"21:13"

Album Art by Bill Scoville.

**"21:13"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the twelfth song and twenty-third track on their 2003 album *In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3*. It is preceded by eleven tracks of silence on the original release of the record and album dubbed "A Lot of Nothing" on later issues.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

In our sleep, there's more to this nightmare

Will she beg for your mercy?

Slowly but sure, I'm hoping what comes

In the absence of love

At night, she'll kick and she'll fight

Should they fail in his sight

At night, I'll worry from all

The end of us all

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Please, Mom, they're coming for me!

Please, Mom, run, lock your door, they're coming for me!

**[Verse 2]**

When the clock reads 21:13

All work will stop and the ground will relieve

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Please, Mom, they're coming for me!

Please, Mom, run, lock your door, they're coming for...

**[Chorus]**

When I fall asleep, your face is all I see

Dear Momma, I love

I fall asleep, your face is all I dream

Dear Momma, I love

**[Bridge]**

In your frame, you'll bid this well

In the face you miss the most

You'll see them soon

Stop! I bid you fair warning, stay up until you...

When the memories occur

Of a life you haven't lived

Stay still, you will

And I've got a secret to hide

And I've got a secret to hide

**[Interlude]**

In the words of father to son

Thy kingdom come

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Please, mom, they're coming for me!

Please, mom, run, lock your door, they're coming for...

**[Chorus]**

When I fall asleep, your face is all I see

Dear Momma, I love

I fall asleep, your face is all I dream

Dear Momma, I love

**[Outro]**

In those days we lost our dignity

The eager dare to stand

The ride home through victory

On the innocent, they tread

But IRO-bot will never die

IRO-bot will never die

But IRO-bot will never die

But IRO-bot will never die

## Story Context

We start with lines that kind of give us a glimpse into what happened that morning: "In our sleep, there's more to this nightmare" describes Coheed and Cambria, who are awoken when Coheed has a nightmare. Cambria suspects there's more to it, but can't quite put her finger on it. "Will she beg for your mercy?" describe Josephine and her ultimate fate; death at her father's hands. "Slowly but sure, I'm hoping what comes / In the absence of love" probably describes how Wilhelm Ryan and Mayo Deftinwolf felt and hoped for upon enacting their plan. "At night, she'll kick and she'll fight / Should they fail in his sight / At night, I'll worry from all / The end of us all" is a cry from Coheed. He sees his twins suffer slowly from the poison he tries on them after agreeing that it's the right thing to do with his wife. Still, he mourns the end of his family.

In the pre-chorus, we have "Please, Mom, they're coming for me! / Please, Mom, run, lock your door, they're coming for me!" which is probably spoken by Claudio, who upon coming home and seeing the state of things, runs from the Onstantine Priest.

The second, very short verse is simply, "When the clock reads 21:13 / All work will stop and the ground will relieve" which describes how Coheed, leaving work, meets Deftinwolf at 21:13 (9:13 PM). This is of course the moment Coheed's world ends because he is now sure of the horrible lie Deftinwolf has peddled as truth.

The chorus is also probably Claudio. "When I fall asleep, your face is all I see / Dear Momma, I love / I fall asleep, your face is all I dream / Dear Momma, I love" showing how he continues to toss and turn in his sleep from the horrors of what happened, or at least what he thinks happened.

The bridge almost literally transforms the song. The tone changes and the established lines will see some reprisals. We start with "In your frame, you'll bid this well / In the face you miss the most / You'll see them soon / Stop! I bid you fair warning, stay up until you..." where frame and well probably refer to the Willing Well means these lines may be spoken by a future central character in the next chapter, thus these lines are foreshadow. "When the memories occur / Of a life you haven't lived / Stay still, you will" are also in these same veins. The last line, "And I've got a secret to hide," is probably just the confirmation that these lines are secret (for now), but will come out in the next chapter.

**Hover over for spoiler:**The face Ryder misses the most is Erica Court, and the part "see them soon" refers to Newo and Ambellina, who are created with Erica in mind. He is contemplating killing one or both of them in the story, thus the "fair warning." In the second half, the lines refer to how Claudio begins "seeing" and "experiencing" bits of Ryder's life, before he even enters the Well.

The interlude lines, "In the words of father to son / Thy kingdom come" is another reference to The Crowing being a messiah figure. The father here is actually that previous future central character, and the son, of course, is Claudio. The kingdom to come is the world reborn under The Crowing.

The outro is a short reprisal of "IRO-Bot" and most likely is entirely from Jesse's perspective. "In those days we lost our dignity / The eager dare to stand" probably refers to the moment when they had *actually* captured Ryan, only for him to escape them, embarrassing them. "The ride home through victory / On the innocent, they tread" probably refers to how Ryan has come up completely destroying all in his way, bystanders be damn. And then of course, the iconic line, "But IRO-bot will never die" which, at this time in the story, only real includes Jesse, Chase, and even Sizer, who was officially revived.

## Trivia

* Danny Louis provided Keyboard support.
* The title is actually fan-given as the song was originally a hidden track and didn't have a name.
	+ The line, "When the clock reads 21:13" is the inspiration for the name.
* The melody of the interlude is a reprisal of "Time Consumer" while the outro's melody AND lyrics are a reprisal of "IRO-Bot".
	+ These are both from their previous album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade.

## References

1. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-21-13-lyrics