I Want My Tears Back

Like most of the songs on Imaginaerum, this seems to be about enjoying life and making the most of it while you can. It sounds like someone reminiscing over their childhood, including a nice reference to 'Meadows of heaven', and lamenting the lack of childhood fantasy in their adult life.

It does seem to be about lost childhood, someone longing back to those days. Tears represent innocence, and children are innocent, aren't they?

'The treetops, the chimneys The snowbed stories, winter grey Wildflowers, those meadows of heaven Wind in the wheat'

This part is about the childhood home, apparently in the countryside. A Finnish countryside, to be exact; it has a strong emphasis on winter, and meadows and wheat are something Finnish countryside is full of.

'A railroad across waters The scent of grandfatherly love Blue bayous, Decembers Moon through a dragonfly's wings'

I am not sure what 'a railroad across waters' or 'moon through a dragonfly's wings' are, but this part seems to represent the good things in childhood. A loving grandfather, blue bayous (bayou seems to be pretty much the same as a creek), Decembers (Christmas).

'Where is the wonder where's the awe? Where's dear Alice knocking on the door? Where's the trapdoor that takes me there? Where's the real is shattered by a Mad March Hare?'

A clear reference to Alice in Wonderland. Where did all the wonderful stories and games of childhood go to? Adults just don't have the same imagination, there is no Mad March Hare to shatter the reality.

'Where is the wonder where's the awe Where are the sleepless nights I used to live for Before the years take me I wish to see The lost in me'

I'm not too sure about the sleepless nights, but the rest is rather obvious. The singer wants to find his inner child again before he gets too old.

'A ballet on a grove, still growing young all alone A rag doll, a best friend, the voice of Mary Costa'

Again, I have no idea about the first part, but the rest is, again, quite obvious. This part continues the list of good things in childhood; a rag doll, a best friend (is the rag doll the best friend or is the best friend an actual friend? Open for interpretation.) and the voice of Mary Costa, who played the role of the Sleeping Beauty in a Disney film of the same name. Disney has been a big part of many childhoods. Maybe it was the favourite movie of whoever this song is about?

I just love the song, it's so epic! Just wish Imaginaerum had more songs like this, many of them were a disappointment...

Hi, I do think lots of nightwish songs are about the lost of innoncence, but I think this song is not about that but about someone who is longing for the madness that left him.

Alice and the mad marsh hare are clearly representation of madness. And the sleepless nights can be experienced in different mental illness problems.

The treetops, the chimneys The snowbed stories, winter grey Wildflowers, those meadows of heaven Wind in the wheat'

A railroad across waters The scent of grandfatherly love Blue bayous, Decembers Moon through a dragonfly's wings'

those are the best moment in our life, real or fake, which come back like souvenirs, emotions and feelings and fill up and all mix up in the mad people head.

Mental illness makes us cry a lot, but it also makes us feel things we never could have felt otherwise, makes us experience things impossible for normal people, so that is why he wants his tears back, he desire to dive into madness again, before he dies.

"A railroad across waters, the scent of grandfatherly love Blue bayous, Decembers, moon through a dragonfly's wings"

This line "A railroad across waters" reminds me of the train in Spirited Away....there's a railroad, it's under water, and that certainly is a dreamlike/imagination filled world....Blue bayous makes me think Peter Pan - the mermaids?

Still haven't figured out the moon through dragonfly's wings but it -feels- like another movie reference....

"Where are the sleepless nights I used to live for"

This reminds me of either a: the campfire at night, or b: being out on tour and staying up all night or c: not being able to sleep b/c there are too many ideas/creative stuff going on in your head...

"A ballet on a grove, still growing young all alone"

The first bit (A ballet on a grove) makes me think Disney movie for sure....pretty sure it's Sleeping Beauty again...."still growing young all alone" is probably stating that although he (Tuomas) is getting older chronologically speaking, in reaching for the child-like innocence that was lost, and slowly getting there, he's "growing young" the all alone is pretty self explanatory I think...

I take this song in a more adult way. No idea what the band wrote it about but I have become very fond it as parts remind me of my more adventurous day. I used to travel a lot, and then ended up touring with rock bands. But I became disabled. Touring is exhausting but not much time to sleep. But I lived for every crazy adventurous day and sleepless night. Now all I can do is lay in bed all day and hope to dream of younger days and before I get too far gone (before the years take me) find some way to get back up and out into the world again. Getting a tattoo of Where is the wonder, where’s the awe Where are the sleepless nights I used to live for Before the years take me I wish to see the lost in me

I believe his 'tears' represent his lost innocence, so when it says he wants his tears back, it means that he wants his innocence back.