This was probably one of my three favorite songs off of the complete Afterman experience. Oddly, it's one Coheed chose not to include on the main album. I personally feel like this song belongs between "Vic the Butcher," and "Evagria the Faithful"
The basic story line, I believe, follows the events of a girl named Carol Ann, a young lover who dies tragically in an unexpected, violent, car accident. Perhaps the car accident element, which shows up as a main theme in the second half of "Descension" is why Coheed left this one off?
Interpretation:
These are the words, from my Carol Ann
The girl I broke in half
Of her, I'm afraid there's nothing left
No pieces to put back in place
I was the monster
The things that I did
I regret, I dismiss
Oh, it's a shame about Carol Ann
And all she could have been
She soared with such grace as her body sailed
Through the windshield from the passenger seat
I was the monster
Through neglect I replaced her love
For these lonely days
These are Sirius' interpretation of what is happening: his soul is being invaded by a new entity, that of a young girl who died in a car accident, thrown through the windshield. He, Sirius, is also reflecting on how his own soul is trying to reject her's; someone who has suffered and hurt so much that they've become content with their labyrinth. First he dismisses what happened, and then he realizes his dismissal has changed her contentment with being dead into something else.
Oh, she'll be forgotten...
Oh, she'll be forgotten...
A moment of grim honesty perhaps? That the greatest of personal tragedies, in the afterlife, is meaningless. However haunting and horrible what happened to Carol Ann was in life, no one knows who she is, or was, now. She will be, and is, forgotten. Her death no more meaningful than the next girls'.
Young hearts belong, to a love that everybody wants
But we can't have it all, so we take what little we can
This is coming from the entity again now, she's again being honest about her existence in the Keywork. Pure, unadulterated love is something which both the living, and the dead, want, but cannot necessarily attain. When humans cannot, they cause grief; when the dead cannot, they take it from the living. Which is why the entities are digging into Sirius: he possesses love, and life, and all those things which they lack.
Mother, did you see him coming; did you see him?
Mother, did you see him sneaking through the back door?
Stealing the time we wish we spent, but lost it all
Mother, did you see him coming; did you see him?
Mother, did you see him sneaking through the back door?
This time, we'll reinforce the walls
I'm not sure who "mother" is, but I believe that this addresses the other entities of the Keywork. Carol Ann is essentially saying: Did anyone see the living man come in? How could we have missed his entrance? Let's reinforce the door, this way he can't get out again.
Don't turn the page, love
It's words don't hold your fate
But soon we'll become one
And from their world you'll escape
The final revelation: the entity wants Sirius' body, his vitality. It will take his body, and escape from the Keywork; free to live again. His fate is not set in stone, because while his individuality, his personality, will wander among the Keywork forever, his body will live; with a new soul in it.
Through the walls of your heart
I will tear you apart
Through the walls of your heart
I will tear you apart
Through the walls!
The entity is digging in, clawing its way into Sirus' body, his heart; his soul. It's going to remove his essence from his body and escape with it. This also gives new meaning to the opening lines of "Evagria: the Faithful" where Sirius says: "sinking warmth through obscurity," caught between "where you are (Evagria)" and "What you're doing (Carol Ann)"
And that's my interpretation of what I like to think is "Key Entity Extraction IV: Carol Ann"
This was probably one of my three favorite songs off of the complete Afterman experience. Oddly, it's one Coheed chose not to include on the main album. I personally feel like this song belongs between "Vic the Butcher," and "Evagria the Faithful"
The basic story line, I believe, follows the events of a girl named Carol Ann, a young lover who dies tragically in an unexpected, violent, car accident. Perhaps the car accident element, which shows up as a main theme in the second half of "Descension" is why Coheed left this one off?
Interpretation:
These are the words, from my Carol Ann The girl I broke in half Of her, I'm afraid there's nothing left No pieces to put back in place
I was the monster The things that I did I regret, I dismiss
Oh, it's a shame about Carol Ann And all she could have been She soared with such grace as her body sailed Through the windshield from the passenger seat
I was the monster Through neglect I replaced her love For these lonely days
These are Sirius' interpretation of what is happening: his soul is being invaded by a new entity, that of a young girl who died in a car accident, thrown through the windshield. He, Sirius, is also reflecting on how his own soul is trying to reject her's; someone who has suffered and hurt so much that they've become content with their labyrinth. First he dismisses what happened, and then he realizes his dismissal has changed her contentment with being dead into something else.
Oh, she'll be forgotten... Oh, she'll be forgotten...
A moment of grim honesty perhaps? That the greatest of personal tragedies, in the afterlife, is meaningless. However haunting and horrible what happened to Carol Ann was in life, no one knows who she is, or was, now. She will be, and is, forgotten. Her death no more meaningful than the next girls'.
Young hearts belong, to a love that everybody wants But we can't have it all, so we take what little we can
This is coming from the entity again now, she's again being honest about her existence in the Keywork. Pure, unadulterated love is something which both the living, and the dead, want, but cannot necessarily attain. When humans cannot, they cause grief; when the dead cannot, they take it from the living. Which is why the entities are digging into Sirius: he possesses love, and life, and all those things which they lack.
Mother, did you see him coming; did you see him? Mother, did you see him sneaking through the back door? Stealing the time we wish we spent, but lost it all
Mother, did you see him coming; did you see him? Mother, did you see him sneaking through the back door? This time, we'll reinforce the walls
I'm not sure who "mother" is, but I believe that this addresses the other entities of the Keywork. Carol Ann is essentially saying: Did anyone see the living man come in? How could we have missed his entrance? Let's reinforce the door, this way he can't get out again.
Don't turn the page, love It's words don't hold your fate But soon we'll become one And from their world you'll escape
The final revelation: the entity wants Sirius' body, his vitality. It will take his body, and escape from the Keywork; free to live again. His fate is not set in stone, because while his individuality, his personality, will wander among the Keywork forever, his body will live; with a new soul in it.
Through the walls of your heart I will tear you apart Through the walls of your heart I will tear you apart Through the walls!
The entity is digging in, clawing its way into Sirus' body, his heart; his soul. It's going to remove his essence from his body and escape with it. This also gives new meaning to the opening lines of "Evagria: the Faithful" where Sirius says: "sinking warmth through obscurity," caught between "where you are (Evagria)" and "What you're doing (Carol Ann)"
And that's my interpretation of what I like to think is "Key Entity Extraction IV: Carol Ann"