something better". it gave me the rush of warm blood like you see in cartoon dogs right before their eyes pop out and all of the bells go off. my head is spinning like a car off an icy guardrail. show me what you are made of. your eyes were always rolling but you'd tilt your head so they were somehow always still stuck on me (have your cake and eat it too). i feel safe but not like a bet more like the way mothers feel when the lock the car doors in bad neighborhoods. i am blue waves across the red rootlike veins in the bodies drawn flat in medical books. i wonder at the way that someone can write thousands and thousands of pages about my insides. when i met you i gave you a name- not your own- but in my head so i wouldn't ever mix you up with anyone so ordinary- i can't tell you- but to me it meant salvation. you only wanted reaction. but i can't be bothered. not anymore. i'll see you in spring. first pew on the left. wear your white veil and don't forget the words. warped tour. sun drenched days. bestfriends. new roads. so long salvation. don't worry your pretty little heads. i am sleeping safe tonight.
"I'm so sorry but not really"- A parallel to I've Got All This Ringing..., and a direct reference to Warped Tour itself, and lots of talk about summer, and "bestfriends" (ex friends til the end?)
saturday, july 08, 2006
the fraternal order of the handsome boy
ive been watching you from afar. my breath on the inside window as you walk in from the carcandy caned lies in red and white against clashing patterns bending in and out of understanding. "youre the stranger ive been dreaming of", stranger than any ive ever known. love through telescopic lens. when the air is clear i can see how perfect you are for me. late at night when the city sleeps i cast a spell on you to make you think of me the very same way i think of you. i only love how the words feel in my head when i write them. fireworks over the valley. how can i tell you i gut people for a living. that everything you say is likely to end up as evidence when i rewrite history. over and over again. how everything you do reminds me of something else, someone else. how i get paid to be humble and arrogant at the same time, to be chased and never caught. that i just want to stay up late and wake up early to talk to you. that i want to show you all of my jealousy and insecurity and have you not care. youre like a light switch and i just want to turn you on and watch them all shrink away. the words come out of my fingertips on impulse. it is instinct. my head cant keep up. i envy the comatose. i admire the bedridden. i am addicted to the way i feel when i think of you. "im blowing smoke rings around the moon...." i wish i was the exact opposite of how the world knows me.
First off, the title of this entry. "the fraternal order of the handsome boy," which as mentioned before, was Pete and Mikey's other "gang." Also, any reference to fireworks is directed back to Pete's entry on the fourth of July- "hot and miserable but totally in love."
sunday, august 27, 2006
there is one single pair of eyes that could ever decode any of this. put another "x" on the calendar. summer is on its deathebd. there is simply nothing worse than knowing the ending- that no matter that curve balls or uphill come your way- it still turns out the same. this year its stripes and pumps, last year it was dancefloors and you. she keeps talking. i keep staying the same. did you ever change your mind about someone and then just realize it was a fucking haircut. put me in a frame on your wall, just to keep me out of trouble. i gotta say i admire bob dylan for being honest about his new record. noone ever is. its like when the ad campaign rolls out everyone is smiling and at their best even if they are not sure. an affectionate friend told me everything i ever needed to know about anything. "freeze! put down that fucking laptop!". everything is either digging a hole or digging yourself out of one. and just when you have it all figured out you should just sift through your pile of "never again"s. quite a collection. blow off the dust. im sure they will be worth something to someone sometime. its buzzing in the back of your head and out of your fingertips. pull back the shade- the road outside of my house is paved with good intentions. but it is hell on the undercarriage of the car so we're gonna have to hire a construction crew. i wonder if anyone else thinks of you as much as i do, even you.
"If I should call you up, invest a dime
And you say you belong to me and ease my mind
Imagine how the world could be, so very fine
So happy together..."
a mutual misunderstanding. kaleidoscope eyes sparkle on pillows in the dark. and i dont care what anyone thinks of that except me. put the love on hold, anticipation is on the other line and excitement called while you were out. imaging me and you... . .
Most of the evidence from this entry is a parallel to a song by Panic! at the Disco that Pete co-wrote, "The Calendar." But this entry shows Pete is obviously hung up on Mikey and can't stop thinking about him. There's another parallel to the song "Irresistible," which is also believed to be about Mikey.
Also, the line "the road outside of my house is paved with good intentions. but it is hell on the undercarriage of the car so we're gonna have to hire a construction crew." Is a parallel to the song Hum Hallelujah, "The road outside my house is paved with good intentions/Hired a construction crew cause it's hell on the engine."
Pete has also mentioned that he is "gay above the waist" which doesn't need much explaining, and on Mikey's side, the only evidence is when someone asked him about "petekey" and he responded with:
"Me and pete wentz aren't dating. We are both heterosexual males.... sort of... maybe... umm... next!"
Somewhere in 2006, Pete's nudes got leaked, which brings us to the HeyChris situation. As mentioned before, HeyChris, or just Chris, is an author and was Pete's friend. He was mentioned in the song Grenade Jumper (HeyChris, you were our only friend, and I know this is belated, but we love you back...) though he swears he didn't leak the nudes, he did post an open letter to Pete where he called Pete out on trying to steal his girlfriend/turning his girlfriend against him. He posted:
"you know the friends i have and you know how we feel about loyalty.
you know who im talking about and you know they're not happy either"
This was posted along with pictures of Chris with Mikey, Chris saying he "found a new love"
After this, Pete
very
angry message, which is very hard to find, but he was not happy. later that day, Chris claimed it was a joke. He wanted to get back at Pete for "trying to steal his girlfriend" by using Mikey, which shows that Chris believed Mikey to mean as much to Pete as his girlfriend did to him, viewing Mikey as someone Pete had or has feelings for.
When Pete's nudes were leaked, Mikey defended him.
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
fucking savages...
Don't sweat it kiddo...just look on the bright side,...you helped usher alot of young ladies into woman-hood tonight.
secondly, would everyone leave the poor guy alone already? Everyone wonders what drives people in bands "over the edge" or into a "meltdown" ...its shit like this. How would you like it is someone posted "risque" pics of you online. Have some tact people. fuckin weak.
PS: Los Angeles will bury you alive
After 2006, there is less information regarding even Mikey and Pete's friendship, and during this time Mikey temporarily left My Chemical Romance due to severe depression.
In 2007, Fall Out Boy's album Infinity on High was released. Many songs on this album are believed to be about Mikey, and I've provided an analysis of each that is believed to be.
Another quick note- green tea kit kats.
Green tea kit kats are Pete and Mikey's "thing." It always has been. Whenever they get the chance, they buy them for each other and hang out, even recently. At one point, Pete said the album American Beauty/American Psycho was about green tea kit kats. Also- At a show he once dedicated the song Fourth of July to "a green tea kit kat."
As was promised earlier, I now plan to go in-depth on different songs and parallels, so here goes. Lyrics will be provided for each song before analysis.
Hum Hallelujah (Released in 2007 on the album Infinity on High)
It's all a game of this or that, now versus then
better off against worse for wear
And you're someone who knows someone who knows someone I once knew
And I just want to be a part of this
The road outside my house is paved with good intentions
Hired a construction crew, 'cause it's hell on the engine
You are the dreamer and we are the dream.
I could write it better than you ever felt it.
So hum hallelujah,
Just off the key of reason
I thought I loved you
It was just how you looked in the light.
A teenage vow in a parking lot
"Till tonight do us part"
I sing the blues and swallow them too
My words are my faith to hell with our good name.
A remix of your guts-your insides X-rayed
And one day we'll get nostalgic for disaster
we're a bull, your ears are just a china shop
I love you in the same way, there's a chapel in a hospital
One foot in your bedroom and one foot out the door
Sometimes we take chances, sometimes we take pills.
I could write it better than you ever felt it.
First, let's look at the line "The road outside my house is paved with good intentions/Hired a construction crew cause it's hell on the engine"- Think back to Pete's entry from Sunday, August 27th, 2006. " the road outside of my house is paved with good intentions. but it is hell on the undercarriage of the car so we're gonna have to hire a construction crew."
That parallel along with the line "A teenage vow in the parking lot 'till tonight do us part'," Which reflects a teenage romance or a summer fling, something that is short and sweet but it ends quickly, by "tonight," when they part. The "tonight" Pete is referring to may actually be that Summer he gets to spend with Mikey. The "I thought I loved you/It was just how you looked in the light" could be referring to Pete's blatant bitterness at some boy, as was shown in his entry from July 26th, 2005 when he and Mikey allegedly broke up, or so it seemed, due to how bitter Pete got in his entries between July 21st and July 26th.
Next, the line "one foot in your bedroom and one foot out the door" can relate to one of Pete's entries, " sneaking in your window instead of out."
This is showing a change between 2005 and 2007, where Pete is going in or out, which is unclear, and whether he's going into the bedroom or out the door, where in '05 it was clear he'd rather be in the bedroom instead of out.
Next song:
G.I.N.A.S.F.S (Released in 2007 on the album Infinity on High (Deluxe))
I've loved everything about you that hurts,
So let me see your moves,
Let me see your moves,
Lips pressed close to mine
True Blue, but the prince of any failing empire knows that
Everybody wants
Everybody wants to drive on through the night,
If it's the drive back home
Things aren't the same anymore,
Some nights it gets so bad that I almost pick up the phone
Trade Baby Blues, for Wide-Eyed Browns
I sleep with your old shirts
And walk through this house in your shoes
I know it's strange
It's a strange way of saying that I know I'm supposed to love you
I'm supposed to love you
I've already given up on myself twice
(But the) third time is the charm,
Third time is the charm
Threw caution to the wind,
But I've got a lousy arm,
And I've traced your shadows on the wall
Now I kiss them whenever I'm down,
Whenever I'm down
(Just kind of) figured on
Not figuring myself out
I was born under a bad sign,
But you saved my life
That night on the roof of your hotel
"Cross my heart and hope to die,
Splinter from the headboard in my eye"
Photo-proofed kisses I remember so well
First off, for those of you who don't know, Fall Out Boy tends to not use acronyms in songs. They go for longer song titles, such as Our Lawyer Made us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued (Originally titled My Name Is David Ruffin and These Are My Temptations) , Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over, and Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet, but no. This time they chose an acronym: G.I.N.A.S.F.S. And what does this acronym stand for you might ask?
G ay
I s
N ot
A
S ynonym
F or
S hitty
If that isn't enough proof, I don't know what is. But continuing on- "Some nights it gets so bad that I almost pick up the phone." Reflect back on Pete's entry from Sunday, August 27th, 2006.
"
If I should call you up, invest a dime
And you say you belong to me and ease my mind"
Pete knew when he felt bad he could always rely on Mikey- Even if he thought/knew Mikey was lying to him about love, which given, it was only a Summer fling, but Pete obviously still has feelings for him. What he said in G.I.N.A.S.F.S was that sometimes he needed Mikey to lie to him, just do he could be okay, even if he would get ruined again. "I've loved everything about you that hurts."
"Trade baby blues for wide eyed browns"- Can someone remind me what color Mikey's eyes are? Brown? Yeah. Okay, that totally makes perfect sense.
I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears and None On My Fingers (Released in 2007 on the album Infinity on High)
You're a canary, I'm a coal mine
Cause sorrow is just all the rage
Take one for the team
You all know what I mean
And I'm so sorry, but not really
Tell the boys where to find my body
New York eyes, Chicago thighs
Pushed up the window to kiss you off
The truth hurts worse than anything I could bring myself to do to you
Do you remember the way I held your hand?
Under the lamp post and ran home
This way so many times
I could close my eyes
To start, to be a canary in a coal mine is to be the first in a dangerous situation, testing the waters. I take it that at the time Pete and Mikey were together, Pete hadn't been in a relationship in while due to his previous suicide attempt. It's safe to say he considered himself a monster, and Mikey would be the canary to his coal mine that Summer.
"And I'm so sorry, but not really" Rewind to an entry from Friday, July 7th, 2006, titled " i'm so sorry, but not really. ('straighten up and die right')" In this entry, Pete talked about 'fixing himself' a lot, and made a few direct references to Warped Tour, and how much someone meant to him, how extraordinary they were. He also mentioned the summer, and "bestfriends." (Ex friends until the end?”
I'm Like A Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You) (Released in 2007 on the album Infinity on High)
Last year's wishes
Are this year's apologies
Every last time I come home
I take my last chance
To burn a bridge or two
I only keep myself this sick in the head
Cause I know how the words get you {off}
We're the new face of failure
Prettier and younger but not any better off
Bullet proof loneliness
At best
Me and you
Setting in a honeymoon
If I woke up next to you
Collect the bad habits
That you couldn't bare to keep
Out of the woods but I love
A tree I used to lay beneath
Kissed teeth stained red
From a sour bottle baby girl
With eyes the size of baby worlds
The best way
To make it through
With hearts and wrists intact
Is to realize
Two outta three ain't bad
An immediate throwback to Pete's entry from September 4th, 2005. "' meandyouunderneaththehoneymoon '" and a comparison to this song, "Me and you/Setting in a honeymoon." This song was obviously altered, if not written entirely, after Pete and Mikey broke up. "If I woke up next to you" was what Pete might have considered his wishful thinking, " i never thought it would be just me again, " meaning he wanted the summer, his time with Mikey, to last.
Don't You Know Who I Think I Am? (Released in 2007 on the album Infinity on High)
A penny for your thoughts but a dollar for your insights
Or a fortune for your disaster
I'm just a painter and I'm drawing a blank
We only want to sing you to sleep
In your bedroom speakers, whoa
We need umbrellas on the inside
Get me just right
They say quitters never win
But we walk the plank on a sinking ship
There's a world outside of my front door
That gets off on being down
I could learn to pity fools as I'm the worst of all
And I can't stop feeling sorry for myself
Get us right
Broken down on memory lane
Alone together, we're alone
Although this song has no direct connotations to being about Mikey, it's worth analyzing. "Broken down on memory lane" could be referring to Pete being caught up in his thoughts and hung on things that happened in the past. He "can't stop feeling sorry for myself" is him considering himself a monster- (Perhaps the one who fell in love with the boy with no heart?)
The last few songs have been vague analysis’, but the next three are where it's all at.
The Calendar (Released in 2011 on the album Vices & Virtues)
They said if you don't let it out
You're gonna let it eat you away
I'd rather be a cannibal, baby
Animals like me don't talk anyway
Feel like an ambulance, chaser of fame
Pray I could replace her
Forget the way her tears taste
Oh, the way her tears taste
Put another X on the calendar
Summer's on its deathbed
There is simply nothing worse
Than knowing how it ends
And I meant
Everything I said that night
I will come back to life
But only for you, only for you
The world may call it a second chance
But when I came back it was more of a relapse
Anticipation is on the other line
And obsession called while you were out
Yeah, it called while you were out
Asleep in the hive
I guess all the buzzing got to me
I'm still alive
At night your body is a symphony
And I'm conducting
This song is by Panic! at the Disco (a US pop punk band that Pete signed with his label, Decaydance.) but was co-written by none other than Pete Wentz himself.
Flashback to Pete’s entry from Sunday, August 27, 2006, “ put another "x" on the calendar. summer is on its deathebd. there is simply nothing worse than knowing the ending-” This line directly relates to the chorus of The Calendar. This is the same entry that relates back to Hum Hallelujah with “ the road outside of my house is paved with good intentions. but it is hell on the undercarriage of the car so we're gonna have to hire a construction crew.” and if I'm correct, Pete also co-wrote Kaleidoscope Eyes (I could be wrong) but the chorus of that would be “Kaleidoscope eyes sparkle at the world/ My emerald city, downtown girl” and the line in this entry, “ kaleidoscope eyes sparkle on pillows in the dark. and i dont care what anyone thinks of that except me.” But that isn't too important. Another line in The Calendar. “Anticipation’s on the other line and obsession called while you were out” was altered, originally “ anticipation is on the other line and excitement called while you were out.” I'm not sure why Pete changed excitement to obsession, maybe something to do with insecurities.
Fourth of July (released in 2015 on the album American Beauty/American Psycho)
It was the fourth of July
You and I were fireworks
That went off too soon
And I miss you in the June gloom, too
It was the fourth of July
You and I were fireworks
I said I'd never miss you
But I guess you never know
May the bridges I have burned light my way back home
On the fourth of July
I'll be as honest as you let me
I miss your early morning company
If you get me
You are my favorite "what if"
You are my best "I'll never know"
And I'm starting to forget
Just what summer ever meant to you
What did it ever mean to you?
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of it
I just got too lonely
In between being young and being right
You were my Versailles at night
My 9 to 5 is cutting open old scars
Again and again 'til I'm stuck in your head
Had my doubts, but I let them out
You are the drought
And I'm the holy water you have been without
And all my thoughts of you
They could heat or cool the room
And no, don't tell me you're crying
Oh, honey, you don't have to lie
I wish I'd known how much you loved me
I wish I cared enough to know
I'm sorry every song's about you
The torture of small talk with someone you used to love
First, let's look at the title. Fourth of July. Then Pete’s entry from July 4th, 2005. “ hot and miserable but totally in love.” Wow, Pete. Smooth. And who was he spending that Summer with? Mikey, obviously.
Now, “I'm sorry every song's about you, the torture of small talk with someone you used to love.” Well, who would Pete be making small talk with that he used to love, on the Fourth of July-- He was invited to Mikey's birthday. And who does he write all these songs about? Mikey. Case closed.
Bang the Doldrums (released in 2007 on the album Infinity on High)
I wrote
A goodbye note
In lipstick on your arm
When you passed out
I couldn't bring myself to call
Except to call it quits
Best friends
Ex-friends 'til the end
Better off as lovers and not the other way around
Racing through the city
Windows down
In the back of yellow-checkered cars
You're wrong
Are we all wrong?
This city says
Come hell or high water
When I'm feeling hot and wet
I can't commit to a thing
Be it heart or hospital
The tombstones are waiting
They were half-engraved
They knew it was over
Just didn't know the date
And I cast a spell over the west to make you think
Of me
The same way I think of you
This is a love song in my own way
Happily ever after
Below the waist
Does this one seem familiar? At all? No? Okay, let's take a look at Pete's entry from 2005:
Sunday, July 17, 2005
wrote you a goodbye note (you just wrote me off) on your arm when you passed out. bestfriends, exfriends- better off as lovers not the other way around. racing through the city in the back of yellow checkered cars. the takeoffs are the worst but the skin from your shoulder to your ear makes it all worth it. and im sorry the way my moods flicker on and off like old light on your porch, but i know you wouldn't have it any other way. sneaking in your window instead of out. the way you hold a cigarette cause you don't know what to do with your hands when we are sitting this close. the way the waists of pants feel better at the ankles. the way you always were my best excuse for calling in sick on everyone else. i miss you.
petey
Okay. Now that those two are there for a side-by-side comparison…
It seems like Pete added “in lipstick” and took out “you just wrote me off” to make the song seem more heterosexual, which it in no way is. The entry could be about a boy or a girl, but given who Pete was spending most of his time with when the entry was written, it's safe to assume it was about Mikey. Also, “happily ever after below the waist” and “the way waists of pants feel better at the ankles.”
As I mentioned before, Bang the Doldrums was originally going to be titled ‘The Summer of Like.’ Just gonna leave that there. And to bring up the ‘goodbye note’ again, Mikey tended to have phrases written on his arm in sharpie during Warped, the most popular being ‘EASY FUCKED.’
And now this is gonna end really awkwardly bye