This interpretation is based on many interviews with Claudio stating that the fuel for his story comes from very real life experiences (and for better or worse, this means the concept comes second for the majority of Coheed and Cambria's songs). Simply put, this song is basically a summary of Claudio’s disappointment with Good Apollo-era marketing on behalf of Coheed and Cambria.
“These are the days, the end complete.
The world still turning to the sound of The Suffering.
You are the jury, we are the saints.”
Claudio laments that his world - his career - is only still in motion due to The Suffering being chosen as a lead single to Good Apollo, despite his preference for Welcome Home. He alludes to this scenario and his regret in the Neverender documentary, but ultimately understands the decision to market his band using the most commercial track available, despite it being on their proggiest album to date.
“Our minds divide, the past repeats.
A war still brewing in the hearts of those we once bled.
I am the knowing, the living dead.”
Good Apollo is seemingly not the first time Claudio and co. encountered resistance to their musical ambitions and creative freedoms. For the average artist, having to play by the industry’s ‘rules’ as opposed to following one’s heart is bad enough, but for bands as left-of-centre as Coheed and Cambria it would be a downright harrowing ordeal. To use the words of Travis’ wife in the Neverender documentary, the band had returned from the dead with No World For Tomorrow, and for this album, Claudio alone knew best.
“Dig deeper, remember
All you've been and all you've left behind.
Wave goodbye, my dear.
Dig deeper, remember
All you've been and all you've left behind.
Welcome home, my dear.”
Claudio has summoned the strength to become the artist he believed he always was. This means bidding farewell to many things that brought him to the position to create No World For Tomorrow. The final “Welcome Home” reference is fairly obvious, given my interpretation.
“No words to say.
The worst displayed.
What once was courage is now cursed in the hurt we've made.
We are the sinners, before our graves.”
It is widely accepted by those involved with the Good Apollo era (from management to many outsiders as seen on the Neverender documentary) brought out the worst in Coheed and Cambria. Perhaps in some way, Claudio feels all the darkness was connected to the band’s inability to get on the same page as a unit, and therefore the blame is theirs alone. The band fell from grace, and the “saints” who could do no wrong in the eyes of their “jury” were now lowly, vulnerable ”sinners”.
“Now leave in peace,
The dead unsafe,
A world still turning down the path of the end complete,
Now spite me, jury, we've come for change”
Claudio understands that the only way forward is by making peace with negative influences and to chorale Coheed and Cambria together to create music that will undoubtedly be scrutinized by the jury (making judgements about absent members, resenting the difference between SSTB and NWFT). Nonetheless, this change is intentional.
“GOD, He will not save you
IS NOT, He will not save you
HERE! He will not save you from this”
To continue his “saint” analogy, there are no more supreme forces operating above the band (“God is not here”), and Claudio reminds himself that if anything should go wrong now, it’s simply because of his music and not the way somebody has strategically presented it to the public.
“You’ve been stealing my lines,
Now go on living your lies,
For on your knees you will find,
You’ll face a jury in hell.”
A metaphorical version of “Hey __, you stole the true potential from my music last time; we're doing things my way this time. Let's see which version of the band our fans like better."
“These WERE the days. The end complete.
The world is burning to the sound of the suffering.
You are the jury, we are the saints.”
Speaking of the past, the Good Apollo days nearly brought about the “end” for the band - a near-apocalyptic scenario juxtaposed with the cheery soundtrack of The Suffering, which may or may not have set this destruction into motion.
“You were the magic, that turned a curse in time
You were the beauty, that we had to leave behind
Oh, no. No, no. Bye-bye”
Perhaps at one point Claudio desired the best of both worlds with commercially viable tracks living harmoniously beside high-concept self-indulgent prog-rock tracks. But now he sees that he must ultimately choose a side he prefers over the other to protect the whole, lest he make the same mistake with trying to have his cake and eat it, too. So when it get’s right down to it, the Curse of The Radio goes bye-bye, and Claudio won’t bother to write …… any more singles.
This interpretation is based on many interviews with Claudio stating that the fuel for his story comes from very real life experiences (and for better or worse, this means the concept comes second for the majority of Coheed and Cambria's songs). Simply put, this song is basically a summary of Claudio’s disappointment with Good Apollo-era marketing on behalf of Coheed and Cambria.
“These are the days, the end complete. The world still turning to the sound of The Suffering. You are the jury, we are the saints.”
Claudio laments that his world - his career - is only still in motion due to The Suffering being chosen as a lead single to Good Apollo, despite his preference for Welcome Home. He alludes to this scenario and his regret in the Neverender documentary, but ultimately understands the decision to market his band using the most commercial track available, despite it being on their proggiest album to date.
“Our minds divide, the past repeats. A war still brewing in the hearts of those we once bled. I am the knowing, the living dead.”
Good Apollo is seemingly not the first time Claudio and co. encountered resistance to their musical ambitions and creative freedoms. For the average artist, having to play by the industry’s ‘rules’ as opposed to following one’s heart is bad enough, but for bands as left-of-centre as Coheed and Cambria it would be a downright harrowing ordeal. To use the words of Travis’ wife in the Neverender documentary, the band had returned from the dead with No World For Tomorrow, and for this album, Claudio alone knew best.
“Dig deeper, remember All you've been and all you've left behind. Wave goodbye, my dear. Dig deeper, remember All you've been and all you've left behind. Welcome home, my dear.”
Claudio has summoned the strength to become the artist he believed he always was. This means bidding farewell to many things that brought him to the position to create No World For Tomorrow. The final “Welcome Home” reference is fairly obvious, given my interpretation.
“No words to say. The worst displayed. What once was courage is now cursed in the hurt we've made. We are the sinners, before our graves.”
It is widely accepted by those involved with the Good Apollo era (from management to many outsiders as seen on the Neverender documentary) brought out the worst in Coheed and Cambria. Perhaps in some way, Claudio feels all the darkness was connected to the band’s inability to get on the same page as a unit, and therefore the blame is theirs alone. The band fell from grace, and the “saints” who could do no wrong in the eyes of their “jury” were now lowly, vulnerable ”sinners”.
“Now leave in peace, The dead unsafe, A world still turning down the path of the end complete, Now spite me, jury, we've come for change”
Claudio understands that the only way forward is by making peace with negative influences and to chorale Coheed and Cambria together to create music that will undoubtedly be scrutinized by the jury (making judgements about absent members, resenting the difference between SSTB and NWFT). Nonetheless, this change is intentional.
“GOD, He will not save you IS NOT, He will not save you HERE! He will not save you from this”
To continue his “saint” analogy, there are no more supreme forces operating above the band (“God is not here”), and Claudio reminds himself that if anything should go wrong now, it’s simply because of his music and not the way somebody has strategically presented it to the public.
“You’ve been stealing my lines, Now go on living your lies, For on your knees you will find, You’ll face a jury in hell.”
A metaphorical version of “Hey __, you stole the true potential from my music last time; we're doing things my way this time. Let's see which version of the band our fans like better."
“These WERE the days. The end complete. The world is burning to the sound of the suffering. You are the jury, we are the saints.”
Speaking of the past, the Good Apollo days nearly brought about the “end” for the band - a near-apocalyptic scenario juxtaposed with the cheery soundtrack of The Suffering, which may or may not have set this destruction into motion.
“You were the magic, that turned a curse in time You were the beauty, that we had to leave behind Oh, no. No, no. Bye-bye”
Perhaps at one point Claudio desired the best of both worlds with commercially viable tracks living harmoniously beside high-concept self-indulgent prog-rock tracks. But now he sees that he must ultimately choose a side he prefers over the other to protect the whole, lest he make the same mistake with trying to have his cake and eat it, too. So when it get’s right down to it, the Curse of The Radio goes bye-bye, and Claudio won’t bother to write …… any more singles.