The Foundations Of Decay full anlysis

So let's check out the first verse! 

"See the man who stands upon the hill

He dreams of all the battles won

But fate had left its scars upon his face

With all the damage they had done"

I think this is talking about the aftermath of mcr "he dreams of all the battles won" could be talking about the fond memories of the band and his past in art and music the abstract noun "dream" usually has positive connotations think "i had a nice dream" or "oh to dream" are normally positive but then directly after that line we hear "but fate had left its scars upon his face" the conjunction(?) "but" indicates remorse or there's another side to it,"left scars upon his face" is most likely talking about the negatives of being in a band,the pressure,the addiction and the depression. I think mcr wrote this in to show how they have moved on from the past but haven't detached themselves from it they still remember it fondly but do also realize how damaging it was,this is backed up with Gerard Way's speeches on stage talking about hiding in his room in the past or being insecure about his voice. 

Moving onto verse two 

"And so tired with age, he turns the page

Let the flesh submit itself to gravity"

This is a short one but we can still get a bit out of it the first section "and so tired with age" shows how the members have aged and have changed from their past self,this links in with "he turns the page" meaning they've metaphorically ended a chapter in their lives and are writing a new one,e.g the new song and the tour where they do what they want and not have to be worried about not looking right or sounding right. 

So now let's look at the chorus! 

"Let our bodies lay while our hearts will stay

Let our blood invade if I die in pain

Now, if your convictions were a passing phase

May your ashes feed the river in the morning rays

And as the vermin crawls, we lay in the foundations of decay"

so this was for me the most difficult to understand at first glance but I'm going to focus on the line "May your ashes feed the river in the morning rays" i think "ashes" is talking about someone or something who has died and has been cremated this may be symbolizing the band and who they used to be,ofcourse they stand behind themselves but they have changed like Frank Iero said something like "we're not the people we used to be" and i think that is what this line is talking about but this isn't negative because of what is said after, they say that "your ashes feed the river in the morning rays" the verb "feed" tell me that instead of mourning the loss of their past selves they are using and mixing it with their present selves to "feed the river",to do this tour,to reform the  band. 

“He was there the day the towers fell

And so he wandered down the road

And we would all build towers of our own

Only to watch the rooms corrode”

So in this verse I’m drawn to the last line “only to watch the rooms corrode” the adverb “only” suggests an air of disappointment often used to add connotations of tiredness or boredom i feel this last line shows how the band might have felt at the time maybe around the end of the black parade tour as this links back to the line before it saying “and we all build towers of our own” joined with the last verse the band might’ve felt they have built up a fan base and such only for it to come falling apart. 

“But it's much too late, you're in the race

So we'll press and press 'til you can't take it anymore”

In this one you can see repetition saying “we’ll press and press” repetition is often added in songs and literature to add weight and emphasis onto something the something being the line directly after “til you can’t take it anymore” perhaps talking about being in a band and just general life is extremely tiring and it seems like there is no end to the pain (relate back to the “can't take it anymore”) this may be talking about the mental health of the bands members Gerard Way for example has been quite open about his mental health and how it was difficult for him on tour and before that stating in one of their recent shows “fucking baracade myself in fucking do not disturb sign dead bolts on and then i would keep it dark as fuck and cold as shit/lots of stuff lots of depression stuff” (he was speaking in context of the danger days tour). 

I find that even in these small couplets of sorts you can find a lot out of them which is quite amusing! 

“Against faith (antihero)

Against all odds (as if it must be pure)

Against change (we wander through the ruins)

We are free (the guiltiness is yours)”

In this verse I would just like to say that “antihero” nods back to the bands love for comics which isn’t much of an analysis, more an educated guess but I thought it was funny ! xD so I’m going to focus on “against change(we wander through the ruins), we are free(the guiltiness is yours)” Talking about the first part i believe the phrase “against change” can be related back to a lot of interviews with the band members after the split of mcr Frank Iero talking about how his fear of changing in fear people might no longer like him,Ray Toro talking briefly about the feeling of reluctance to change before making his album “Remember the laughter” being the first examples i could think of. Focusing on the second part “the guiltiness is yours” may be talking about how the band may feel guilty for leaving their fans but also maybe leaving their families to go on tour and record,which may have been a weight on their shoulders. 

“You must fix your heart

And you must build an altar where it rests

When the storm decays and the sky, it rains

Let it flood, let it flood, let it wash away

And as we stumble through your last crusade

Will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays?

And as the swarming calls, we lay in the foundations”

This is quite a large one so let's divide it into two parts “you must fix your heart” to “let it flood,let it flood,let it wash away” will be part ‘A’ and “as we stumble through your last crusade” to “and as the swarming calls,we lay in the foundations” will be part ‘B

Part ‘A’:”when the storm decays and the sky,it rains” i think this could count as a pathetic fallacy meaning the weather is indicating what is going to happen,I believe this line is trying to show that during a storm the rain becomes more intense. This may be a metaphor indicating that during the storm of the mental health battle many will go through. 

Part ‘B’:The line “as we stumble through your last crusade” could be talking about their last show/tour before the band broke up the verb “stumble” has connotations of being confused or kind of disorientated and in a long post Gerard Way talked about their last show feeling sort of unreal,like he was working automatically with no soul the noun “crusade” shows to me that each show was an adventure these words support each other and connect back to the newer live shows because Gerard Way talked about the fear and kind of insecurity he went through during shows but all of it still felt like an adventure and it was a new experience each time.

The second rhetorical question “will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays” shows us that the members have thought about how they welcomed the end of the band, or even the seeming end because in some occasions things can come out of extinction as MCR did (in my opinion the most amazing return ever). 

In conclusion the song shows the story of a band discovering the fears and how they’ve accepted a sort of rest and are now coming back with a love that could never have existed before because of their state.Please tell me anything else you picked up and ill reply with my stance on the subject!