#I CRIED I WONT LIE | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

miraofhearts2point0 · 1 year

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In honor of Foundations turning one today, I'd like to take everyone on a walkthrough on all the religious symbolism, as well as double meaning behind it.

Spoiler warning: a lot of it can be traced back to Saint Jehanne d'Arc.

Obviously, the entire song wasn't about her, but knowing Gerard and his love for her, it's not too surprising that some of the lyrics match up with St. Joan's story.

So, let's talk about it!

"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'd like to re-emphasize that while I agree with the more discussed meaning -- you can't wallow in the past forever, no matter how traumatic, as it'll only hurt you more in the end-- I'm looking at the song through a strictly religious lense; and one that focuses on St. Jeanne, specifically.)

Jehanne had witnessed her country be at war with England since she was little.

She was well aware of it, and had even witnessed an Burgundian attack on their village of Domrémy when she was around the age of sixteen.

All through that, she waited for a miracle to save France; but the miracle was her.

The last lyric could also be about her fate as military general, leaving literal scars on her from what the English (and English supporters in France, who I will be grouping with the English for the rest of this essay), had done to her; specifically, shooting her with arrows on two seperate occasions.

"And so, tired with age, he turns the page, let the flesh submit itself to gravity."

"Let our bodies lay; mark our hearts with shame; let our blood in vain; you find God in pain."

Jehanne had her first vision at the age of thirteen, and only began understanding what it meant at the age of sixteen, shortly after Burgundian troops ran amuck; where she fully allowed herself to become one with what the Lord had told her to do by heading to Vaucouleurs -- where her Aunt and Uncle lived -- to convince Sir Robert de Baudricourt to allow her to meet "Gentle Dauphin" (her own nickname for the then-king) Charles, so she may begin her military campaign in Orléans.

She, unfortunately, was turned away for nearly a year before her newfound friends were able to convince him to let her go.

And so, she went to Chinon, performing her first miracle by identifying the Dauphin in disguise within a crowd; Dauphin Charles, soon to be King Charles VII, granted her to go to Orléans where she soon joined generals: La Hire, Gilles de Rais, and Jean de Dunois in the city.

Jeahnne, along with most of her army, believed in God and the Bible; but they are still in the military.

They had to kill others if it meant surviving.

The soldiers are begging God to let them get into heaven, even if it's just in vain. Being pitied by God is a much better fate than an eternity in hell.

The last part though, isn't really about the army, but could still work: those who died on the battlefield die in pain, and then meet God shortly after, as He took their plea for forgiveness, and allowed them into heaven.

However, I like to see it as involving Jehanne.(There will be a lot of references to her death within this post btw.)

Jehanne d'Arc was burned at the stake at the age of nineteen for witchcraft, heresy, and so much more.

Her last (audible) words were in the form of a prayer, calling out for Jesus Christ. In the face of death, and admist her pain, she had "found" the both of them in the end.

"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."

Jehanne wasn't considered a witch for very long, only a few years after her death was she called a martyr by the Catholic church.

The convictions she faced in court were a literal passing phase.

Not only that, but she was burned at the stake; her body turning into ash after three times, which the English disposed of by throwing her remains in the Seine river.

The people who murdered her were still alive, acting as though they didn't kill an innocent teenager for nothing.

Jehanne's family, on the other hand, were too focused on her death to continue the fight like she would've wanted.

Her brothers, Pierre and Jean, even went as far as latching onto a woman who claimed to be Joan, even though the real Joan was long dead by then.

"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 roots corrode."

Throughout her travels as an army general, she became close with King Charles VII, who even ennobled her, and her family.

Her main goal was to protect him, and escort him to safety so he could be crowned the new king of France.

Her single motive was to protect her country, and yet, it was her country who betrayed her in the end.

Once she was captured, the Duke of Burgundy sold her to the English, where she was put on trial and ultimately killed.

Charles VII did nothing to help her in the end either, as he wanted to make amends with England, so Jehanne was alone fending for herself where she was assaulted and subjected to mental (and near physical) torture.

"But it's much too late, you're in the race. So we'll press and press 'til you can't take it anymore."

But even then, Jehanne was persistent. She attempted to escape the prison multiple times – once by jumping out of her 21-foot tall tower and living – but ultimately failed. (Which was something that was used against her faith in court.)

She was also supposed to be guarded by women of the church, but instead was "guarded" by Englishmen; who allowed a well-respected English Lord to sexually assault her. She fought back, and he eventually left before it could escalate.

Jehanne was always more comfortable around women; when given the chance, she'd prefer sleeping next to women than men-- but she did have few men she was comfortable around.

Even after she had initially signed a paper saying she was to not discuss her visions or crossdress while living out the rest of her life in prison, the men who held her trial were quickly called to come back to the prison, where they found her dressed in men's clothing once again; so she was put to death.

She did say that she would've gladly worn dresses if it meant she could attend mass (which she hadn't been able to see), but the fact she was forced into a prison with only men more than likely had something else to do with it.

"Let our bodies lay; mark our hearts with shame; let our blood in vain; you find God in pain."

[See previous]

"And if, by his own hand, his spirit flies, take his body as a relic to be canonized. Now, and so he gets to die a saint but she will always be a whore."

(i adore this part btw it's THE best my chem lyric idc!!)

This one is more metaphorical. Because obviously, the only one in that courtroom to be canonized was Jehanne, meanwhile, no one even knows her murderers names; unless you're super into the case of Jehanne d'Arc.

But at the time, the English and French kings were seen as heroes; in their lifetimes, for the most part, they were seen as the good guys, while Jehanne was seen as a heretic.

"Against faith! (Cage all the animals!)"

Many of her murderers claimed to care about her, and they just wanted the best for her, ehen in reality, the English caged her and her brothers in seperate cells, who they deemed to be a danger.

By imprisioning, and ignoring everything Jehanne said about her visions, the church was going against their own faith in God.

"Against all life! ('Cause the message must be pure!)"

The English and the Church putting her to death is one of the huge things that God should be against; killing people. Obviously. (It's kinda funny imo that whenever someone murdered someone in the Bible their punishment was...also.. to be murdered? But oh well.)

Especially those who have a direct order from Him to fulfill a task; anyone who gets in the way of that task will not have a pretty fate.

The only reason why so many people went along with her execution was because they marketed it as being a good deed– "it's okay if we do this because we won't have to worry about losing this war anymore."

"Against change! (You can wander through the ruins!)"

One of the main reasons Jehanne was killed was because she wore mens clothing, which goes against the Bible.

However, the church failed to mention that the Bible states crossdressing is okay, under certain circumstances; which Jehanne fell into.

She was still murdered for her religious beliefs, and for her ideals in general, but the main reason was because she wore armor in order to protect herself from battle, as well as from the men she was leading.

"We are plagued! (But the poison is the cure!"

Jehanne d'Arc was both the poison and the cure.

The poison against the English, as her persistance was something that both sides hadn't seen throughout the entire war.

And she was the cure for the French for the same reason.

The plague, on the other hand, was the war itself.

Any form of plague is known to last for a long amount of time, sometimes, without having a way to fight it for even longer.

This is the same case here.

It took ninety-two years for Jehanne to, basically, pick France up from its bootstraps and start to cause serious damage to the English.

"You must fix your heart."

As stated previously, Jehanne wasn't supposed to be put to death originally.

She had signed a paper that said she would not continue to speak about the voices she heard, and she would go to prison for the rest of her life.

That was considered a moment of weakness for Jehanne, as only a few days later, she was back in her armor and stated she had another vision from the same saints as before.

I see this as St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Margaret of Antioch, and St. Michael The Archangel during that time telling her that it'll be okay as long as she still has full faith in the Lord; which she did.

Those Saints were there to guide her, which also meant being herself and doing the thing everyone hated her for.

"And you must build an altar where it swells."

As she waited for news about what was to come, Jehanne still prayed, and found ways to worship God despite her situation.

As tensions only continued to rise, she never lost her faith.

"When the storm it gains, and the sky it rains, let it flood, let it flood; let it wash away."

Again, I see this at those Saints during that vision telling her to allow that fear to take over for a short period of time, as it will help her become stronger in the end.

"And as we stumble through your last crusade, will you welcome your extincion in the morning rays?"

"And as the swarm it calls we lay in the foundations–"

Jehanne's last battle was getting to that stake.

With a mirtire listing off her convictions, she was lead and tied to the wooden stake in the middle of Rouen, where Bishop Pierre Cauchon began his homily. She was fairly calm up until her address, where she broke down.

She knew that soon, she would meet those who guided her through her journey, and she welcomed everyone with open arms through her fear.

The "swarm" here is Archangel Michael, Catherine of Alexandria, Margaret of Antioch, and God Himself calling out to her as she burned.

They all led her through those battles, and in her death, finally were able to accept her as one of their own.

"Yes, it comforts me much more. Yes, it comforts me much more. To lay in the foundations of decay."

Again, personally, I see this as Jehanne's brothers finding comfort in thinking their sister is still alive, even though they know she isn't.

They were both captured alongside her, and yet, they like living in ignorance instead of facing that harsh reality.

"Get! Up! Coward!"

This time, it isn't any of the Saints Jehanne saw telling her to keep going.

I see it as Jehanne herself telling the people (more than likely, her brothers) she led to get up and continue fighting; they almost won, they were so close.

So, they did.

"I believe firmly what my Voices have told me, that I shall be saved; I believe it as firmly as if I were already there." -Saint Joan Of Arc.

The French continued fighting until Bordeaux surrendered, marking the French victory, which was won only twenty-two years after Jehanne's execution.

Not only that, but her prediction on what would occur seven years after her trial came true: King Charles VII created the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, which means that no trial can be held without the authority of the Pope.

Meaning, Jehanne's trial couldn't have been held unless the Pope wanted it to happen. She had requested that the Pope at the time be contacted about her trial, but was denied because of how long it would've taken.

She would've been forty-one at the time the French came out victorious.

#i cried a bit writing this i wont lie #she deserved so much better #i love her so much #(also i apologize if i got anything wrong)#(im still new to St. Joan research lol)#my chemical romance #mcr #my chem #gerard way #frank iero #ray toro #mikey way #joan of arc #saint joan of arc #jeanne d'arc

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