"Time Consumer"

Album Art by Bill Scoville.

**"Time Consumer"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the second track on their 2002 album *The Second Stage Turbine Blade*.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

The young stale memories of, play the role to your part

Librarian, find me the pole, the one that kicks your head in

With my own time, roll your own innocence by

Grab on to my sleeve, the one that grabs at your ankle

Debate to understand that we all have a flaw

Then fail to represent your life as you know it

God grant you one wish, to turn back the time

Correct and create... *(Making sense of...)*

**[Chorus]**

Me and my star, Matthew, goodnight

You know by law, when you'll be forgiven

Maria my star, Matthew, goodnight

You know my Lord, when you'll be forgiven

**[Verse 2]**

So they pulled your confidence down

With those verbal discrepancies

Now and then, you'll gain what they've lost

Through a challenge of unpronounced

Pain is only a pulse

If you just stop feeling it

You might be able to use

The very things that makes us up

**[Chorus]**

Me and my star, Matthew, goodnight

You know by Lord, when you'll be forgiven

Maria my star, Matthew, goodnight

You know my Lord

**[Bridge]**

Wait now, here, when will you believe? Me,

I'm merely asking you to help me, when did I say to murder?

Wait now, here, please hear me out

Time consumer, time consuming, consume me

*(Down and out, now)*

**[Chorus]**

Me and my star, Matthew, goodnight

You know by law, when you'll be forgiven

Maria my star, Matthew, goodnight

You know my Lord, when you'll be forgiven

You know, goodnight

And I'll promise you that

You know, goodnight

And I'll promise you that

## Story Context

This song is from Coheed Kilgannon's perspective. He has been told of the events he no longer has memories of by Mayo Deftinwolf who caught him as he left his night shift job as an engineer. The events, however, are twisted to fit Wilhelm Ryan's narrative: Leonard Hohenberger was a terrorist who created KBI to cause chaos and destruction. He is told of the Monstar Virus that inhabits his veins, but this truth is also twisted: he's passed this virus to his children, and it has morphed into the Sinstar virus, which, if given the opportunity to mature, will destroy the entirety of Heaven's Fence. He faces an impossible choice: Kill his children himself, in a gentle and loving manner, or wait for the United Red Army to come and experiment and dispose of them how they see fit.

For Coheed, these "truths" are like a kick to face ("Librarian, find me the pole, the one that kicks your head in"). He goes home to his wife, Cambria and she "somehow" already knows. The two have a difficult conversation where they agree it's better for them to do the deed ("Debate to understand that we all have a flaw") and afterward, they'll kill themselves too. The lines "God grant you one wish, to turn back the time / Correct and create, making sense of..." foreshadow how Coheed feels after feeding his youngest (Matthew and Maria) a poison which was supposed to kill them quickly but doesn't. They suffer so much that he can't bring himself to use it again. Of course, this is what the chorus is also about.

The second verse could be describing what happens with Josephine when she arrives home: "So they pulled your confidence down" and "Through a challenge of unpronounced" which seems to be referring to the ordeal she went through before arriving. Because the poison was horrible to experience, Coheed is reluctant to use it again, instead wanting to end things quickly. The lines, "Pain is only a pulse / If you just stop feeling it" could be referring to this. Of course, to do this, he uses a hammer to bash her skull in and she dies instantly.

Lastly, in the bridge, we have "Wait now, here, when will you believe?" and "Me, I'm merely asking you to help me, when did I say to murder?" The first line is definitely from Coheed, but the second is spoken by Mayo Deftinwolf who shows up and takes the pair into custody. Of course, the pair are furious and Coheed even summons his arm blades to kill some of the soldiers, but they are ultimately apprehended before Claudio returns.

## Trivia

* Dr. Know played additional guitar.
* The opening of this track is reprised on the song "21:13".
* The ending of this track is reprised on "Junesong Provision".

## References

1. ↑ Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *The Second Stage Turbine Blade*, Equal Vision Records, 2002.
2. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-time-consumer-lyrics