"The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth"

Album Art by Christopher Shy.

### Appears on

*Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV - Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness*

### Mastering

Brian Gardner

**"The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the thirteenth song on their 2005 album *Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV - Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness*. This is the third part of The Willing Well song suite, and the second and final part of the Apollo song suite.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

In the worst of all your fears

You have come so far to hear

That in turn, they've showered your name

As the laughing stock

Now by fire, you must hang

As my word holds course through vein

You will walk to the end of days

I'll gravitate towards you

I will, in the now, hate you

Whoa oh, whoa oh

These days are numbered, this close encounter

To the heartland, through the madness

**[Pre-Chorus]**

I'll make you wish you hadn't burned our time, before

I'll live through this, in a manner cursed at my own accord

*(I don't want to go)*

So come on, bitch, why aren't you laughing, now?

*(You left me here to fend on my own)*

So cry on, bitch, why aren't you laughing, now?

**[Verse 2]**

In my presence

You will make sure the fiction meets its fate

That death will grace your face, my dear character

Through these lessons, you have learned

All the worlds, from here, must burn

For as God demands that the end, we miss

**[Pre-Chorus]**

I'll make you wish you hadn't burned our time, before

I'll live through this, in a manner cursed at my own accord

*(I don't want to go)*

So come on, bitch, why aren't you laughing, now?

*(You left me here to fend on my own)*

So cry on, bitch, why aren't you laughing, now?

**[Chorus]**

If my shame spills our worth across this floor

Then tonight, goodnight, I'm Burning Star IV

Only, I don't even think of you

No, I don't wanna think of you... anymore

Goodnight, tonight, goodbye

Goodnight, tonight, goodbye

**[Bridge 1]**

If then, should they come home

With failed attempt, we'll know

I won't leave a stone unturned

These worlds will surely

*(Burn)* Wait, wait...

Wait, wait...

Wait, wait...

Wait, wait...

Wait, wait...

Wait, wait...

But what did I do to...

To deserve all of you?

**[Bridge 2]**

Jesse, bad boy, just come look at what your brother did

To that girl's precious little whore of a body

Jesse, bad boy, just come look at what your brother did

To that girl's precious little whore of a body

Jesse, just come look at what your brother did

To that girl's precious little whore of a body, now

Jesse, just come look at what your brother did

To that girl's precious little whore of a body, now

**[Pre-Chorus]**

I'll make you wish you hadn't burned our time, before

I'll live through this, in a manner cursed at my own accord

*(I don't want to go)*

So come on, bitch, why aren't you laughing, now?

*(You left me here to fend on my own)*

So cry on, bitch, why aren't you laughing, now?

**[Chorus]**

If my shame spills our worth across this floor

Then tonight, goodnight, I'm Burning Star IV

Only, I don't even think of you

No, I don't wanna think of you, anymore

Goodnight, tonight, goodbye

Goodnight, tonight, goodbye

But, I don't wanna think of you

No girl, I don't wanna think of you, anymore

Goodnight, tonight, goodbye

Goodnight, tonight, goodbye

## Story Context

Claudio may have lost Ambellina, but he is not going to accept things just like that. In Verse 1, we get Ryder scolding him; telling him that Ambellina's death was a direct result of his refusal to pick up his destiny and get on with it. He tells him he's become a laughing stock when he's meant to be a strong, menacing figure. And now another loved one is dead because of him. But the second half, Claudio fires back with malice: I might have to follow your directive, but I hate you, and somehow, someway, I will end you for this.

Of course, the Writer is not concerned about Claudio. He is still preoccupied with Erica. In the pre-chorus, Ryder feeds into the idea that these actions will punish Erica and cursed as it may be to be here, in his story, he will proceed. He can still picture the vision Ten Speed showed him of an Erica that takes advantage of his naivety, and laughs behind his back.

In Verse 2, Ryder again address Claudio. More directly, he says, "Burn Star IV," in the comic, though here, he says Claudio will make sure The Fiction meets its fate. This is the final death he will witness. It is death itself that should push Claudio to want to end it anyway, isn't it? Hasn't he seen enough of it already? How has he missed this?

The chorus is actually the same lines and melody as "Apollo I: The Writing Writer", which this song follows up to. In that one, Ryder lived out a fantasy to eliminate Erica, whom he has come to distrust in Ten Speed's visions. But here, he has fulfilled the fantasy by eliminating Ambellina in her stead. In this act, he will manipulate Claudio into burning Star IV and thus destroying Heaven's Fence.

The bridge takes a different, militaristic tone and doesn't seem to fit with the rest of what is going on. It is definitely still from Ryder's perspective, so the question becomes *who*? Who is they? The answer will surely make it clear what the rest of the lines refer to. But it ends with a reprised "What did I do to / To deserve all of you?" taken from "Blood Red Summer". Of course, in that song, it was Claudio who was asking the original question. Ryder modifying it to specifically ask about the characters seems strange. He is suppose to be God, but he wonders why they are in his life?

The second bridge is, of course, a revision of lines in "Everything Evil". Rather than Josephine being the one to demand Jesse come look at what Coheed did to her, it is Ryder demanding he come to her. We can see how his personality has flipped again as he refers to Josie as a whore. Clearly, Josie is not a whore and this certainly is meant to ruffle all the feathers involved.

## Trivia

* Eppard provided the Keyboards.
* In addition to lines, this song uses melodies from "Apollo I: The Writing Writer", "Blood Red Summer", and "Everything Evil".
* According to Sanchez, the simple explanation of this song is: "This is the full-on end, where the Character is coming to the Writer, and the Writer saying to him, 'You are the one, I am your God. In my presence / You will make sure the fiction meets its fate... All the worlds from here must burn.'"

## References

1. ↑ Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV - Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness*, Equal Vision Records, 2005.
2. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-the-willing-well-iii-apollo-ii-the-telling-truth-lyrics
3. ↑ https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2007/10/24/coheed-decoded-coheed-and-cambria-frontman-recaps-his-sci-fi-epic