“Brother” by Gerard Way

Every reader already aware of who Gerard Way is professional already knows that his biological brother, Mikey Way, is likewise a popular professional musician. However, the manner in which he utilizes the term “brother” in the song “Make It With You” doesn’t necessarily connote that the addressee is a literal sibling. 

Instead, more to the point is said individual ideally being someone who loves the vocalist enough to truly remain by his side and help him overcome a very serious and painful situation that he’s going through.

And even though the verses of this song are highly metaphorical, we do know that what said situation is would be drug or more specifically alcohol addiction. That’s because Gerard has explained that “Brother” was inspired by such an experience he went through in real life.

But overall, the lyrics are generally-poetic enough that they could be speaking to a number of different issues. 

That said, there is still something very ascertainable, even if a listener doesn’t know Gerard’s personal background. And that is that the singer is in some type of serious, let’s say self-inflicted trouble that is part and parcel of him being caught-up in the city’s nightlife. 

So he needs someone to pull him out, so to speak. He is therefore counting on his “brother” to exhibit the support, patience and dedication to do so.

Gerard Way

Gerard Way is known primarily as the lead singer from My Chemical Romance, a rock band from New Jersey that experienced major success during the mid-aughts. But he has also engaged in other musical projects. For example, he dropped his own successful studio album, “Hesitant Alien”, in 2014. 

The aforementioned album, which was put out through Reprise Records, consists of “Brother”. The song itself was officially released on 23 September 2014. “Hesitant Alien” was supported by just two single releases. “Brother” wasn’t one of these singles. It therefore shares the same release date as its album.

Credits for “Brother”

Gerard Way exclusively wrote “Brother”. He has noted that this song, out of all on the playlist of “Hesitant Alien”, was the most-difficult (and therefore last) to finish. 

The producer of this track was Doug McKean (d. 2022).

FYI, Doug McKean was a Grammy Award winning music producer and engineer. He was best known for his collaborations with My Chemical Romance and Gerard Way. He also worked with the likes of the following:

• Phil Collins
• Simple Plan
• Avril Lavigne
• Weezer
• Goo Goo Dolls
• Paramore

McKean died at the age of 54 in 2022. In addition to being a longtime collaborators, Gerard Way and McKean were also very close friends.