Irony in Alternative Rock- "Teenagers" analysis

Nicole Miller

Irony in Alternative Rock- “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance

            Contrasting the stereotype of teenagers to the ludicrous idea of fearing them, in the song “Teenagers,” the band “My Chemical Romance” utilizes an interesting rhyme scheme, an ironic tone, and personal points of view to portray the absurd phobia of teenagers.

            Throughout the song “Teenagers,” an enrapturing rhyme scheme is present in nearly every single line. The last words of each line rhyme with each other to produce an aabb scheme. The repetitive rhyming allows the song to flow more smoothly and provide a rhythm for when the song is sung. For instance, “They’re gunna clean up your looks, with all the lies in the books to make a citizen out of you” and “the boys and girls in the click, the awful names that will stick, you’re never gunna fit in much kid” flows smoothly and with a steady beat, allowing the song to have more of an impact when it is sung. As the repetitive rhythm causes the song to be more enjoyable and flow easier, it allows for the song to be more memorable. By becoming more memorable and enjoyable, the song is able to evoke more emotion from the listeners, and allows the meaning of the song to have more of an impact.

            Following suit, the ironic tone throughout the song allows the audience to realize how ludicrous it is to fear a specific age group. The band mocks themselves throughout the song, characterizing themselves as people fearful of “teenagers.” Instances of mockery and irony include “they’re gunna clean up your looks with all work they gunna give you a smirk,” “teenagers scare the living sh!t out of me, they could care less as long as someone’ll bleed, so darken your clothes or strike a violent pose, Maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me!” These instances point out some of the fears that people supposedly have regarding teenagers, characterizing them as a whole. The fears include that they will lie through their teeth, that they carry weapons at all times, do drugs, and are excessively violent. They would do anything to get what they want, and the only way to stop them is to blend in or become violent yourself. The fear of one specific age group is ridiculous, and to classify all teenagers as villainous blood-shedders is absurd. Just because some individuals of a certain age may be profiled as such does not mean that the group as a whole all share the same malicious characteristics. Through exaggeration and irony, My Chemical Romance is able to portray how nonsensical it is to judge a whole group of people by a few outlying individuals.

            Along with ironic examples and hyperbole, the use of personal points of view allow for the listener to be more connected to the song, and therefor more emotion may be evoked from its meaning. Throughout the song, both the first and second points of view are used. The second person point of view draws the listener into the song by directing actions towards them, such as “so darken your clothes or strike a violent pose,” “but if you’re troubled and hurt, what you got under your shirt we’ll make them pay for the things that they did,” and “maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me.” The lyrics characterize the listeners as a teenager themselves, causing them to be the victims of this prejudice, and further understand how it is wrong to characterize an entire population based on a few outlying individuals. Following suit, the narrator forces himself into the persona of another teenager, causing a sort for the things that they did” utilizes both the first and second person point of view, as the listeners and narrator are forced into the victims of “teenage malicious.” By using personal points of view and forcing the listeners into the song and actions within it, the messages within the song carry a deeper meaning and cause the listeners to further understand how it is wrong to carry prejudice.

            As the listeners are forced into the persona of a teenage victim, they are forced to feel the effects of prejudice. This allows them to understand how it is wrong, and to act against carrying prejudice in the future. Regardless that a few teenagers rest outside the norm, the majority of teenagers could care less about violence and revenge, and are therefor not “another cog in the murder machine.”