I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

"I'm Not Okay"
Song

"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" is the second single and fifth track from My Chemical Romance's second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. It is often wrongly referred to as their first ever single. It is however, their sixth overall single. It reached #86 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and #19 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also helped expand the band's fan base. The song was re-released in November of 2005. The song is also included in the EA Trax listing for racing game Burnout 3: Takedown.

Track listing

Version 1 (promotional CD)

1. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (radio edit) – 3:06

Version 2 (Australian-released CD)

1. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" – 3:09
2. "Bury Me in Black" (demo) – 2:39
3. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" (live from BBC Radio 1 Lock Up session) – 2:51

Version 3 (CD)

1. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" – 3:09
2. "Bury Me in Black" (demo) – 2:37
3. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" (live from BBC Radio 1 Lock Up session) – 2:51
4. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (live from MTV $2 Bill) – 3:24

Version 4 (re-released CD)

1. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" – 3:09
2. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" (live from BBC Radio 1 Lock Up session) – 2:51

Version 5 (re-released CD)

1. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" – 3:09
2. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" (live from BBC Radio 1 Lock Up session) – 2:51
3. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (live from MTV $2 Bill) – 3:24

Version 6 (digital download)

1. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" – 3:09
2. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" (live from BBC Radio 1 Lock Up session) – 2:51

Meaning

The song's lyrics deal with emotional issues relating to relationship breakups, in particular, those of lead singer Gerard Way and his high school experiences of adolescent loneliness and angst. The song's sentimental lyrics ushered people to label the band as "emo", which is a logical conclusion.

The line "the photographs your boyfriend took" is about how a girl Gerard had a crush on let her boyfriend take sleazy pictures of her which managed to get out onto the internet. When Gerard found out, it crushed him and he lost all respect for her.

Music videos

File:I'm Not Okay (I Promise), version 1 screenshot.jpg

A screenshot of the old school version.

The Old School Version music video of the song features the band's life in New Jersey and them going on tour as well as a montage of video segments. It was produced by Rafaela Monfradini and Greg Kaplan, who was also the director. It also features pictures of brothers, bassist Mikey Way and lead singer Gerard Way, when they were little kids and teenagers.

File:I'm Not Okay (I Promise), version 2 screenshot.jpg

A screenshot of the prep school version.

The Prep School Version music video depicts life inside a fictional American high school in the form of a fake movie trailer. The band appears as a group of students who are repeatedly harassed by another group who are portrayed as jocks. The band members then take their revenge on the jocks and ultimately have a showdown in a hallway, with the band members armed with croquet mallets and the jocks with lacrosse sticks. The music video was directed by Marc Webb, and parts of it were filmed at Loyola High School (Los Angeles). An interesting point to make here is that current drummer Bob Bryar appears in the second video, even though he had not been officially recruited by the band at this point. This is evident by the fact that Gerard repeatedly blocks Bryar's face, supposedly to keep viewers from thinking he was a member of the band at that time. One reason why since he has recently joined, he is not seen with the other band members in the high school scenes or credited in the movie card at the end.

External link

• "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" lyrics
• "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" song meaning