Annotations for Heaven Help Us

Lyric: Heaven help us now
 Come crashing down
 We’ll hear the sound
 As you fall
Annotation:
The chorus of this song is the patient pleading to be saved from his suffering in hell. The line “come crashing down” is referring to heaven crashing down to hell to save him. The line ‘we’ll hear the sound, as you fall’ is a reference to the devil being a fallen angel. This is also referencing the commonly used metaphor of falling down which is recurrent through many of MCR’s songs, especially demolition lovers.

Lyric: Heaven help us now
 Come crashing down
 We’ll hear the sound
 As you’re falling down
Annotation:
The chorus of this song is the patient pleading to be saved from his suffering in hell. The line “come crashing down” is referring to heaven crashing  down to hell to save him. The first chorus says “  AND hear the sound as you’re falling down” which  is referring to hearing the sounds of the suffering in hell. Notably, this chorus says  WE’LL hear the sound, meaning that the people in hell will hear the sound of heaven crashing down to save them. This is also referencing the commonly used metaphor of falling down which is recurrent through many of MCR’s songs, especially demolition lovers.

Lyric: Heaven help us now
 Come crashing down
 And hear the sound
 As you’re falling down and
Annotation:
The chorus of this song is the patient pleading to be saved from his suffering in hell. The line “come crashing down” is referring to heaven crashing  down to hell to save him. “hear the sound as you’re falling down” is referring to hearing the sounds of the suffering in hell. This is also referencing the commonly used metaphor of falling down which is recurrent through many of MCR’s songs, especially demolition lovers.

Lyric: They say you’ve been pleading
 “Someone, save us!”
Annotation:
My interpretation of this line is that this line is said from god’s perspective, and he says to the patient “they (the demons) say you’ve been pleading someone save us”. This is because the patient now that he is in hell is pleading to be saved.

Lyric: Cover me in gasoline again
Annotation:
In the outro of this song, the patient has given up pleading to be saved. This line is referring to gasoline dousing. Gasoline dousing is where a person is covered in gasoline and then set on fire. By saying this the patient is giving up trying to avoid suffering in hell. He says this line to god, “Cover me in gasoline again”, essentially saying “go on, make me suffer in hell again just like you made me suffer in life”.

Lyric: ’Cause I’ll give you all the nails you need
Annotation:
The outro of this song is where the patient stops pleading to be saved and no longer resists the fact he will be in hell. This line is referring to crucifixions, where a person was executed by nailing them to a cross. By saying “I’ll give you all the nails you need” he is no longer resisting being punished in hell.

Lyric: (So I’m burning, I’m burning, I’m burning, I’m burning again)
Annotation:
The patient is burning in hell. Burning again could be referring to him suffering all over again, just like in his life.

Lyric: And would you pray for me (You don’t know a thing about my sins)
Annotation:
The patient is now desperate to be saved or prayed for, despite doing so many bad things

Lyric: ’Cause I’ll give you all the nails you need
Annotation:
This is a reference to the crucification of Jesus, when he was nailed to the cross. The entire song has obvious religions themes as the speaker fluctuates between feeling as if he’s damned (“you don’t know a thing about my sins”) and wondering if he’s worthy (“…make a saint of me”). Likewise, Jesus was condemned by those who crucified him, but was ultimately viewed as the son of God.

Lyric: ’Cause mostly, I’ve been sprawled on these cathedral steps
 While spitting out the blood and screaming
 “Someone, save us!”
Annotation:
This could be a callback to vampire will never hurt you. In the song “Vampires” the protagonist is transforming into a vampire. To stop this transformation he pleads someone to take him to a church (cathedral) . Most likely he is in pain(considering the transformation)

Lyric: Your voice
 I hear you’ve been bleeding
 Make your choice,
Annotation:
He is likely talking to someone he is very depressed and suicidal. Down your voice is telling the person to be quiet. Often when someone is depressed they choose to hide their depression from other people so they stay quiet about it and hide their emotions. I hear you’ve been bleeding could refer to self harm. He hears this person is harming themselves because of this depression. Their choice could refer to to suicide. Make the choice to live or die. Another possibility of make your choice could be the patient talking to God telling him to make his choice weather to send the patient to heaven or hell. This is also talked about in House of Wolves.

Lyric: Wipe away those tears of blood again
Annotation:
The protagonist believes the only way he can forget what he has done and cease to suffer emotionally is to pay the price (being crucified and/or burned alive).

Lyric: And maybe all of the above
Annotation:
The writer is beginning to lose his composure, and his fate starts to become more clear and vivid in his mind. He was not a holy child, therefore he must be punished. He’s done all of the things listed above, though he’s going ballistic and can’t seem to remember everything that’s going on.

Lyric: And the punchline to the joke is asking
 “Someone, save us!”
Annotation:
The protagonist recognizes that humanity as a whole does not have the credibility to request salvation of any sort.  He simply believes that  we do not deserve to be saved. This line is a continuation of the following lyric from the song  Dead!, the second track off of the record: If life ain’t just a joke, then why are we laughing? The patient insists to himself that life isn’t worth taking seriously.  He now expands on that by stating that  we aren’t worth taking seriously, resulting in the conclusion that the world is quite literally damned unless heaven were to help it.

Lyric: Or waiting
 For the man to call
Annotation:
“The man who calls” could be a metaphor for God. The patient is waiting for his death and to be judged for his sins, and as he believes in  “House of Wolves” to be sent to hell.

Lyric: Hear the sound
 The angels come screaming
 Down
Annotation:
This lyric presents a really disturbing image, as angels are usually elegant and beautiful. Thinking of them screaming in distress seems almost contradictory. This further supports the chorus' remark pleading that Heaven “come crashing down.”

Lyric: Out this old hotel
 But I can’t tell if I’ve been breathing or sleeping, or screaming,
Annotation:
The old hotel could very well be the Paramour Mansion, an estate where the band stayed while in California and the inspiration for the song  “Sleep” Since Way uses sleep as a symbol for death throughout this album, it is likely this is just another way of saying he doesn’t know if he is dead or alive.

