Teenagers by My Chemical Romance was inspired by lead singer Gerard Ways experiences with New York public transport. Watching how teenagers grouped and interacted, Way reflected on the intimidating nature that teenagers can have when in groups. The song deals with themes of conformity, violence, and the feeling of alienation experienced during adolescence.
They're gonna clean up your looks With all the lies in the books To make a citizen out of you Because they sleep with a gun And keep an eye on you, son So they can watch all the things you do Because the drugs never work They gonna give you a smirk Of keeping you clean They're gonna rip off your heads Your aspirations to shreds Another cog in the murder machine
They said, all teenagers scare the living shit 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
The boys and girls in the clique The awful names that they stick You're never gonna fit in much, kid But if you're troubled and hurt what you got under your shirt will make them pay for the things that they did
They said all teenagers scare the living shit 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 * oh yeah *
They said all teenagers scare the living shit out of me They could care less as long as someone'll bleed Teenagers scare the living shit 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, waaaaah! Teenagers scare the living shit 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