Devil in Jersey City

Ok, this is one of the few songs I have a really good understanding of, so I'm going to give a line-by-line (omitting repeated lines) of my interpretation of the song and explain how it corresponds to the comics.

The song is told through a combination of Patrick’s, the Devils’, Josephine’s, and Cambria Kilgannon’s points of view.

“Hehee, Shabutie” - (Maria and Matthew, the two youngest Kilgannon children, say this to their father, Coheed, right before he poisons them [see “Time Consumer’]. All this is for is to let us know that, in the timeline of events, the events of this song and “Time Consumer” happen simultaneously.)

“New Jersey bound when sound asleep they'll find you at your most vulnerable Poll position” – (Patrick and Josephine are driving to Jersey City. Josephine is dosing in the passenger seat when Patrick parks the car in an empty lot by an abandoned factory. Poll position refers to a racer’s position in the pack. The most ‘vulnerable’ poll position is when a car is completely stopped.)

“Speak up, let out” – (Josephine voices her dislike of where they are and her desire to leave)

“When down the street the corner boys fuck shit up.” – (The Jersey City Devils gang are causing trouble nearby, just around the corner, while Josephine and Patrick are talking and making out. In terms of “corner boys”, imagine the archetypal image of old 50’s era hoodlums in leather jackets leaning against the wall of a street corner. Sanchez employs a lot of metaphor and imagery into his lyrics.)

The Jersey Devils attack

“Scream loud,” – (Sayonara is Japanese for saying a formal goodbye. This is basically Cambria, in seeing the scene as a vision while Coheed is upstairs, telling Josephine to scream for help.)

“-scream Sayonara!” – (This is Devil’s taunting Patrick and Josephine by telling them to “Say goodbye” as they get assaulted.)

“Sweet Josephine, will you follow me home?” – (This is Patrick. He is essentially ask him if she’ll still marry him [make a home with home] and follow him after he let this happen to her.)

“Sweet Josephine, will you fuck me back home?” – (This is Patrick as well. Now he’s thinking about his intentions when bringing her here and the fact she’s being soiled and raped because of him. He’s wondering if she’ll ever make love to him on their wedding night. I say wedding night because of the previous allusion to ‘home’ being marriage. Also, it is indicated later in the song she is a virgin at this point.)

“Let's fire it up, haha now. Let's fire it up haha now, Sayonara!” – (Both these lines are the Devil’s enjoying this and taunting Patrick and Josephine.)

“Don't let them scare you when you're down on the floor bleeding, bastard!” – (This is Cambria watching and trying to soothe Josephine and then trying to soothe Patrick, but she can’t help but lash out at Patrick because he is the ‘bastard’ who let this happen to Josephine. While the ‘bastard’ is directed at Patrick, the rest of the line is directed to both him and Josephine.)

“You'll be getting home real soon and I'll pray for you, ‘high health!’” – “Cambria again, still encouraging and soothing Josephine by ensuring Josephine that this will be over soon and she can then come home and that her mother is praying for her in the meantime. ‘High health’ is actually a toast, such as one given at a celebration like a wedding or announcement of engagement like the one earlier that day.”

“Speak up let out,” – (Cambria telling Josie [short for Josephine; my fingers are getting tired] to continue screaming for help and to speak up against her attackers.)

“- caught in the crossfire.” (It is revealed later in the story that Patrick has some past history with some less-than-savory types of people and goes to an old associate to procure a gun. The Jersey Devils may actually know Patrick [and his car] from his delinquent past and thus this whole thing might be fueled by an old feud and Josie is only caught in the crossfire of that feud.)

“Compared to the step to the bone that might break.” – (Patrick is being kicked and beaten while he’s down and he’s basically in a contest comparing the strength of his bones [and hence his conviction] to the strength of the thugs’ kicks [steps].)

“It's too late to find a better way out of this.” – (Josie and Patrick realize that Patrick missed his chance to drive somewhere safer and that this is all his fault.)

“With the finest regards that I lost in the cracks of this street” – (This is pure speculation, but it’s known for a fact that Josephine is raped by the Devils. I think that “finest regards” refers to her virginity [one of a woman’s finest gifts she can give to a man] and that this line is her referring to her virginal blood she loses to the cracks in the street.)

Basically this song is a mult-view narration and commentary on Patrick and Josephine being assaulted by the Jersey City Devils. Like any interpretation of a C&C song, most of this is pure speculation based on things hinted at by the comics and by Sanchez himself.