"The Light & the Glass"

Album Art by Bill Scoville.

**"The Light & the Glass"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the eleventh track on their 2003 album *In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3*.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

Slowly, the pen touches paper

In the guidance of the words that you write

Memories roll in of the things you once did

And who you had shared them with

Is somebody thinking of you

Did I bother telling you this

With the words that cross teeth and jump lips?

A poor choice of words in wanting to tell you anything

But words don't come with ease

They're forever my hurt

Would it really matter

If you were to count the days left with your hands?

Your focus secure and the loves you left well

Smiles staged in photographs

Here until...

You, you left the light on

There's a chance I might have tripped, girl

You were there to hold on

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Ignoring the words of your obnoxious little brother

"Kill or be killed", spilled the words from your mother

I'll lay awake for a while

I'll leave the light on a while

**[Chorus]**

But you couldn't last a lifetime

Caught between here and the days of it

Carving her name across your arm

With every wish, it's hit or miss her

I told you so

I measure distance in lines

Departing the rest of my life

**[Post-Chorus]**

But you, you, you

You had better things to do

But you, you, you

You had better things to do

**[Interlude]**

Liar, liar, liar, liar

Liar, liar, liar, liar

Liar, liar, liar, lie away

Liar, liar, liar, liar

Liar, liar, liar, liar

Liar, liar, liar, lie away

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Ignoring the words of your obnoxious little brother

"Kill or be killed," spilled the words from your mother

I'll lay awake for a while

I'll leave the light on a while

**[Chorus]**

But you couldn't last a lifetime

Caught between here and the days of it

Carving her name across your arm

With every wish, it's hit or miss her

I told you so

I measure distance in lines

Departing the rest of my life

**[Bridge]**

If you'd get put to sleep

Like an old dog, you're better off

Should you'd get put to sleep

I've been cautious with the words I extend

Allow this year before the world starts to end

**[Chorus]**

"Your father's dead, he passed in his sleep"

And I woke to the sounds of her crying

"Your father's dead, he passed in his sleep"

And I woke to the sounds of her crying

"Your father's dead, he passed in his sleep"

And I woke to the sounds of her crying

"Your father's dead, he passed in his sleep"

**[Refrain]**
Pray for us all, pray for us all

Pray for us all, pray for us all

## Story Context

This song seems to split events again. It seems to start from Newo's perspective in the first verse. "Slowly, the pen touches paper / In the guidance of the words that you write / Memories roll in of the things you once did / And who you had shared them with / Is somebody thinking of you." It seems she's finally read the letter Claudio left her and she intends to write him back, even though she has no where to send it. She takes his words at face-value and thinks it's a suicide note. "Did I bother telling you this / With the words that cross teeth and jump lips? / A poor choice of words in wanting to tell you anything / But words don't come with ease / They're forever my hurt" implies that she feels regret at their parting. There were things left unsaid and undone. And this regret will haunt her. "Would it really matter / If you were to count the days left with your hands? / Your focus secure on the loves you left well / Smiles staged in photographs / Here until..." is her trying to accept that if he had stayed, it wouldn't have ultimately mattered. He never let on that there were issues (because there really weren't) and he always posed as happy for her. It closes with a slight shift: "You, you left the light on / There's a chance I might have tripped, girl / But you were there to hold on" is what she thinks Claudio might have said if she had been able to stop and confront him. She would have been a beacon of hope for him, and when he stumbled, she would be there to keep him up.

The pre-chorus is similar to that last part. "Ignoring the words of your obnoxious little brother / "Kill or be killed", spilled the words from your mother / I'll lay awake for a while / I'll leave the light on a while." Newo considers Claudio's family: she heard about the murders and she's trying to make sense of it. His younger siblings, Matthew and Maria, were as all little kids are: loud and obnoxious. His mother may have even said something cryptic and ominous like "Kill or be killed" perhaps in response to him being picked on at school. This back and forth analysis keeps her awake. And ultimately she still thinks about Claudio, and wants to be that beacon.

The chorus switches to another person with a chip on their heart: Jesse Kilgannon who has lost his beloved. "But you couldn't last a lifetime / Caught between here and the days of it / Carving her name across your arm." Jesse is an IRO-bot who can live forever, but he feels like he's coming apart. The war is further driving a rift between his mind and heart. He can't forget or let go of her, as though her name is carved on his skin. "With every wish, it's hit or miss her / I told you so / I measure distance in lines / Departing the rest of my life," shows how he pines for her, and is lost without her.

The post-chorus is his way of rationalizing what happened: "But you, you, you / You had better things to do / But you, you, you / You had better things to do." Mariah was the leader of the rebellion, and a mage. She couldn't stay safe on the sidelines, she had to be in the front, as she was when she died. But part of him resents it all the same.

Of course, the interlude is just, "Liar, liar, liar, liar / Liar, liar, liar, liar / Liar, liar, liar, lie away." Who has lied? Claudio and Mariah have both "lied" to their significant others in a way. Claudio isn't dead, even though he's lead Newo to believe that. Mariah told Jesse, "Forever" and made many promises about them and the war, but then died.

The bridge yet again takes a different route: "If you'd get put to sleep / Like an old dog, you're better off / If you'd get put to sleep," seems to come from Wilhelm Ryan to Jesse. And then even stranger: "I've been cautious with the words I extend / Allow this year before the world starts to end" which seems to come from somewhere else entirely.

Then we get an entirely different chorus. "'Your father's dead, he passed in his sleep' / And I woke to the sounds of her crying" is repeated before its cut off. This line is very strange because there is no character's father who has died in their sleep, or one who has woke up to the mother crying. Is this a character we have yet to see? Or is it a character we know, but this is a scenario we are as yet unaware of?

It bleeds into the refrain which closes the song. A repeating "Pray for us all" sung in a haunting manner. Religion isn't a big part of *The Amory Wars*, but there are pseudo-religious elements like The Ghansgraad, The Crowing, and so forth. Most characters, even those in roles The Ghansgraad sets are also not religious and typically believe reluctantly. It's hard to imagine who could be saying this. Is it the same one as before?

## Trivia

* Danny Louis provided Keyboard support, and Uncle Birmy’s Dirty Foot Choir did the choir parts.
* The code name for this track in development was just "Stairway to Heaven II".
	+ A few line changes were made: "Carving her name across your arm" was "Carving words that stain your arm." And "I measure distance in lines / Departing the rest of my life" was "I measure distance in time / Discarding the rest of my life."
* A Piano Interlude plays towards the end.
* Interestingly, the line, "Kill or be killed," is spoken by Claudio Kilgannon in Issue 12 of *The Amory Wars: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3* to Al the Killer shortly after he took control of his mind—a power unlocked with the help of his mother, somehow.
* Sanchez said that on this album, this song would be the one he would choose to showcase his talent and progression.
* It was suggested by Bitner and Birnbaum of Applehead Recording that a music video should be made for this song. Sanchez recounted that every time he plays the song, he can't help but recall how they suggested they dress in colonial attire and be filmed in various colonial areas. Eppard mentioned that if he recalled correctly, they wanted him to be in a dungeon, to which Stever replied, "That probably shows you what they thought of us."
* The lyric booklet includes the line "My dearest Apollo I'll be burning Star 4" after the last line.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3*, Equal Vision Records, 2003.
2. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-the-light-and-the-glass-lyrics
3. ↑ https://archive.org/details/CoheedAndCambriaIKSSE3DemoCassette/05.+Stairway+to+Heaven+II.flac
4. ↑ Sanchez, Claudio and Peter David. *The Amory Wars: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3*. Issue 12. Evil Ink, 2012.
5. ↑ 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
6. ↑ Sanchez, Claudio. “Indoor Show #2.” 27 October 2021. S.S. Neverender I, Norwegian Gem Stardust Theater, Deck 6-7.