In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
"Close your eyes and begin to relax. Take a deep breath, and let it out
Slowly. Concentrate on your breathing. With each breath you become more
Relaxed. Imagine a brilliant white light above you, focusing on this light as
It flows through your body. Allow yourself to drift off as you fall deeper and
Deeper into a more relaxed state of mind. Now as I count backward from ten to
One, you will fill more peaceful, and calm. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. You
Will enter a safe place where nothing can harm you. Five. Four. Three. Two. If
At any time you need to came back, all you must do is open your eyes. One."
Safe in the light that surrounds me
Free of the fear and the pain
My subconscious mind
Starts spinning through time
To rejoin the past once again
Nothing seems real
I`m starting to feel
Lost in the haze of a dream
And as I draw near
The scene becomes clear
Like watching my life on a screen
Hello Victoria so glad to see you
My friend
Slowly. Concentrate on your breathing. With each breath you become more
Relaxed. Imagine a brilliant white light above you, focusing on this light as
It flows through your body. Allow yourself to drift off as you fall deeper and
Deeper into a more relaxed state of mind. Now as I count backward from ten to
One, you will fill more peaceful, and calm. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. You
Will enter a safe place where nothing can harm you. Five. Four. Three. Two. If
At any time you need to came back, all you must do is open your eyes. One."
Safe in the light that surrounds me
Free of the fear and the pain
My subconscious mind
Starts spinning through time
To rejoin the past once again
Nothing seems real
I`m starting to feel
Lost in the haze of a dream
And as I draw near
The scene becomes clear
Like watching my life on a screen
Hello Victoria so glad to see you
My friend
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Gentle Hour
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
A man named Nicholas has been having dreams in which he sees a woman and a strange house as well as a graveyard and other things. He enters hypnotherapy to try and find out what it's all about. He learns that the girl he has been seeing in his dreams is Victoria, the woman who he existed as in a previous life. A bit later, he discovers a newspaper article detailing how a killer (Julian) murdered Victoria and then killed himself. Supposedly the only witness was Julian's brother Edward, who ran to get help as soon as he saw the murder. Nicholas also learns that the police found a swichblade on the ground, and a suicide letter in Julian's pocket. Nicholas then realises that the graveyard he had been seeing is the one in which Victoria is buried, and he finds her tombstone and says goodbye. Then, during the song 'Home', Nicholas discovers the events leading to the murder. Victoria had left her boyfriend Julian because of his drinking and gambling habits, and went to Julian's brother Edward for consolation. They end up gettin' it on, and developing a quick infatuation with each other, however, in 'One Last Time' they have a fight, and Victoria leaves Edward. Having discovered all of this, Nicholas expresses his feelings that he is now at peace with himself, and is no longer afraid of dying, because he realises that his spirit will carry on. He leaves his hypnotherapy sessions, and drives home. Now, in the last song, finally free, the listeners learn that much of what Nicholas just found out was a lie, and we discover what really happened. At the beginning of the song, Edward is worried about what he has just done. He decides to try and cover up his sin by writing a suicide letter which he will plant in his brother's pocket making it seem as though Julian commited the murder (and then suicide). In the next section of the song, the murder takes place: Julian and Victoria meet at their secret place, but because the brothers' minds are linked (see lyrics for Metropolis pt.1) Edward finds them. He and Julian briefly fight before Edward pulls out a gun and shoots Julian. He then comments "open your eyes Victoria" and shoots her as well, after which he runs off into the darkness. Julian, alive but fatally wounded, crawls to Victoria to spend his last moments with her before he dies. At the end of the song once the music ends, we hear Nicholas' car pulling into his driveway. He gets out, and goes inside his house, sitting down to watch some TV. He pours a drink and puts on a record. Unbenknownst to him, his back door creaks open, and suddenly we hear footsteps rush into the room. The hypnotherapist's voice is heard saying "open your eyes Nicholas!". Nicholas cries out, and the record comes off track. The white noise of the record player is the last thing the listeners hear.
Explanation of the final portion: Unfortunately, while Nicholas discovers that he is the reincarnated form of Victoria, neither he, nor the listeners realise until this point that the hypnotherapist, who helped him discover the secrets of his past, is actually the reincarnated form of Edward. Because the hypnotherapist didn't want the truth of Victoria's murder to come out publically, he had to kill Nicholas to keep it quiet. Now there will be no one to discover the secret, and Victoria's soul, and perhaps now Ncholas' soul will never see eternal peace.
Other story notes:
The news on TV that Nicholas watches is an actual report on JFK taken the day his plane went missing.
This song is really great! I highly recommend getting the live concert DVD as it shows the story through short videos as well as having a lot of other song footage from the final concert in New York. I'd love to see another concept album like this. Go DT!
\m/ DREAM THEATER \m/
hey, if anyone has a good synopsis about this album (it's a tribute album for those that don't know), then post it here, i wanna know what this whole albums about, i know it vaguely but there's still some rough edges to be trimmed out, so post here if you know
WAW...Doomsoldier I think you've got it all figured out!!! What a great concept album, and I really liked how the singer James Labrie controls his highly-pitched voice better than the other albums. The best tracks on this one are The spirit carries on, finally free, HOME (what a cool ouverture of this song) .
ROCK ON DT!
high fives Nice work Doomsoldier! I had vaguely figured it out but not to that extent...I never realized that the hypnotist dude killed him! Wow...thanks so much!.....This is such an amazng album! I'd say one of the best I've ever heard!
~Vampy
Wow, this is a really great album! One thing i don't get is, why must the reincarnation of Edward, the hypnotist kill Nicholas? Nicholas don't even know that Edward's the real culprit or the hypnotist is Edward, there's nothing to cover up as what Nicholas know is already been made public by the newspaper article, can someone help me out here?
But surely Nicholas knows that Edward is the killer, didn't he see that with the eyes of Victoria? The newspapers think that Julian is the killer, and I guess Hypno just don't want his old self to be revealed as a murderer.
Thank you guys for the info i kinda had an idea of what the story was about but after reading this its totally clear. when i listen to scenes from a memory i now listen to it in a whole different way. THANKS A LOT!!!
This whole concept album is loosely based on the Kenneth Branaugh film "Dead Again". I confirmed this when I met the band in 2000.
us.imdb.com/title/tt0101669/
Though I like certain songs more than ones off this album, its my favourite album. How it ties together, and the depth to the lyrics
any relation to finally free? This song to me is next to identical to it