Hollow Years Lyrics

Lyric discussion by vhiss 

Cover art for Hollow Years lyrics by Dream Theater

i think i finally know the exact same meaning of this song, here it goes... I wont pay attention to the verses as the real core is in the chorus, I understand the whole thing is about growing up, getting mature, and being happy: "Carry me to the shoreline, bury me in the sand, walk me across the waters" could be interpreted as how life sucks sometimes and makes us feel so down. "And maybe youll understand" means that after youve been through all that pain MAYBE youll "get it" if youre strong/brave/mature enough, aha? "Once the stone youre crawling under is lifted off your shoulders, once the cloud thats raining over your head disappears, the noise that youll hear is the crashing down of hollow years" Here is where the song gets powerful, it means that once youve left all your baggage and your issues behind and accepted reality, you finally begin to be happy "the stone is lifted off your shoulders" and "the cloud disappears" its like you just started living, and finally the term "hollow years" mean literally all that time in ur life when you still didnt "get it", all those years you felt miserable, but you are happy now, and that the noise that you are hearing is nothing more than the crashing down of those hollow years. hope makes sense to you, cheers.

Totally agree. In an answer that Petrucci gave in his forum, about how he creates the songs and lyrics, he stated that usually first comes the melody and then he arranges the words, taking very special care to the sound of those words and how they get fit in the melody.

If we take close attention, the melody when it explains -troubles- its downbeat, kinda sad, but when it comes to the chorus when talks about relieve and "lifting problems over shoulders" it gets more merryer, specially in the concert of Budokan, it almost sounds like a Triumphant tune....