"Toys"

Album Art by Chase Stone.

## Music Video

Official Music Video on YouTube

**"Toys"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the fourth song on their 2018 album *Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures*.

## Lyrics

**[Intro]**

We can't dwell on what could've been

All apologies

The road that stretches out is calling us to find our way back home

Oh, you said it yourself... you said it yourself

*(Ah)*

**[Verse 1]**

I know I'm hard to stomach

But we need to move and get out of here

Before this joint erupts

And anywhere we go, we'll feel stuck

Oh, what you want from me is not impossible

Just give me some time to figure a way out of this mess

For you and me, and I will... I will

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Oh, you said it yourself, you said it yourself

What you said, when you said what you need from me

**[Chorus]**

All apologies won't make things right for you tonight

Oh, can't you see, as you drag me, I'm your favorite toy?

I'm so sorry but make up your mind, we're out of time

Oh, mama, please, I'm on my knees, I'm your favorite boy

**[Verse 2]**

Now it's hard for me to come clean and I'll tell you why

I'm too damn ashamed, too damn ashamed

Did you miss me? Don't you lie

See I told you so

Your broken heart is all my fault

There's no room to disguise

Oh, don't you cry, don't you cry

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Oh, you said it yourself, you said it yourself

What you said, when you said what you need from me

**[Chorus]**

All apologies won't make things right for you tonight

Oh, can't you see you're dragging me? I'm your favorite toy

I'm so sorry but make up your mind, we're out of time

Oh, mama, please, I'm on my knees, I'm your favorite boy

**[Bridge]**

Your favorite boy, your favorite boy

Your favorite boy, your favorite boy

Your favorite boy, your favorite boy

Oh, now

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Oh, you said it yourself, you said it yourself

What you said, when you said what you need from me

**[Chorus]**

Oh, all apologies won't make things right for you tonight

Oh, can't you see you're dragging me? I'm your favorite toy

I'm so sorry but make up your mind, we're out of time

Oh, mama, please, I'm on my knees, I'm your favorite boy

## Music Video

An official music video was released for this song on December 12, 2019. It was directed and produced by Alek Wasilewski, a Polish-based animator who style was influenced by old Flash Animation.

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## Story Context

This song takes place in the middle of the story where Nostrand has ended up in Zero Level where Nia rules as the Glass Widow. By this time, she has already been told by the Warden that the planet will soon die and probably explode as a result. She also gets the impression that she will be left behind on the dying planet, instead of being let go at the end of her service, since no details about when that service might last have been set, or at least conveyed to her.

To begin in the intro, Nia has carefully whisked Nostrand away in secret to reveal the situation to him. She has given no indication that she's forgiven him and explicitly said she *doesn't* want to talk, even though Nostrand tries to apologize. She does make it clear she wants to get off the planet in one piece and needs him to do it.

In the first verse, the very first line is something Nostrand says to her upon accepting her mission. The rest of the lines are very much inline (no pun intended) with the situation from his perspective. Likewise, the pre-chorus and chorus echo his sentiments. The line, "What you said, when you said what you need from me" helps us understand what Nia may have said that he's fixed on: chiefly, "I need you to listen without trying to speak," and proceeds to ask for his help getting off planet. He just wants to beg her forgiveness and get straight to them being at least okay again, but she doesn't need that from him at this moment, so he's acting like a simple toy that can't speak and goes along with its user.

The second verse is really interesting because we get what seems to be one side of a conversation. The lines, "Now it's hard for me to come clean and I'll tell you why / I'm too damn ashamed" doesn't refer to the current situation since, clearly, it's not hard for Nostrand to come clean about his faults—if anything, he's *too* eager to admit the problem and for the pair to get back on track. No, these lines actually refer to another flashback in which we discover that though Nos and Nia love each other, Nos didn't tell her about his thieving because he was ashamed of it. "Did you miss me? Don't you lie / Oh, I told you so" describes how she ultimately came back and told him that he can't lie to her anymore and that she wanted to be apart of his gang. And as the last line describes ("Your broken heart is all my fault / There's no room to disguise / Oh, don't you cry") he recognizes and admits that his lies hurt her, and wants to make up for it. And this, of course, parallels the current circumstances.

## Trivia

* Though there is an official music video for this song, it is not an official single and the video features a Christmas theme, rather than anything to do with the story.

## References

1. ↑ Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures*, RoadRunner Records, 2018.
2. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-toys-lyrics
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e19AZhSwyCs
4. ↑ http://smile-studios.com/?portfolio=coheed-and-cambria-toys-an-unheavenly-christmas-carol