|
 1. The Dream Sequencer
2. My House on Mars
3. 2084
4. One Small Step
5. The Shooting Company of
Captain Frans B. Cocq
6. Dragon on the Sea
7. Temple of the Cat
8. Carried by the Wind
9. And the Druids turn to Stone
10. The First Man on Earth
11. The Dream Sequencer Reprise
"It is the 22nd century.
I am the last of the Mars Colonists. The air supply has almost run out on
this desolate Mars colony, and the food supplies from Earth have
stopped arriving since the final war of 2084. I am walking through the tunnel
towards our recreation machine called the Dream Sequencer. I hope it
will sweeten my final days..."
1] THE DREAM SEQUENCER
(Dream sequencer system
online)
Good morning colonist. You have
selected the Universal Migrator program. Please lie down in the energy
tank and place the electrodes on your temples.Think of your designation number
and drink the fluid from the vessel at the left terminal.
(Program loaded, commencing
U.M. preincarnation protocol)
Now focus on the music as I take
you back to your chilhood......and beyond.....
--------------------
'It is the end of the 21st
Century. I have returned to my own childhood. I remember it all as the Dream Sequencer
images mix with my own recollections. This is the day my sister and I realised that we
would never see the planet Earth."
2] MY HOUSE ON MARS
daddy where are you now
forgot about your vow?
you promised you'd return and
take me to Earth
did you have to fight that war
what was it all for?
the honor of one's name, what is
it worth?
I'm all alone - we're all
alone
my future's unknown - our
future's unknown
I reach out to the stars out
here in my house on Mars
mother did you hear me cry?
you never told me why
you put me in this world of rock
and dust
no friends for playing games
no foes who scorn my name
computerized machines of steel
and rust
is this my home? - this is
our home
this desolate dome - this
desolate dome
I call out to the stars: I'm
alone in my house on Mars
I'll never smell the ocean
breeze
I'll never climb the highest
trees
I'll never feel the burning sun
I'll never meet my chosen one...
in my house
daddy I forgive you now
you could not keep your vow
you will never return, I'll
never see Earth
my time has come - our time
has come
I'm emotionally numb -
emotionally numb
I'm headed for the stars,
I'm leaving my house on Mars
no friends in my house on
Mars
no foes in my house on Mars
I was born in my house on
Mars
I will die in my house on
Mars
--------------------------------
"It is the 21st century.
The Final Experiment has failed. The final devastating war that was foretold by the blind
minstrel Ayreon has indeed come to pass. The war has destroyed all life on Earth, making it
completely uninhabitable. I hover above my own dead body..."
3] 2084
silence fills the air
echoes fade away
of sadness and despair
on that cruel and fateful day
my body lies motionless
upon the kitchen floor
the Earth has died, the
world's at rest
2084
many centuries ago
in a dark enchanted land
our fate had been foretold
by a poor misguided man
we carried on down the road
we chose
the path of nevermore
the journey ends, the book
is closed
2084
and now I have to leave, my work
on earth is done
I'm heading for the planet known
as Mars
to the last of its race, the
final newborn son
before I start my voyage to the
stars
-----------------------
"It is the 20th century.
I am a little boy peacefully asleep. My father comes to wake me so that I can witness an
historic event in the finite story of mankind."
4] ONE SMALL STEP
on an early summer morning, July
'69
as I dream of the planets
I hear a voice softly whisper:
'son, it is time
it's happening soon'
it's a quarter to four now and
he carries me down
to our place by the telly
I see lights on in houses all
over town
for the man on the Moon
one small step for man
but a giant leap for mankind
the mighty Apollo prevailed
the Eagle has landed
I go back to my warm bed, back
to my dreams
but not the one of the planets
I decided this morning I don't
want to be
the man on the Moon
as I lie here in this cold tank,
living a dream
I'm the last on the planets
I decided this morning I don't
want to be
the man on Mars
---------------------------
"It is the 17th century.
I am a noble ensign-bearer posing with my guild for the Dutch master painter, Rembrandt van
Rijn, in Amsterdam."
5] THE SHOOTING COMPANY OF
FRANS B. COCQ
I'm standing proud
in this noble crowd
my banner raised high the coat
of arms of Amsterdam
to the mystic sky a magic light
enchants the land
we're marching on
the shooting company of
Captain Frans B. Cocq
my uniform shines the livery of
a high-born man
the Claw-guild signs
immortalised by the master's hand
light and shade with colours
rich and brushwork bold
night and day with shadows black
and armours gold
we're marching on
the shooting company of
Captain Frans B. Cocq
I'm standing proud
in this noble crowd
in our golden age eternalised by
the artist's hand
a glorious page in the history
of our tiny land
we're marching on
up to the battlefield to
where the spirits walk
the shooting company of
Captain Frans B. Cocq
-------------------------------
"It is the 16th century.
I am Queen Elizabeth sending out the brave Sir Francis Drake to defend the English realm
against the invading armada."
6] DRAGON ON THE SEA
times are dark now, our empire's
gone astray
forces from down south, armada
on the way
so we call our greatest men to
run the barricade
shine your light where shadows
fall and wash the night away
sail on for your queen
sail into history
you will never be the same
sail on for country
into our memory
time will remember your name
dragon on the sea
fires burn now in once our
tranquil bays
tall ships that rain down
thunderbolts and flames
go and raise your pirate flag,
cast the lines away
take your fleet where darkness
falls and turn the night to day
the sun never sets on the empire
won
but wise men say never say never
it slips through our hands just
like sand in sun
we thought it would go on
forever
dragon ships they keep on
sailing, on to Nova Albion
While the waking world is
sleeping, dragon ships are sailing on
-----------------------------
"It is the 8th century.
I am a Mayan girl heading for the Jaguar Temple in Tikal on the central American
continent."
7] TEMPLE TO THE CAT
shine down on me, Sun of the
Underworld
set me free, chase away the
night
proud Jaguar, king of the Mayan
Gods
shining star, light up the sky
and guide me to the Temple
of the Cat
Heart-of-Sky, Maker and
Hurricane
mighty eye, harvester of life
we were born solely to speak
your name
bring the dawn, we'll praise the
sky
here inside the Temple of
the Cat
upon his throne the High priest
addressed the crowd
now carved in stone his holy
name
beads of jade adorn his cotton
shroud
his silvery blade on a golden
chain
he lies here in the Temple
of the Cat, dead
he will rise again from the
Temple of the Cat
--------------------------------
"It is the 6th century.
This is where it all began. My tired body has passed away, but my once-tortured spirit is
finally free now. My name is ... Ayreon."
8] CARRIED BY THE WIND
I've crossed the edge where time
disappears
my life has been taken by the
charm of the seer
my conscience is clear, I
committed no sin
my spirit roams free now,
carried by the wind
my mission has failed, the spell
has been cast
I wasn't the first one and I
won't be the last
this can't be the end, so let it
begin
my message will reach you,
carried by the wind
out here on Mars I now realize
mankind has vanished, tears fill
my eyes
there must be a world I can live
in
my spirit will find it, carried
by the wind
-------------------------------------
"It is 2800 B.C. I
quietly witness the astounding secret behind the creation of a mysterious monument in
Wiltshire, England."
9] AND THE DRUIDS TURN TO
STONE
the moon sheds no light on
Salisbury plain
the day turns to night and the
bonfires cease burning
the druids gather round and the
chants fill the air
their echoes resound and the
living world stops turning
the magic words are spoken
as we leave the plain in
silence
now the circle stands alone
and the druids turn to stone
the dawn shines its light on
Salisbury plain
the day floods the night with
gilded rays of sunshine
the magic words were spoken
as we left the plain in
silence
then the circle stood alone
and the druids turned to
stone
the rising sun is dancing on the
edges of the stones
casting shadows, creeping down
the Avenue
into the heart of the sarsen
trilithons
I marvel at this mystery,
beholder of the stars
a holy temple, a sacred burial
ground
guarding well its secrets from
us all
------------------------------------------
"It is 50000 B.C. The
world is almost empty; nature is still untouched by man. Off in the distance, a clan of ape-like
creatures gather near a cliff side. But I am the first to stand. I must be...
10] THE FIRST MAN ON EARTH
in fields of green, vast as the
oceans
is this a dream, is it evermore?
a million years, fast as a
notion
I stand alone here on the silent
shore
I'm after prey in the fields
shelter in a cave from the cold
and lonely nights
and now it all seems so real
warming at the fireside beneath
the pale moonlight
this is the dawn of time
I am the first to stand
looking through the eyes of
the primal man
this is the dawn of time
witnessing the birth
I am the first man on earth
the skies of blue reach to the
heavens
they go on and on forevermore
no avenues, no city sidewalks
planet Mars is but ancient lore
this place has all that I need
no computers glowing screens, no
industrial machines
somehow it all seems surreal
memories of days gone by, a
slowly fading scene
no one here to blame me
no one here to hurt
so much space here to occupy my
mind
I can breathe the breath of
virgin land
the firefly at nighttime
the sounds of nothing known
and I belong here like I never
have before
the wandering child returning
home
when twilight falls, red is the
sunset
planets appear across the
colored sky
no prison walls, no war, no
bloodshed
hard to believe this new world
will die
I wish that I could stay for a
while
in the dream world that the
sequencer creates
and though it all seems so real
now I fear the time is gone, I
feel its heavy weight
Hold on to this moment in time
savor a life how it used to be
hold on to the world in its
prime
breathe in the air, feel the
energy
----------------
"It is the 22nd century
again. I am back inside the Dream Sequencer. I am tired. But I want more. I want to go back
even further..."
11] THE DREAM SEQUENCER
|
