"Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant"

Art by Nathan Spoor.

**"Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant"** is a song by the American rock band Coheed and Cambria. It is the second track on their 2013 album *The Afterman: Descension*. A demo version of the song was released on *The Afterman: Descension* (Big Beige Demos) album and a live version was released on *The Afterman*: Live.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

Believer

Your spotlights on the subject, so incorrect

And suggestion

Suggests that I am someone who you should not respect

Oh, you wear your façade so well

Covered up in a plastic shell

You're a liar to everyone around you

Just don't forget

**[Chorus]**

Face the honest truth, you were never you

Now, be defiant, the lion

Give them a fight that will open their eyes

Hangman hooded, softly swinging

Don't close the coffin yet... I'm alive!

And it's homecoming

And it's homecoming

**[Verse 2]**

Can you remember?

When there was no wrong in what I could do

So young

Biting off way more than I could chew

And then one day, I grew too old

And my cares were now theirs to mold

Please accept this as my resignation

It's time to go

**[Chorus]**

Face the honest truth, you were never you

Now, be defiant, the lion

Give them a fight that will open their eyes

Hangman hooded, softly swinging

Don't close the coffin yet... I'm alive!

Oh, I'm alive!

**[Bridge]**

I will now bleed for what I believe in

No more mistakes for them to make for me

So goodbye, it's my time to be

To be me

To be...

**[Chorus]**

Face the honest truth, you were never you

Now, be defiant, the lion

Give them a fight that will open their eyes

Hangman hooded, softly swinging

Don't close the coffin yet... I'm alive!

I'm alive!

I'm alive!

I'm alive!

**[Spoken]**

All Mother: "Connection to principle craft has been lost. Attempt to reconnect in 3, 2, 1... connection failed. Recalculating navigation via secondary mobile apparatus. Estimated speed: a falling rate of 263 knots. Rate of survival: 33%."

Sirius: "How long have we been away?"

All Mother: "Approximate calculation: 547 days. Sirius, do you still want to go home?"

## Story Context

Sentry hears Evagria's cry and bursts on the scene, quickly coming between Sirius and the malicious entities. Possessing Sirius, he restores his vitals and shows him his own life story.

Sentry was a Sergeant Major under Vic in the army. He quickly rose through the ranks with hard work and a proper moral compass. Jealous, Vic calls him into his private quarters to give him a secret order to bomb an enemy building. Sentry defies this order, and Vic has him hung. Of course, the line, "Oh, you wear your façade so well" and "You're a liar to everyone around you" refer to Sentry knowing Vic's true nature.

In the chorus, Sentry, in the Keywork, confronts Vic's soul. "Face the honest truth, you were never you" referencing how fake and deceptive Vic was while alive. Sentry tells himself, "Now, be defiant, the lion" as a sort of pep talk, and follows it up with "Give them a fight that will open their eyes" referencing his determination to tell the higher ups of Vic's crimes and being prepared to face resistance. Then we get the result of this: Vic intercepts him and hangs him in secret. "Hangman hooded, softly swinging / Don't close the coffin yet, I'm alive" with the last line referencing being in the Keywork; his soul will not rest until he can bring Vic to justice. That's why we get the "And it's homecoming!" line; the two are back where they started.

In the second verse, Sentry is talking to his family and friends, who upon his initial death, believed he had committed suicide. He says, "Can you remember / When there was no wrong in what I can do? / So young / Biting off way more than I could chew" referring to his ambition as a soldier and his high principles that got him where he was.

But the following stanza explains how he bit off more than he could chew, sticking his neck in Vic's business ("And then one day, I grew too old / And my cares were now theirs to mold / Please accept this as my resignation / It's time to go") and ultimately "resigned" by suicide. Although, we know that Vic orchestrated (or molded) his death to look like a suicide.

In the bridge, we again are back in the Keywork with a fist fight between the two and we get Sentry's determination to bring Vic to justice, even if it costs him everything; even broken and bleeding. Why? Because it's in his nature. ("To be me...") At this point, it's not covered in the song, but Sirius convinces Sentry to let go of everything. He tells him he will be doomed to continue to relive these moments over and over and that what's happened is passed now. This resonates with Sentry and he is able to cross over to the Samaritaine—Utopia.

As the song fades out, we hear All Mother. With Evagria's help, Sirius is now free of Keywork. Without it to interfere, she tries to connect back to the Meriwell. The ship is gone, and being unable to connect, sets a course for him to return with just his suit as protection. The calculated survival rate isn't very good: just 33%. Tired and aching, Sirius asks how long its been since they've been away. The answer: nearly a year and a half. So she asks: "Do you still want to go home?"

## Background

Sanchez explains that the inspiration for this song came from a spat he had with a member of his own team. He wrote, "It's a reflection of what we, as a band create and how frustrating it was to have a person who believes in this thing we do as much as anyone, start to question whether what I was writing at the moment was good enough." He didn't have the sort of malice Sentry has with Vic in the song, but the core idea is believing you're on the same page as your team, when in reality, there is a disconnect.

## References

1. ↑ Coheed and Cambria. Booklet. *The Afterman: Decension*, Everything Evil Records, 2013.
2. ↑ https://genius.com/Coheed-and-cambria-key-entity-extraction-v-sentry-the-defiant-lyrics