Fall Out Boy - Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends Lyrics Meaning

You are a getaway car, a rush of blood to the head. But me, I'm just the covers on top of your bed. You steer away in a rear view mirror, you make my head swim. I keep you warm and won't ask you where you've been .With your backless black dress soaked to the skin. When it's said and done they're all scrambling. And we're friends, we're friends. Just because we move units.

There are really only a few parts of the song that never separate interpretation. Those verses refer to either being in a relationship (or wanting to be in one) with a person who generally gets around (socially, sexually, whatever.) The narrator wants to be with this person for the fact that they make them feel ‘special’, and either does or doesn’t realize that other person doesn’t care for them the same way, and only uses them for the simple fact that they will always be there (like a puppy).

Strike us like matches, cause everyone deserves the flames. We only do it for the scars and stories, not the fame. At least everyone is trying, everyone is shining. Everyone deserves the flames but it's such a shame. Such a shame

The chorus might refer to two things. The obvious being that everyone deserves a chance to be a star and have their voices heard, experience things. The other is that it’s a metaphor for love (as Fall Out Boy lyrics often are), and how everyone wants/deserves love, but some people just don’t have it. This interpretation fits in more with the rest of the song in the fact that the narrator wants this person to care for them the same way they do.

The sounds of this small town make my ears hurt (make my ears hurt). Oh yeah, you caught me. But I caught you one worse. They say, "You want a war? You've got a war." But who are you fighting for? The tides out, the ship's run aground. We drown traitors in shallow water

The first line makes me think of town gossip, and that maybe his puppy-dog syndrome is getting around and maybe is being challenged for said puppy-dog spot. And the line “who are you fighting for” suggests maybe he realizes the type of girl he’s been so in love with. The last two lines further indicate that by saying he’s finally run out of his patience, and he’s done with her drama.

So, this is just what I got out of the song. Feel free to correct me, or add on to it.