"Unheavenly Creatures"

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

Lyrics
[Verse 1] We were young and had it all figured out She was the quiet one and I had the mouth Until she fell to me (Ooh, oh)

We escaped through the alley in the back Judge told me, "Creature, don't you dare go back!" But I couldn't dodge the ringing in my head Her lonely, solemn voice, through the echoes as it said "Please don't leave me here, my love"

[Chorus] Oh, pretty angel, swinging from your cable I fear, my dear, the end is near So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun

Did anybody treat you better? To obey and follow to the letter I fear, my dear, the end is here So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun

[Verse 2] There was something I forgot to tell her then Between the kiss and, "Knock 'em dead, kid" "There will be no other like you" (Oh, oh)

Now I can't keep the guilt from my heart (Ooh) These stuttering emotions keep me fixed to fall apart And I know I'm leaving all this sweat in our bed A broken heart bleeding with a gun to my head

[Chorus] Oh, pretty angel, swinging from your cable I fear, my dear, the end is near So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun

Did anybody treat you better? To obey and follow to the letter I fear, my dear, the end is here So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun

[Bridge] Like a son of a gun A son of a gun The weight of the world on the shoulders, can you feel the thunder? All unheavenly creatures (Oh, oh, all the unheavenly creatures) We're all unheavenly creatures On the way to the car, I heard her voice a little louder "Please don't leave me here, my love"

[Chorus] Oh, pretty angel, swinging from your cable I fear, my dear, the end is near So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun

Did anybody treat you better? To obey and follow to the letter I fear, my dear, the end is here So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun

Oh, pretty angel, swinging from your cable I fear, my dear, the end is near So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun

Did anybody treat you better? To obey and follow to the letter I fear, my dear, the end is here So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun

Music Video
An official music video was released for the single on June 29, 2018. It was directed by P. R. Brown and features uncredited actors reenacting many of Chase Stone's artistic scenes (right).



Story Context
"" This song outlines a key moment in this story. It is a flashback that Nostrand Crane has while still aboard The Gavel before being ejected to the prison planet The Dark Sentencer. In the past, he belonged to a trio of professional thieves who were dubbed by the media as the Unheavenly Creatures. It was made up of himself, under the codename Creature, Nia Worn who used the codename Sister Spider, and Otto Cruger who went by Colossus. The group was originally just himself and Cruger before he developed a relationship with Worn and eventually brought her into the group as well. This is what the first verse's initial lines describe ("We were young and had it all figured out / She was the quiet one and I had the mouth / Until she fell to me." This is also the second time that we hear Crane described as "having a mouth" (ie: being loud, talkative, and maybe even a bit angry or shit-talking). Of course, the latter line may indicate that Worn had some influence over his personality. The second half describes what happens immediately after Nia's death: Cruger, who also went by "The Hanging Judge," tells Nostrand that if he doesn't go with him, he'll kill everyone in the bank, and not wanting to hurt anyone, they escape through a nearby alley. Nostrand couldn't do it without guilt (thus the ringing in his head) and keeps imaging her telling him not to leave her alone.

The chorus is really interesting. It starts with "Oh, pretty angel, swinging from your cable" which is obviously how Nostrand sees Nia, but the cable bit gives the impression that, though he views her in a higher standard than most, he sees through his own bias to the flaws that she definitely has (in other words: an angel is a supernatural being that is arguably better than a human, but a real angel doesn't require anything extra to fly; Nia, though he views her as an angel, DOES because she isn't really an angel; thus a flaw in his logic, but one he clearly accepts). The next few lines ("I fear, my dear, the end is near / So run, run, run, run, run like a son of a gun") offer a view into Nostrand's head upon hearing of her death. How will he go on? How can he leave her? If he's forced to leave, he can at least find out what's happened and why, and maybe he can even join her when he's made things right. "Did anybody treat you better? / To obey and follow to the letter" shows how Nostrand felt like he did everything he could to "treat" her right. This includes doing things he may not think are inherently good (like letting her join their crime ring) but doing so because for her, this was better than being left out, or being lied to. He followed her directive.

In the second verse, we go back to before the heist began. "Knock 'em dead, kid" is a line in the literature and it is indeed proceeded by a kiss, so the lines, "There was something I forgot to tell her then / Between the kiss and, "Knock 'em dead, kid" / "There will be no other like you" (Oh, oh)" shows that Nostrand wanted to tell her before they went into the bank that, "there [would] be no other [person] like [her]." But he didn't know she would die, so in the following lines, he expresses his guilt and overwhelming sorrow. He can't sleep and thinks about killing himself.

In the bridge, we get a highly detailed description of how Nostrand felt being led down the alley at the end of Curger's gun: His feet heavy, like he's carrying all that guilt, and thunder in his ears, drowning out all his other thoughts. He's also super confused. The three of them were supposed to be together, right? No one left behind, and all that, right? But here he is, being forced to leave, and again hearing Nia's cry for him, though it's all in his head.

Trivia

 * This song was added to the music video game Rock Band on September 13, 2018 in their "Season 8 Spotlight Pass" DLC.
 * The title of the song, and thus the group, May have been based on the movie Heavenly Creatures.
 * Most of the lyrics in the bridge are not in the lyric booklet.