"Gravity's Union"

Art by Nathan Spoor.

**"Gravity's Union"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the fifth track on their 2013 album *The Afterman: Descension*. A demo version of the song was released on *The Afterman: Descension* (Big Beige Demos) album.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

I flew head first into the light

Weightless, crisscrossing, precise

In a dream, or was it life?

Inside this door, all answers; wait

So saddle up my steed

Where the lies live way beneath

**[Pre-Chorus 1]**

Oh my, I think I've made a mess

This is all my fault, it's what I wished

**[Chorus]**

And I was wrong to let you go

I accept my mistake, but you will never know

This is my love into a ten-ton truck

Baby, please remember the better me

**[Verse 2]**

No time to change my life in the air before

Our maximum reach outweighed

Apart, pictureless retreat

The terror meets the truth, no longer who

We now know what we must do

Shadow-dancing through the roof

**[Pre-Chorus 2]**

Contact the life you used to know

Gravity the world in tow

**[Chorus]**

And I was wrong to let you go

I accept my mistake, but you will never know

This is my love into a ten-ton truck

Baby, please remember the better me

**[Bridge]**

Driver, may I sleep with you tonight?

Numbered uncertainty

City limits, shoe-strewn diary

The roar of the engine won't cease

All of my love and heart spilled in this car

Picture me, the perfect enemy

Our lives are one, colliding up and beyond

In this fatal possibility

I am your, I am your prize

**[Pre-Bridge Section 2]**

We wave welcome aboard

We wave welcome aboard

We wave welcome aboard

In my eyes, I drown you

**[Bridge Section 2]**

Has he forgotten his place?

Bait the hook and let it sink

No cause for alarm

Enter the master, I am Dr. Straight

Scalpel, keep that lung in place

Nurse, IV needs refilling

Now watch the brain

Responding quite normal, this life I can save

**[Bridge Section 3]**

Every man has a point where he breaks or conjoins

Among pressure that floods to complicate

Matters close to the heart will define who we are

Do we love? Do we hate? We are only the meat, meat, meat

**[Pre-Climax]**

We understood the unmistakable

Two romantics on holiday, and how they stole our love

**[Climax]**

Caged...

Locked in perpetual motion

Carving our wounds wide open

But you let the wrong one in, ha ha ha ha (x4)

## Story Context

The first verse sets the stage for what really happened: Sirius somehow lost control of the car and it "flew head first into the light" of an oncoming vehicle. It happened too quickly—he flew through the windshield and he couldn't be sure any of it happened as he remembered, as if it was just a dream. Yet here he is, outside the door Meri is behind, terrified of facing the truth of what happened. ("Inside this door, all answers wait / So saddle up my steed / Where the lies live way beneath.")

Of course, the result of these actions is the both of them in the hospital (the "mess" he's made) and he knows he's to blame. Before they crashed, Meri tells him that he sacrificed their relationship when he went to the Keywork, and as a result "died." She's moved on, and now he has to accept the consequences of that choice. In hindsight, Sirius recognizes this is true, but Meri might never know how he feels because of the accident.

Back in the second verse, we see what was happening in Sirius mind before the crash. "No time to change my life in the air before" (In the Keywork, Sirius didn't have to think) "Our maximum reach outweighed / Apart, picture-less retreat" (the two cannot grow together anymore; they've reached their maximum potential) "The terror meets the truth, no longer who / We now know what we must do / Shadow-dancing through the roof" (they can't continue on together, so even though it's terrifying, they have to go their separate ways, which can feel like navigating darkness).

In the bridge, we again get Sirius' thoughts about the actual crash, with lines like, "Driver, may I sleep with you tonight?" and "The roar of the engine won't cease / All of my love and heart poured into this car," and "Our lives are one, colliding up and beyond / In this fatal possibility." Then in the second bridge, we see the result of the crash: **Dr. Straight**, a surgeon, ("Enter the master, I am Dr. Straight") and his team work tirelessly to save the pair with the doctor ordering people to do this and that ("Has he forgotten his place? / Bait the hook and let it sink" and "Scalpel, keep that lung in place / Nurse, IV needs refilling / Now watch the brain"). Sirius seems to be responding to treatment and is saved ("Responding quite normal, this life I can save"). However, in the third bridge, Sirius finds out that Meri isn't going to make it. This is the "point where he breaks or conjoins" and he begins the spiral that will lead to another song.

At the climax of the song, we see Sirius is trapped in endless thoughts of all the damaged he's caused ("Caged / Locked in perpetual motion / Carving our wounds wide open / But you let the wrong one in").

It is also important to note that since this song is from Sirius' perspective there may be additional allusion to Meri's miscarriage in the song. The bonus track "Carol Ann" is widely considered to address this aspect.

## Background

Sanchez stated that one of his biggest fears was driving, and could only fear what would happen if he were driving with his wife, only to crash. The worst possible scenario would be if he were to survive while she passed away. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself," he wrote, so he used this feeling to write this song.

## Trivia

* Sanchez plays an 8-string guitar for this track.
* Sanchez said that on this album, this song would be the one he would choose to showcase his talent and progression.

## References

1. ↑ Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *The Afterman: Decension*, Everything Evil Records, 2013.
2. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-gravitys-union-lyrics
3. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ikw5z/i\_am\_claudio\_sanchez\_frontman\_of\_coheed\_cambria/cb5h9qi/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3