After a few days of listening to this song carefully, there are some lyrics here that aren't right. Here's what I think they should be:
"A Nightmare To Remember"
Lyrics by John Petrucci
A nightmare to remember
I'll never be the same
What began as laughter
So soon would turn to pain
The sky was clear and pretty
The air was thick and still
Now I'm not one to soon forget
And I bet I never will
Picture for a moment
The perfect irony
A flawless new beginning
Eclipsed by tragedy
The uninvited stranger
Started dancing on his own
So we said goodbye to the (???)
(there's 3 syllables here, not 2) made our way back home
Life was so simple then
We were so innocent
Father and mother
Holding each other
Without warning, out of nowhere
Like a bullet, from the night
Crashing fast, rubber and steel
Scorching fire, glowing light
Screams of terror, pain of fear
Sounds of sirens, smoke in my eyes
Silent stillness, blackened silence
No more screaming, no more cries
Stunned and bewildered
Cold and afraid
Torn up and broken
Frightened and dazed
Stunned and bewildered
Cold and afraid
Torn up and broken
Frightened and dazed
Lying on the table in this unfamiliar place
I'm greeted by a stranger, a man without a face
He said "Son, do you remember? Do you even know your name?"
Then he shined a light into my eyes and said "Take this for the pain"
Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony
I am endlessly falling, lost in this wonderful misery
In peaceful sedation I lay half awake
And all of the panic inside starts to fade
Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony
"Tell me does this hurt you" said the faceless man
"Can you move all of your fingers? Can you try your best to stand?"
I asked about the others, "Is everyone okay?"
He told me not to worry as he turned and looked away
Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony
I am endlessly falling, lost in this wonderful misery
In peaceful sedation I lay half awake
And all of the panic inside starts to fade
Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony
Day after day, and night after night
We play out the events, did they ever see the red light?
Over and over, scene by scene
Like a recurring nightmare haunting my dreams
How could you prepare for what would happened next?
It's (???) that you'd ever have to see his father such a mess
It's a miracle he lived, it's a blessing no one died
By the grace of god above everyone survived
Life was so simple then
We were so innocent
It will stay with us forever
A nightmare to remember
At it's length (almost 15 minutes), I'm going to guess this song has movements/sections like "A Changes of Seasons" or "Octavarium"- it's very segmented and has recurring themes/riffs, giving each section it's own feel.
The first part is about these people before the crash, a "simple" and "innocent" time full of laughter.
The second part is about the crash itself; this section is very short, just like the crash, which is shown with the short and quick lyrics.
The third part is where the narrator wakes up to a faceless stranger (a doctor I assume), giving him medicine to take away his pain. I've come to call this section "Beautiful Agony" as it perfectly describes what this feeling would be like - the sedative state, drugged up and trying to recall the events of an accident in such a confusing state of mind.
The fourth part begins with the guitar solo in 5/4 (which is a riff from earlier), and begins the crazy instrumental section up to MP's vocal, which seems to be outside of the original narrator's perspective. Then at the end returns a similar verse from earlier with more of the prior themes coming back.
After a few days of listening to this song carefully, there are some lyrics here that aren't right. Here's what I think they should be:
"A Nightmare To Remember" Lyrics by John Petrucci
A nightmare to remember I'll never be the same What began as laughter So soon would turn to pain
The sky was clear and pretty The air was thick and still Now I'm not one to soon forget And I bet I never will
Picture for a moment The perfect irony A flawless new beginning Eclipsed by tragedy
The uninvited stranger Started dancing on his own So we said goodbye to the (???) (there's 3 syllables here, not 2) made our way back home
Life was so simple then We were so innocent Father and mother Holding each other
Without warning, out of nowhere Like a bullet, from the night Crashing fast, rubber and steel Scorching fire, glowing light
Screams of terror, pain of fear Sounds of sirens, smoke in my eyes Silent stillness, blackened silence No more screaming, no more cries
Stunned and bewildered Cold and afraid Torn up and broken Frightened and dazed
Stunned and bewildered Cold and afraid Torn up and broken Frightened and dazed
Lying on the table in this unfamiliar place I'm greeted by a stranger, a man without a face He said "Son, do you remember? Do you even know your name?" Then he shined a light into my eyes and said "Take this for the pain"
Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony I am endlessly falling, lost in this wonderful misery In peaceful sedation I lay half awake And all of the panic inside starts to fade Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony
"Tell me does this hurt you" said the faceless man "Can you move all of your fingers? Can you try your best to stand?" I asked about the others, "Is everyone okay?" He told me not to worry as he turned and looked away
Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony I am endlessly falling, lost in this wonderful misery In peaceful sedation I lay half awake And all of the panic inside starts to fade Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony
Day after day, and night after night We play out the events, did they ever see the red light? Over and over, scene by scene Like a recurring nightmare haunting my dreams
How could you prepare for what would happened next? It's (???) that you'd ever have to see his father such a mess It's a miracle he lived, it's a blessing no one died By the grace of god above everyone survived
Life was so simple then We were so innocent It will stay with us forever A nightmare to remember
At it's length (almost 15 minutes), I'm going to guess this song has movements/sections like "A Changes of Seasons" or "Octavarium"- it's very segmented and has recurring themes/riffs, giving each section it's own feel.
The first part is about these people before the crash, a "simple" and "innocent" time full of laughter.
The second part is about the crash itself; this section is very short, just like the crash, which is shown with the short and quick lyrics.
The third part is where the narrator wakes up to a faceless stranger (a doctor I assume), giving him medicine to take away his pain. I've come to call this section "Beautiful Agony" as it perfectly describes what this feeling would be like - the sedative state, drugged up and trying to recall the events of an accident in such a confusing state of mind.
The fourth part begins with the guitar solo in 5/4 (which is a riff from earlier), and begins the crazy instrumental section up to MP's vocal, which seems to be outside of the original narrator's perspective. Then at the end returns a similar verse from earlier with more of the prior themes coming back.
-M.