"The Camper Velourium I: Faint of Hearts"

Album Art by Bill Scoville.

**"The Camper Velourium I: Faint of Hearts"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the seventh track on their 2003 album *In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3*. It is the first song in the "Camper Velourium" suite of songs. This suite is the first suite the band ever formulated.

## Lyrics

**[Intro]**

*(Koo koo ka-choo!)*

**[Verse 1]**

With the worries that I'd give her in

They told the worst of me

My wanting just to hold your neck in my arms

And feel me squeeze

No, I'm not gonna give you what you want

So if you please

The sin that shapes your voice carries my ears

This new disease

**[Chorus]**

Did somebody take your tongue?

In worries of the words that you couldn't say

If they could've saved them from

But I don't wanna sleep without...

So I bid to you, goodnight

Tonight, sleep tight, my love

**[Verse 2]**

The anxious through the calming storm

You'll sit as you pray for rain

I'll touch it if you ask me to

But how is up to you

No, I'm not gonna let you get up

If you struggle willingly

I'll favor all your form to show you

How it's been done to me

**[Chorus]**

Did somebody take your tongue?

In worries of the words that you couldn't say

If they could've saved them from

But I don't wanna sleep without...

So I bid to you, goodnight

Tonight, sleep tight, my love

**[Post-Chorus]**

With all the words you save

You'll save

**[Interlude]**

You were so well behaved

As you arched and made your way

This gift for you engraved

The shift as you stretch your legs

You were so well behaved

You were so well

Who taught these tricks that make...

You were so well behaved

**[Bridge]**

If the world stops turning, girl

You better not stop when I say

If there was nothing you could do to stop it

Why'd you try?

Then the ground stops parting

Through the silence, as you woke up the dead

Everything here dies, alone

**[Pre-Chorus]**

But I'm not quite sure

What you've been told... on Labor Day

Oh, I'm not starting with you

But the faint of hearts *(while worries wait)*

But I'm not quite sure

What this unfolds... on Labor Day

Oh, I'm not starting with you

But the faint of hearts

**[Chorus]**

Did somebody take your tongue?

In worries of the words that you couldn't say

If they could've saved them from

*(With all the words you say)*

But I don't wanna sleep without...

So I bid to you, goodnight

Tonight, sleep tight, my love

With all the words you say

Did somebody take your tongue? *(No, no)*

In worries of the words that you couldn't say

If they couldn't save them from

*(With all the words you say)*

But I don't wanna sleep without it

So I bid to you, goodnight

Tonight, sleep tight, my love

## Story Context

This song is entirely about Al the Killer. He is presented in Issue 1 and makes appearances throughout the arc as he lives in Godder Damm. To start the song, we get seeming gibberish. Now, considering the song subtitle of "Faint of Hearts" which refers to a bar both Al and Claudio frequents, it seems plausible that this "gibberish" is meant to emulate the atmosphere of said bar. As the first of three songs about Al, this song is meant to set up his character—who is he? What does he do? What is he about?

We kind of get some answers in the first verse; exploring his background. "With the worries that I'd give her in / They told the worst of me" refers to his previous girlfriend, Luci. Al constantly terrorized her (the worries he gave her) and it got to the point that she broke up with him (because she though the worst of him). "My wanting just to hold your neck in my arms / And feel me squeeze" is exactly how he felt at her rejection, but it was only a "want"—he didn't actually do this. "No, I'm not gonna give you what you want / So if you please" shows that he isn't going to leave her alone as she wants. "The sin that shapes your voice carries my ears / This new disease" where her "sin" is the rejection of him becomes a disease he can't cure.

In the chorus, we shift gears a little. Now, in the present, Al who is charismatic and successful, continues to hook up with women who share characteristics Luci had (white skin, thin, strawberry blonde; mostly white though). So the lines, "Did somebody take your tongue? / In worries of the words that you couldn't say / If they could've saved them from" refer to how he feels taking these girls in lieu of Luci. She can't say anything, because she's not there, so he wonders what she would say. Could anything she says save them from their fate? "But I don't wanna sleep without... / So I bid to you, goodnight / Tonight, sleep tight, my love" he dismisses this what-if scenario, letting it be blown away like dandelion in the wind because he has a need that is more important... which we'll discover later.

In verse 2 we get "The anxious through the calming storm / You'll sit as you pray for rain" which could take the perspective of Al's victims who don't know what he's going to do until it's too late. "I'll touch it if you ask me to / But how is up to you" is probably a show of his delusion—that the women *want* this, when they definitely don't. "No, I'm not gonna let you get up / If you struggle willingly" may reference the fact that he drugs he's victims. "I'll favor all your form to show you / How it's been done to me" is a very interesting line. We aren't told explicitly why Al kills, just the inference that it's with regards to his ex, as he calls any women he hooks up with by her name. But this line seems to imply that he does it as a way for them, as her substitute, to feel how she hurt him. We see the bodies with stomachs, hearts, and various bits of their face missing.

In the interlude, we get a glimpse of exactly how Luci left. "You were so well behaved / As you watched and made your way" is probably him stalking her. She's minding her own business, probably on her way to work, and so, of course she's calm and collected (well behaved). "This gift for you engraved / The shift as you stretch your legs" probably refers to the moment he scared her by hiding in her closet as she came out of the bathroom. She ends us kicking him in the crotch, which she would have to shift and stretch her legs to do. The kick was her gift that she engraved in his crotch. Of course, even after being clearly told why they aren't together anymore, Al doesn't get it, and keeps wondering why she's misbehaved against him, and who influenced her in the subsequent lines.

The bridge shifts gears again. We start with, "If the world stops turning, girl / You better not stop when I say" which seems to bring us to a glimpse of Al's future. It's followed by "If there was nothing you could do to stop it / Why'd you try?" For context, our heroes fly to House Atlantic on Al's ship, Ambellina stumbles into Al's frozen locker where he keeps the bodies of his victims in varying states of decay, and he knocks her out when she protests. It ends with, "Then the ground stops parting / Through the silence, as you woke up the dead / Everything here dies, alone" where he is satisfied that Ambellina will join his locker, which was his goal from the beginning.

Winding down, we go back to the present. Al's in the bar, The Faint of Hearts, as people celebrate Wilhelm Ryan's capture, like it's a holiday. "But I'm not quite sure / What you've been told, on Labor Day" implies that he doesn't find much joy in the event, but rather indifference. "Oh, I'm not starting with you / But the faint of hearts, while worries wait" means this is probably after where Claudio is trying to bet all his money on getting a ride off planet. There is a slight reprise in the next section where "What you've been told" becomes "What this unfolds" which is definitely meant to be a hint that there is a lot more to come from Al. The last line of the final chorus also has a minor reprisal with the line "my love" becoming "my gun." This is not meant to be a literal reference to an actual gun, but rather that his fond memories of Luci, his love, has become a gun that spurs his actions on. What he feels for Luci is no longer love, but hate and violence.

## Trivia

* The code name for this track in development was just "Funky".
	+ A number of interesting line changes were made: In verse 1, "They told the worst of me / My wanting just to hold your neck in my arms / And feel me squeeze" was "She told the worst of me / My wanting just to hold her neck in my arms / And feel her breathe" and in verse 2, "I'll favor all your form to show you / How it's been done to me" was "I'll savor all your form to show you / How and where I bleed." In the chorus, the line "If they could've saved them from" was "But you could've saved them from" and there was no post chorus. In the interlude, "This gift for you engraved" was "A kiss for you engraved" and in the bridge, If there was nothing you could do to stop it / Why'd you try?" was "And there ain't nothing you can do to cut me / Cut me down."
* "The Camper Velourium" Suite of Songs has also be credited as "The Velourium Camper" in some instances.
* The line, "Koo koo ka-choo" is spoken over a melody that seems to be a nod to The Beatles' song "I Am The Walrus".

## References

1. ↑ Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3*, Equal Vision Records, 2003.
2. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-the-camper-velourium-i-faint-of-hearts-lyrics
3. ↑ https://archive.org/details/CoheedAndCambriaIKSSE3DemoCassette/07.+Funky.flac