This is a song for the loneliness, a brokenhearted soul with only memories of wonderful days.
"An old man by a seashore
At the end of day
Gazes the horizon
With seawinds in his face
Tempest-tossed island"
"Seasons all the same
Anchorage unpainted
And a ship without a name"
Only emptiness feelings are left, cause there is nothing left for "the storms" to take away, except scars. When your feelings are not bright, even peaceful sky is like a thousand storms. Too many storms have hit the man's "island of soul".
"Sea without a shore for the banished one unheard
He lightens the beacon, light at the end of world
Showing the way lighting hope in their hearts
The ones on their travels homeward from afar"
The man is waiting passively for something to come at him. His soul has been hardened and scarred, yet deep inside, he is still longing for love and attention, just like a lighthouse calling out to lost souls out there. Tired travelers are looking for peaceful harbor to settle their adventures out there. With little light left, the man wish someone would come to him.
"The albatross is flying
Making him daydream"
Albatross is a metaphor for a good lucks, for curses being lifted and sailors would find their way to their shore. Somehow, the lonely man has a deja vu about when happiness is still in his heart, when "The time before he became, One of the world`s unseen", before he was left alone, unattended, uncared.
"Princess in the tower
Children in the fields
Life gave him it all:
An island of the universe"
I believe this part could either be the metaphor for his loved ones, his family. It could also just represent the happiness, the time when the man feels as if he has had everything.
"Now his love's a memory
A ghost in the fog"
Now everything is just a memory, unseen and unreal covering him, haunting him. It is a curse, scarring him from moving forward and letting his soul isolated. In this sentence, "love" is mentioned directly, which is exactly what the man is longing for.
"He sets the sails one last time
Saying farewell to the world"
The man want to look for love one more time. The second sentence is a bit hard to understand. It could either be "the world he used to live in"/ "his inner, isolated world full of scars and painful memories" or "the memories where he used to keep as his whole world".
"Anchor to the water
Seabed far below"
Grass still in his feet
And a smile beneath his brow"
Isnt it conflicting where the lyrics mention "grass" when assuming the man is at the sea and ocean? Cause I believe it is a metaphor. "Grass still in his feet" = constantly moving and searching for something. In this new adventure, the man has yet finding a place for his soul to settle. Yet hope is still in his eyes and he is happier now as he has moved forward, looking to get away from his lonesome.
The chorus just prove it further:
"This is for long-forgotten
Light at the end of the world
Horizon crying
The tears he left behind so long ago"
It is a positive step forward. Feelings which once was "Seasons all the same/
Anchorage unpainted/ And a ship without a name". It is hope for a future away with lonely, isolated soul. "horizon crying" has two meaning: direct meaning is a man being filled with his emotions, crying looking at the horizon. The other meaning is: "horizon" = future; "crying" = calling/ or a breakout of emotions.
"the tears" is used really well here, cause "tears" represents both side of emotions: sadness or happiness. "The tears he left behind so long ago" means the man's emptiness, emotionless self has left.
I could have over-complicated the meaning of the lyric. However there are 2 things that make me question the direct meaning of the song and the video:
1- The tunes are relatively flat, sad with the way the song was sang slowly, completely different with the band's direction at the time. When Nightwish has Anette Olzon as their lead singer, most of their songs were more upbeat and active than with Tarja Turunen. It stirs up your feelings of emptiness and loneliness.
2- It is inline with the other song that was sang by Marco - "While your lips are still red". There are just way too many metaphors there in these two song, either common metaphors or those got made up by Nightwish. I consider these two songs as masterpiece in terms of their meanings.
This is a song for the loneliness, a brokenhearted soul with only memories of wonderful days.
"An old man by a seashore At the end of day Gazes the horizon With seawinds in his face Tempest-tossed island"
"Seasons all the same Anchorage unpainted And a ship without a name"
Only emptiness feelings are left, cause there is nothing left for "the storms" to take away, except scars. When your feelings are not bright, even peaceful sky is like a thousand storms. Too many storms have hit the man's "island of soul".
"Sea without a shore for the banished one unheard He lightens the beacon, light at the end of world Showing the way lighting hope in their hearts The ones on their travels homeward from afar"
The man is waiting passively for something to come at him. His soul has been hardened and scarred, yet deep inside, he is still longing for love and attention, just like a lighthouse calling out to lost souls out there. Tired travelers are looking for peaceful harbor to settle their adventures out there. With little light left, the man wish someone would come to him.
"The albatross is flying Making him daydream"
Albatross is a metaphor for a good lucks, for curses being lifted and sailors would find their way to their shore. Somehow, the lonely man has a deja vu about when happiness is still in his heart, when "The time before he became, One of the world`s unseen", before he was left alone, unattended, uncared.
"Princess in the tower Children in the fields Life gave him it all: An island of the universe"
I believe this part could either be the metaphor for his loved ones, his family. It could also just represent the happiness, the time when the man feels as if he has had everything.
"Now his love's a memory A ghost in the fog"
Now everything is just a memory, unseen and unreal covering him, haunting him. It is a curse, scarring him from moving forward and letting his soul isolated. In this sentence, "love" is mentioned directly, which is exactly what the man is longing for.
"He sets the sails one last time Saying farewell to the world"
The man want to look for love one more time. The second sentence is a bit hard to understand. It could either be "the world he used to live in"/ "his inner, isolated world full of scars and painful memories" or "the memories where he used to keep as his whole world".
"Anchor to the water Seabed far below" Grass still in his feet And a smile beneath his brow"
Isnt it conflicting where the lyrics mention "grass" when assuming the man is at the sea and ocean? Cause I believe it is a metaphor. "Grass still in his feet" = constantly moving and searching for something. In this new adventure, the man has yet finding a place for his soul to settle. Yet hope is still in his eyes and he is happier now as he has moved forward, looking to get away from his lonesome.
The chorus just prove it further:
"This is for long-forgotten Light at the end of the world Horizon crying The tears he left behind so long ago"
It is a positive step forward. Feelings which once was "Seasons all the same/ Anchorage unpainted/ And a ship without a name". It is hope for a future away with lonely, isolated soul. "horizon crying" has two meaning: direct meaning is a man being filled with his emotions, crying looking at the horizon. The other meaning is: "horizon" = future; "crying" = calling/ or a breakout of emotions. "the tears" is used really well here, cause "tears" represents both side of emotions: sadness or happiness. "The tears he left behind so long ago" means the man's emptiness, emotionless self has left.
I could have over-complicated the meaning of the lyric. However there are 2 things that make me question the direct meaning of the song and the video: 1- The tunes are relatively flat, sad with the way the song was sang slowly, completely different with the band's direction at the time. When Nightwish has Anette Olzon as their lead singer, most of their songs were more upbeat and active than with Tarja Turunen. It stirs up your feelings of emptiness and loneliness. 2- It is inline with the other song that was sang by Marco - "While your lips are still red". There are just way too many metaphors there in these two song, either common metaphors or those got made up by Nightwish. I consider these two songs as masterpiece in terms of their meanings.