The Black Parade takes listeners on a journey through the death of a man dubbed “The Patient.” This track reveals the driving force behind the protagonist’s death — cancer. It expresses his agony as he asks to be told the truth.

In an interview, frontman Gerard Way said that, while the song is literally about cancer in one sense, it is being used as a metaphor at the same time.

A little-known fact about the song is that lead guitarist Ray Toro played bass on the studio track instead of Mikey Way.

A live version of this track appears on the CD single of “I Don’t Love You.”