Morning comes too early
And night time falls too late
And sometimes all I want to do is wait
The shadow I've been hiding in
Has fled from me today
I know it's easier
To walk away
Than look it in the eye
But I will raise a shelter to the sky
And here beneath this star tonight I'll lie
She'll slowly yield the light
As I awaken from the longest night
Dreams are shaking set sirens waking up tired eyes
With the light the memories all rush into his head
By a candle stands a mirror of his heart and soul she dances
She was dancing through the night above his bed
And walking to the window
He throws the shutters out against the wall
And from an ivory tower hears her call
"Let light surround you"
It's been a long, long time
He's had a while to think it over
In the end he only sees the change
Light to dark
Dark to light
Light to dark
Dark to light
Heaven must be more than this
When angels waken with a kiss
Sacred hearts won't take the pain
But mine will never be the same
He stands before the window
His shadow slowly fading from the wall
And from an ivory tower hears her call
"Let the light surround you"
Once lost but I was found
When I heard that stained glass
Shatter all around me
I sent the spirits tumbling down the hill
My whole heart is what I had left me still
She whispers words to clear my mind
I once could see but now at last
I'm blind
I know it's easier
To walk away
Than look it in the eye
But I have given all that I could take
And now I've only habits left to break
Tonight I'll still be lying here surrounded
In all the light
And night time falls too late
And sometimes all I want to do is wait
The shadow I've been hiding in
Has fled from me today
I know it's easier
To walk away
Than look it in the eye
But I will raise a shelter to the sky
And here beneath this star tonight I'll lie
She'll slowly yield the light
As I awaken from the longest night
Dreams are shaking set sirens waking up tired eyes
With the light the memories all rush into his head
By a candle stands a mirror of his heart and soul she dances
She was dancing through the night above his bed
And walking to the window
He throws the shutters out against the wall
And from an ivory tower hears her call
"Let light surround you"
It's been a long, long time
He's had a while to think it over
In the end he only sees the change
Light to dark
Dark to light
Light to dark
Dark to light
Heaven must be more than this
When angels waken with a kiss
Sacred hearts won't take the pain
But mine will never be the same
He stands before the window
His shadow slowly fading from the wall
And from an ivory tower hears her call
"Let the light surround you"
Once lost but I was found
When I heard that stained glass
Shatter all around me
I sent the spirits tumbling down the hill
My whole heart is what I had left me still
She whispers words to clear my mind
I once could see but now at last
I'm blind
I know it's easier
To walk away
Than look it in the eye
But I have given all that I could take
And now I've only habits left to break
Tonight I'll still be lying here surrounded
In all the light
Lyrics submitted by Idan, edited by uncle11519
Surrounded Lyrics as written by John Petrucci Michael Portnoy
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"Morning comes too early and nighttime falls too late
And sometimes all I want to do is wait"
{Time is passing slowly, but neither sleeping nor waking bring any relief}
"The shadow I've been hiding in has fled from me today"
{The usual denial of his situation isn't working anymore}
"I know it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye
But I will raise a shelter to the sky
And here beneath this star tonight I'll lie"
{He's willing to let a little of the "light" fall on him}
"She will slowly yield the light as I awaken from the longest night"
{The woman will ease him into a new sense of love, after being along for a long time}
"Dreams are shaking
Set sirens waking up tired eyes
WIth the light the memories all rush into his head"
{He is letting himself fall for her}
"By a candle stands a mirror
Of his heart and soul she dances
She was dancing through the night above his bed"
{Self-explanatory}
"And walking to the window he throws the shutters out against the wall
And from an ivory tower hears her call
"Let light surround you"
{He opens himself fully to her love}
"It's been a long, long time
He's had a while to think it over
In the end he only sees the change
Light to dark
Dark to light
Light to dark
Dark to light"
{The meaningless passing of days}
"Heaven must be more than this
When angels waken with a kiss
Sacred hearts won't take the pain
But mine will never be the same"
{Not sure I can say what this means. It seems to contradict what has already happened}
"He stands before the window
His shadow slowly fading from the wall
And from an ivory tower he hears her call
"Let the light surround you"
{Once more, she asks him to let her in}
"Once lost but I was found
When I heard the stained glass shatter all around me"
{My favorite lines. Overtly religious. The breaking of stained glass suggests the disappearance of religious influence from his life}
"I sent the spirits tumbling down the hill"
{The voluntary rejection of religion?}
"But I will hold this one on high above me still"
{He will hold on to the one "angel" who is real to him}
"She whispers words to clear my mind
I once could see but now at last I'm blind"
{Her admonitions to let love ("light") in are obeyed, and now he is struck "blind" by love. Love is blind, etc.}
"I know it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye
But I had given all I could take
And now I've only habits left to break
Tonight I'll still be lying here
Surrounded in all the light"
{This last stanza is hard to fit. It makes me wonder if we are meant to believe he only imagined that he let love in, then came to realize he'd only been imagining or dreaming it. The tempo change at this point in the song might mean that he had awakened to his old plodding existence.}
I really like this song, so I would like to understand what it does mean or can mean. Even so, having tried to write lyrics myself, I know that the consistency of the story will suffer when you need to make words rhyme or otherwise "fit." These lyrics might be mainly a stream of consciousness by Moore, without a consistent or cohesive story to go with them. It's still very cool.
Anyway, that's my take.
So now as he listened to her call from the ivory tower, he's now "Surrounded in all the light".
Kevin Moore, the lyricist, definitely had things going on, listen to album prior, with Light Fuse and Get Away, and then the next, with Space Dye Vest.
All the lyrics in my head point to it, denying that she's gone.
And then at the end, coming to terms.
This little bit hits hardest to the meaning.
"It's been a long, long time
He's had awhile to think it over
In the end he only sees the change
Light to dark
Dark to light
Light to dark
Dark to light"
My interpretation: this man is in love, but he is either afraid of it or simply does nothing about it, but he ends up spending all his time thinking about it. Sleep brings no relief; he sees her in his dreams, and when he wakes up to escape her in his dreams, he begins to think about her again. During the course of this song, he decides that he's fed up with the way things are, and battles with himself over whether to confront his fears and give in to the light (love), or continue bottling it up. In the depths of his confusion, he turns to religion for guidance, but it fails him, and she remains the only thing that he can think about. Eventually, he begins to realise that, although it is easier just to ignore his feelings, he doesn't want to hide anymore, and makes up his mind to allow himself to be surrounded by the light. The line ''I once could see but now at last I'm blind" reminds me of the proverb about trying to fill an already-full cup; to embrace the light, he must first let go of everything, let go of his fear and doubt, otherwise he'll never truly be able. Finally, he confronts his fears and feelings, and now he just has to ignore the urges to take the easy route, because he knows that, if he perseveres, everything will work out.
I love Dream Theater too.
BTW, I have noticed that YtseJam has submitted most of these lyrics. Great job!
I believe this song is about a man with alcoholism who wakes up one morning deciding to change after too many memories of his earlier life and happiness along with too many regrets of the poison dragging him down, and steeling his dignity, he sees the light and wants more than what he has.
I'm willing to admit that with further analysis a less simplistic conclusion could be come upon, but I think what I have contributed makes sense.
The refrain ' I know it's easier to walk away, than look it in the eye' - i think he may be saying, it's easier to avoid the problem of addiction than to admit the problem and deal with it. He says 'The shadow I've been hiding in has fled from me today' - he is coming to the realisation of his problem, his mind is no longer in the dark to it.
He says 'but I will raise a shelter to the sky, and here beneath this star tonight I'll lie' - to me , this means that he will allow his mind to think over his problem so that he may deal with it.
I believe all the angel/dancing/light imagery is all to do with the feelings of enlightenment he is experiencing as he recovers from his addiction. However, he has not yet fully recovered, as shown by 'I've only habits left to break... tonight I'll stil be lying here surrounded in all the light'
and I think the 'I know it's easier to walk away, than look it in the eye... but I had given all that I can take' bit may be about, he's tired of ignoring the problem, and giving away his life - perhaps, this means his happiness, perhaps his family, who knows; and now he is going to face the problem and work on it.
All down to interpretation of course but after thinking about it, these are my ideas!
I'd also like to add to my own comment. The great thing about the DT and Kevin Moore especially is his knack for poetry. This song I thing as well as many of his are always open for interpretation. When one listens to a song they tend to gravitate to a meaning that suits them or their personal situations. This song and many others like it are pure poetry and genius.