i spent like ten minutes transcribing an interview for u bc i dont rlly kno how to explain it myself so i’ll let the boys do it for me

patrick: “the song is so, so self deprecating, so desperately sad about yourself.”

pete: “this is why, by the way, when i was writing this song, i was, uh, when i was writing the lyrics, i was trying to think about patrick because i was like, this dude has pretty much achieved so many things, and he’s so talented at anything, like he picks up a trumpet and he knows how to play it. he has a voice that is awesome but thinks he should play drums instead, you know, he thinks girls don’t like him, you know, and it dumbfounded me, like i just realized, and i think it took me like two records or a while to really kinda at least understand it as much as i could possibly do it and that’s what those lyrics are, were, to me, they were from patrick’s perspective, or as lose as i could get.”

patrick: “well so on a personal level, i think it’s a really interesting, one of the reasons i like that song is because it’s a really unique experience to be in a situation where somebody else speaks for you and accurately, you know, portrays your feelings or your opinions, you know. it’s really rare, usually you have to correct people or whatever.”

that’s from here at like 22:25 ish

shay’s thoughts on that: there’s a lot of theories on this song. the most common is that this song was pete promising patrick he’d never try to kill himself again. there’s this post, that includes this explanation:

The “Donnie” in this song is almost certainly a reference to Donny Hathaway, who was a famous singer/songwriter who killed himself by jumping out of a hotel window in 1979. Hathaway had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia episodes days before he committed suicide, saying that people were out to hook his brain up to a machine to steal his music and kill him. Hathaway had his greatest success with duets he performed with Roberta Flack, including “Where Is The Love?” and “The Closer I Get To You.” In “What a Catch, Donnie,” Flack is referenced in the lyrics, “Miss Flack said I still want you back.”

Pete Wentz has admitted to depression and his own suicide attempt. In this song, he could be drawing parallels between his life and that of Hathaway - a successful artist whose demons killed him. The relationship between Hathaway and Flack could be symbolic of that between Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump. In the middle of the song, the lyrics are: “I will never end up like him, behind my back I already am. Keep a calendar this way you always know.” It’s like Pete is saying to Patrick, “I’ll never try to kill myself again.” Then, for the chorus: “All I can think of is the way, I’m the one, no, you’re the one who gave up on you.” It’s as if Patrick would reply, “I won’t give up on you if YOU don’t give on you.”

which, i love the idea of that, i think that’s one of the themes of the song, def the chorus, yeah. but i think the main theme, as proven by pete’s explanation; patrick’s always been remarkably insecure. pete’s made a point to talk abt it dozens of times, patrick’s fuckin incredible but i still dunno if he realizes it. he was this little chubby dude, he thought he was unattractive as hell (altho he’s beautiful and i still think he doesnt like his face that much and he sure as hell still doesnt like his body and that makes me rlly sad), he just had a lot of issues w his confidence. and on top of that, call it bein modest, but he always talks in a self deprecating way abt his music making abilities. which is ridiculous, he’s an absolute musical lil genius and everyone knows it. anyway, point is, pete’s never had that insecurity. maybe a different type of insecurity, but being ashamed of ur body, not liking your face, thinking u suck at everything, i don’t think pete’s ever known how that feels. pete’s good at writing lyrics and being the face of fob, and he knows it. he’s a hot dude, and he knows it. so’s patrick. he still doesnt rlly know it. altho i think his ego’s boosted a bit since “patrick is so hot i want him to leave bruises on my thighs like his fingerprints” lmao. i think all the fans who want to bang him have rlly made him feel better abt himself haha. regardless; petes more or less confident in his abilities. patrick’s not. and it took pete a while to understand that. and when he finally was able to, he tried to write a song abt it. he apparently nailed it.