Escapist

This is basically summing up Tuomas as a person. There are references to The Dark Tower series which Tuomas has always loved, and there are also popular references of the Dead Boy and dying children, ie Tuomas becoming an adult and leaving his tranquil childhood behind, and also a slightly more subtle on-going reference to the Owl, ie a huge reference to the natural beauty Tuomas has been exposed to throughout his life. The Clayborn family were known for emmigrating to The New World, so "Clayborn Voyage without an end" is saying that the voyage represents Tuomas always present in his fantasy world and never going back to reality. Apparently the male nightingale sings the most rather than the female. While Tuomas has never thought of himself as a singer, composing his songs to him is singing, so this fits perfectly in that Tuomas is the nightingale.

Personally I Love the use of symbolizim in Nightwish lyrics, after reading many of the interpritations and along with many of my own thoughts, this is what I feel the message behind the music is.

Who's there knocking at my window? The Owl and the Dead Boy This night whispers my name All the dying children

= When it says that 'this night wispers my name, all the dying children' I believe that it is trying to say that the voices of suffering has called his attention and are begging to be recognized or pointed out. The owl and the dead boy may be a contrasting refrence to innocence and wisdom that together mean something like "the wisdom of ones childhood."

Virgin snow beneath my feet Painting the world in white I tread the way and lose myself into a tale

= This could be describing the world how a child may see it. Pure and perfect. The person ventures into this new and stainless world and has marked their own way into a story, or being the master of their own fate.

Come hell or high water My search will go on Clayborn Voyage without an end

= Here what it seems to say is that no matter what, this person will persist in their desire to loose theirself in this wonderful world that they have found, not limited my any earthly lmitations.

A nightingale in a golden cage That's me locked inside reality's maze Come someone make my heavy heart light Come undone bring me back to life It all starts with a lullaby

=The nightengale could be a reprisentation of Tuomas himself being trapped in something that is beautiful on the out side and all of those that see him are like those who look at a bird in a cage, they think more of the bird's beauty instead of its condition, the bird must feel that it is imprisoned and traped within something that it could not escape.

Journey homeward bound A sound of a dolphin calling Tearing off the mask of man The Tower my sole guide This is who I am Escapist, paradise seeker Farewell now time to fly Out of sight, out of time, away from all lies

= This is the decision tha this person has made to 'dare to dream' I guess one could say. They have shed off what they may have been before to try to escape the hauntings of reality. The desire they have is to simply Escape from it all "out of sight ut of time, away from all lies."

A nightingale in a golden cage That's me locked inside reality's maze Come someone make my heavy heart light Come undone bring me back to life It all starts with a lullaby

=I like the way t ends "and it all starts whith a lullaby" This seems to say that this "escapist's" journy startes with a lullaby . So really I think this song is about being able to escape this world by dreaming and the desire to stay there forever. That is my take on the song, I am totally up for feedback on this one.

This song is available on the Japanese release of DPP, as well as the Nuclear Blast limited gold box set. I've heard it will also be available on the Bye Bye Beautiful single.

Such a shame it didn't make the album though? It's an excellent song. I'm thinking the chorus might be about the inevitability of death (Nightingale reference suggests death, and the following line suggests the inevitability), and how love can distract you from this. Then again it is Nightwish so getting a clear cut meaning from the lyrics is near-impossible.

I think, to figure out what this song is about, the first thing one will have to do is to find out what an escapist is: Answer from Google: "a person who escapes into a world of fantasy" I think this fits well with the rest of the song. Many of the songs Tuomas has written is about fairytales and mysteries, and this song might simply just be about him being someone who wants to escape this world and live in a dream (I don't blame him, thinking of how nast reality sometimes can be.) The image he uses of a nightingale in a golden cage could be that this world (the golden cage) can look nice and seem like somewhere one can really be happy at times, but he (the nightingale) still feels trapped by it and wants to get out. This is my own theory which makes somekind of sense to me, I'd wish some other people would comment and share their views at such a great sung like this...

I agree with Jarli. Escapist seems to me to be referring to trying to escape the harshness of reality into your own make believe world where you are free. I especially love "Nightingale in a golden cage, that's me locked inside reality's maze," it looks like it might be great, but the nightingale is still imprisoned, in the same way tuomas is imprisoned within reality.

With all due respect, I don't think the song is related to the title. I think, like 7 Days to the Wolves, it is inspired by Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series.

"the Dead Boy" refers to Jake, whom the Gunslinger Roland is forced to sacrifice to pass through the caverns at the end of book one.

Similarly, "locked inside reality's maze" may refer to the way Roland has to wander throughout parallel realities in order to gather his group.

"The Tower my sole guide" refers to the fact that Roland is guided by the elusive Dark Tower. It is his sole purpose for existing, despite the fact he knows next to nothing about what or where it is.

Tuomas is a lyrical god. End of

Ow. Too bad this song didn't make Dark Passion Play. I heard it for the first time on Youtube, and it got me sad. It would've fit in nice with the rest of the album. Obviously, Nightwish didn't think so... ^^

I have no idea what this song is about. What I have noticed is that he mentioned the "Dead Boy" again, just like in "Dead Boy's Poem" and "For the Heart I once had" and "Romanticide". Just like the words "dying children" seem to return in lots of his songs. What they mean, I have no idea. But I'm sure they don't refer to Tuomas himself... I think....

I never actually thought about the "nightingale" as being a reference to death. Interesting. If that's the case, I guess the song could be referring to the idea that, despite being surrounded by the inevitability of death, she just wants to feel alive. But yes, Danny is right, trying to decipher Nightwish lyrics is like trying to tell the sun to stop rising. :P

For me as Jarli says, it's just a song where Tuomas says that he wants to escape of this world and live in a fantasy, "This is who i am, escapist, paradise seeker. Farewell! time to fly, out of sight, out of time, away from our lives!" that verse explains the whole song.