Song Of Myself

Beyond epic...words are to low to describe this song.

A close to perfection Masterpiece, the narrated parts are so emotional

The last verse is the most important "G and e minor" are parallel musical scales exactly the same pitches like two sides of one medal. Hapiness and sadness are coexisting parts of our life Tumoas described this lyric as celebration of life with all it's beautiful and dark sides simultaneously.

Also notice the fact that one of the main character from imaginaerum movie is called Gem Gem= (G+em), can you see the concept? :) .

The last verse is the most important "G and e minor" are parallel musical scales exactly the same pitches like two sides of one medal. Hapiness and sadness are coexisting parts of our life Tumoas described this lyric as celebration of life with all it's beautiful and dark sides simultaneously.

Also notice the fact that one of the main character from imaginaerum movie is called Gem Gem= (G+em), can you see the concept? :) .

I know it's about Walt Whitman's poem, titled the same name (it is a very beautiful poem, for the record), but I just gotta say this: "All that great heart lying still in a silent suffering Smiling like a clown until the show has come to an end What is left for encore is the same old dead boy's song Sung in silence" To me, that means someone with a "great heart" is hurt emotional, but doesn't say anything ("silent suffering") and fakes a smile until it's over, and then just pours everything out without anyone knowing ("sung in silence") Also, Piano black=Beautiful Emptiness. Pianos generally represent beauty and black generally represents emptiness, so, beautiful emptiness.

It seems to me that he's portraying his philosophy of life while questioning how humans live out their lives. We worship meaningless things while missing out on most of the beauty life has to offer. He tries to change the world through music, but he isn't sure he's up to the task. Of course, we all know that isn't true. Tuomas is amazing.

I wanted to ask, ‎in this verse

"Nothing noble in dying for your religion For your country For ideology, for faith For another man, yes"

is the "yes" at the end and affirmation for everything that was said before, or is it implying the exception that dying for another man is indeed noble?

My input is based on the narrated part, I can see how the sung part could link, but unsure on that thus why I'm limiting this to only the narrated part.

To me this song is illustrating the the systems of inequality/inequity and injustice that societies across time and continents have perpetuated.

Youngster with a begging bowl = The inequity of wealth distribution where people can have more money they will never need, whilst other die starving on the streets. as well as the fact we judge them for being poor rather than doing anything to change that.

Man in the attic = Isolation and loneliness of those deemed unattractive or undesirable or perceives himself to be. resorting to what he thinks will dull the effects of his depression, but these only validate those thoughts proving to himself how lonely and alone he is. what he needs is support, but he has none and he is too afraid to seek the support he needs because the world has judged people for being in his situation before.

The beaten dog - Apathy to the needs of others, in this case a dog that has no safety and no food. those that can help don't. This applies to not just dogs but the homeless too.

Mother visiting son - Sounds like the son has been incarcerated, what lead him to crime to get there? in many cases its undiagnosed disabilities or desperation leading to crime. society spends more on prison systems than on support for health and basic human needs, so crime increases. The mother understands, society does not.

Obese Girl, models face on brick wall and city that worships flesh - Unrealistic beauty standards. We focus on a very small proportion of people who often have had medical procedures or use cosmetic products to look that way, whilst shaming those who don't fit that image, this then leads to body image issues and mental health issues such as eating disorders and depressive disorders. If only society was less judgemental on a persons appearance many of these traumatising experiences would not occur.

The next several lines detail a tranquil environment. That tranquil environment is away from civilisation in nature, where none of the above exist, further illustrating that we impose these injustices on ourselves, these are sociological not natural, nature doesn't favour any of us over any other of us. (yes I acknowledge that resources can be seen as natural injustice, but it is not, as the sharing of those is human controlled, we choose not to share resources when we have more with those who have less, as its always about what we get out of the deal not what they need to thrive).

The next few lines talk about not connecting with family, and comparing yourself to others. Once again something sociological. work is often placed higher than family, and many families expect their children to do as well as them or better, and may limit their options or choices seeing some identities as inferior despite the wishes of the child. they think they are setting standards, but what they are doing is denying choice.

Just being yourself - Society expects us to know who we are and what we want to be without giving us any support in how to find that out. Then when despair creeps in we are made to feel like we are weaker for not being able to work that out alone.

Knowing how another feels- People say things out of sympathy thinking it will make the other person feel better but instead its a way to avoid getting to know the person better and learning how they could help them, this is then often followed up by judgement, like shown in the next few lines despite others having similar struggles.

Dear child, stop working go play - Society expecting people to put most of their energy into a career and enjoyment of life being a thing for whatever time remains.

statements from children and being close to truth - children have not learned any injustices by default they learn them as they grow up in society, their questions are innocent and inquisitive, and they don't see others as greater or lesser than them until they are taught to think that way, or any possession as theirs only not to be shared until taught that too.

Death the winner in every war - No war is ever just, behind all wars is a greed for land, resources, a feeling someone is lesser than you and doesn't deserve life, or desperation because the survival needs of your society require desperate measures (such as having no ability to get food and no ability to buy it from other countries due to lack of wealth so they invade another country to get their basic needs, as no-one is charitable enough to help peacefully). Both sides loose countless lives and have enduring sociological scars from the event. The another man, Yes part I see 2 interpretations of. either the noble nature of self-sacrifice for another, or an acknowledgement that all prior are not noble and the another man could mean a cult leader or dictator. it all depends on if the yes is meant to counter the statement for that line or acknowledge the entire section as not noble.

The entire next section appears to me to be about communicating effectively with others through all forms of art and media in a way that values all the things that uplift society rather than drag it down.

The final section a summary of how all of these things lead to lost lives, that those that live do nothing about it, and those that think they do often contribute more to the problem than the solution. eg. A small donation every so often then voting for politicians who take more from those people than what you gave to them on that day.

So I believe the G to E minor comment does imply the beautiful and dark like others in this section, but I believe the change from G to E minor is more the change from a society with dark undertones to a society of beauty for all.

John Keats said that poetry ought to come naturally, or it ought not come at all.

In "Song of Myself," the "myself" is all the great heart lying still, the essence of song that makes the song alive.

From the beginning, "Song of Myself" sort of sets up for part 4, "Love," by describing this tragic disconnect between poetry and poetry-nature, or song and song-nature, hence the "same old Dead Boy's song" and "all that great heart lying still"---all that poetry-nature the writer failed to tap into. That is why the opus #1,2,3 are "hollow," or why "sometimes the sky is piano black." It is a shallow thing with nothing to hide and nothing to reveal, like a rusty key without a door.

Pretense to poetry, forced poetry, poetry becomes an exercise of mental masturbation that is painfully artificial---the old man kissing his model-doll in his attic. Still, don't we make poetry and songs anyway in worship of things more real, no matter how futile the attempt?---the porcelain statue in a city that worships flesh.

I don't know how accurate this is in its entirety but it was my first impression on hearing the song for the first time. Thought that I would comment on the first half of the lyrics since no one has yet. I feel like I am still missing the epiphany here, and I hope that I am not doing the song or the songwriter an injustice with an interpretation.

I have never read Whitman's "Song of Myself."

There are a lot of allusions to other Nightwish songs in this, it is as if Tuomas is reflecting on his life maybe.

''The nightingale is still locked in the cage'' - The Escapist ''Storytime, river ghosts, mermaids and the ride'' - Imaginaerum album ''Same old dead boy's song'' - Dead Boy's Poem

Not sure about the princess and the panther. Maybe disney? Also, Covington woods is the name of the woods in a film called The Village. I may have missed some but these are the ones I spotted.