"Everything Evil"

Album Art by Bill Scoville.

**"Everything Evil"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the fourth track on their 2002 album *The Second Stage Turbine Blade*. A demo version was released as the fourteenth track on the reissued *Second Stage* album.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

Wait for... everything evil in you comes out

I'll stay when we'll only motivate sound instead, Sergeant

Make for the table, in hopes that I won't be afraid again

Call when enabled, and send the leader out against, I will

Stage a reenactment in a false pretense: Exist, inflict

Unworthy unconsciousness

Why debate when the action's suppressed?

Then kill the acquitted

Listen... to the sounds that remain in question

In hopes they solidify a truce

Amongst the children, and the jury that stands the verdict

Alive, here among the dead

**[Pre-Chorus]**

Evolve, Monstar!

Show me the things I've never wanted done

Evolve, Monstar!

Do to me the things I never wanted done

**[Chorus]**

*(I)* I felt much better than this before

If they find out to avoid

Then the accidents kept hidden away

But if they stay...

**[Verse 2]**

Blood hungry, cannibalistic, unfit family ties

In a series of knocks to the young girl's head side

Come write me a letter, and paste it on my refrigerator door

Inspected inspector, I think we've found something over here

**[Chorus]**

*(I)* I felt much better than this before

If they find out to avoid

Then the accidents kept hidden away

But if they stay...

**[Post-Chorus]**

Jesse!!! Just come look at what your brother did

Here, he did away with me

Jesse, just come look at what your brother did

Here, he did away with me

**[Bridge]**

Stay until Wednesday

And write me a child like letter, pretending

At war here in Thursday

Let's make this our last day at home by the Fence

**[Terminal Climax]**

Would you run? Would you run?

Would you run down past the Fence?

Would you run? Would you run?

Would you run, down past the Fence? *(FBI!)*

And she screamed "Claudio! Dear Claudio!

I wish, God damn it, we'll make it if you believe!" *(FBI!)*

And she screamed "Claudio! Dear Claudio!

I wish, God damn it, we'll make it if you believe!" *(FBI!)*

## Story Context

In this song, we flash forward to Issue 5 where two FBI agents are inspecting the Kilgannon house where the murders took place. They speculate about Coheed's nature and him and Cambria's KBI past (which was twisted by Ryan for his own narrative). Then in the second bit of the first verse, we flash back to just after the pair are taken, and Deftinwolf has given his soldiers the directive to cover up (or stage) the house to get rid of their evidence and make it look to be in their favor. He's gleeful about killing the pair. Of course, in the last bit of the verse, we get another flash back to just before the pair was knocked out where Coheed pleads for understanding: Wasn't Mayo the one who told him to kill? Didn't they save the Fence? He doesn't care.

What happens next is described in the pre-chorus: Coheed, finding no ally in Deftinwolf, becomes enraged and his arm blades manifest as he fights the soldiers. Of course, the virus has nothing to do with this transformation, but Coheed doesn't know that. The chorus is probably how the pair feel, ultimately being sedated and subdued. They also think about their last living child: If Claudio (with Newo) stay where they are (stuck in traffic) they won't come home to find out about the deaths and may even be killed by Deftinwolf or the Army waiting for them.

The second verse is back into the future where the agents are trying to piece together what happened. They speculate what kind of people the Kilgannon parents were, seeing Josephine's state. Of course, flashing back to how Deftinwolf staged things ("Come write me a letter, and paste it on my refrigerator door") they find the evidence to back this up.

In the post-chorus, we get "Jesse, just come look at what your brother did / Here, he did away with me" which is seems to be what Josephine's soul or spirit is screaming in her death: "Uncle Jesse, look at what dad did to me! He bashed my head in!" In the bridge, we have a different kind of message, seemingly still from Josie. "Stay until Wednesday / And write me a childlike letter, pretending / At war here on Thursday / Let's make this our last day at home by the Fence" seems to be something she wants to say to Claudio. As siblings, they play and fight, but are still siblings, and yet now, they are nothing, because of her death.

During the terminal climax, we have the final scene. In the story, Claudio has finally made it home, but finds the gruesome body of Josephine in the kitchen. Shocked, he goes to her and upon touching her, revives her for just a moment. It is during this time that she is able to say just a bit: "Run, Claudio. My dear Claudio." She tells him to run as one of Ryan's own experiments, an Onstantine Priest, is about to attack him. By this point, she's faded back away, but hear what else she wanted to yell: "I wish, God damn it, we'll make it if you believe!" Which foreshadows what is yet to come for our protagonist. And lastly, we have the call of "FBI" which brings us back to where we started: in the future where the agents are now inspecting the house.

## Trivia

* The piano interlude at the end of this song is a recurring piece of music found in other tracks like, "The Hollow", "The Broken", and later in the saga on the tracks "God Send Conspirator", "The Ring in Return", "The Light & the Glass", and "Keeping the Blade".
	+ This sound is meant to convey a change in scene, or to convey a large time gap. In this case, we are switching scenes.
* Lyrics from this song are later reprised on the track "The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth".
* Sanchez said that on this album, this song would be the one he would choose to showcase his talent and progression.

## References

1. ↑ Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *The Second Stage Turbine Blade*, Equal Vision Records, 2002.
2. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-everything-evil-lyrics
3. ↑ 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