Read all NIghtwish lyrics here
Glasgow 1877
“I remember it as if it was yesterday.
My papa took me to see the ancestral home of our clan.
The desolate castle on Dismal Downs, abandoned since the 17th century,
Now inhabited by no-one but golden eagles in its turrets and
Ptarmigan & grouse in the heather o’ the clan cemetery.
In this sight of former glory, of ochre grass and bracken,
Sadness and hope, this is where I begin my story.
Rannoch moor, 1877, the eve of my 10th birthday…”
Tha ‘n sgeul ag aiseig bu bràth
Toirt taic bho tiotain a tha gar deanamh mar a tha sinn
Howls on the moors
Dreams of sailing all seas
Call of the hills
And a fiddle of farewell
Into The West
Far, far into the night
Your calling guided you
Far, far across the dark
Horizon filled with red
And yearning of a childless ma
Cold Heart Of The Klondike
The final frontier
Of utter solitude
Of wilderness untamed
Into White Agony Creek
The cradle of new hope
Many the springs thaws from home
O Me! O Life! Here in the wild
Nothing but two cold Klondike hearts
Charm of a dancehall girl
A true star of the north
Those precious 30 days
A letter in the snow
Love lost yet always there
A burning need of life
O Me! O Life! Home in the wild
Nothing but two cold Klondike hearts
O Me! O Life! Home in the wild
Nothing but two cold Klondike hearts
The Last Sled
There’s gold, and it’s haunting and haunting
It’s luring me on as of old!
Yet it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting so much
As just finding the gold!
It’s the great, big, broad land ‘way up yonder!
The great, big, broad land ‘way up yonder!
Haunting him as of old
Yet, it ain’t the gold itself
So much as finding the gold
Farewell, White Agony Creek
Farewell, the three long years
Can’t leave behind what’s in this sled
Things we lost
The things we couldn’t share
Another rainbow’s end
Another memory
Fortuna favet fortibus
Hold on to all that’s dear to you
As the last sled to Dawson finally arrives
It’s the forests where silence has lease
It’s the beauty that fills me with wonder!
It’s the stillness that fills me with peace!
It’s the stillness that fills him with peace!
The beauty of the wild
Rainbow’s end with golden dreams
Starlit sky and coffee and beans
Farewell, White Agony Creek
Farewell, the three spring thaws
One day I will return to you
Things we lost
The things we couldn’t share
Another rainbow’s end
Another memory
Fortuna favet fortibus
Hold on to all that’s dear to you
As the last sled to Dawson finally arrives
To Be Rich
Silent night, silent years
The cold heart haunting still
Sleepless watch of the night
And her face on the moon
A Lifetime Of Adventure
To be rich is to still remember
To treasure your first dime
To have a chance to say farewell
Story of your life,
Time of solitude and strife
Freedom of the Northern road,
Hoping many miles to go
Promises to keep,
Countless gold fields to reap
To be rich is to seek,
To relive a memory
Far-off lands, quests of old
Self respect, true grit
Never care, lot of fortune, my wife
To seek is to be rich
Story of your life,
Time of solitude and strife
Freedom of the Northern road,
Hoping many miles to go
Promises to keep,
Countless gold fields to reap
To be rich is to seek,
To relive a memory
All the strangers on your path
Crossroads that lead us from home
The cooling hymn for soulful Yuletide hearth
All the songs of wilderness,
The truth in which you fall
They’re your lost troves, but that’s what you recall
Story of your life,
Time of solitude and strife
Freedom of the Northern road,
Hoping many miles to go
Promises to keep,
Countless gold fields to reap
To be rich is to seek,
To relive a memory
Go Slowly Now, Sands Of Time
Go slowly now, sands of time
Still have some verses to pour
This wonder of life has led me home
Like a poet of Scotland once scribed:
Home is the sailor
Home from the sea
And the hunter home from the hill
Go slowly now, sands of time
Still have a memory to make
Dancing to Auld Lang Syne
Thinking of the heather of home
Home is the sailor
Home from the sea
And the hunter home from the hill
The Space Between
In your scripted play
On the stage you call home
There’s no seat for an unknown guest
Why the mean mouth
The many mirrors
Those songs to end all hearing
Come with me
The vast unknown awaits for us to see
Something so deeply hidden
Yet open before our eyes
Catch the world in writing
Draft a note or three
Listen to a farmer sing to a field
Time for a starwalk
Time to yearn
Some twists ‘n turns
Come with me
The vast unknown awaits for us to see
Something so deeply hidden
Yet everscriven, so
Come with me
I’ll take you to the rings, I’ll take you where
The sons and daughters of endlessness came to be
Come, sit with me here for a while
Amidst the dancing skies
They will tell what lies ahead:
Strange comforts, curious canvases
Front seat to history
A seat for the guest unknown
Come with me
The vast unknown awaits for us to see
Something so deeply hidden
Yet everscriven, so
Come with me
I’ll take you to the rings, I’ll take you where
The sons and daughters of endlessness came to be
I Hope Your World Is Kind
These rooftops all silent
The lone light of foxen
My remains wide open
Before the still waters
A moment to admire
The sleeping with no memory
We’re writers all of us
Deep in the world’s listening
Every night I see
The “once upon a time – life”
Greeting me
But you can’t buy me back
With a memory
With your brazen summer sun
Every night I sound
My low “I hope your world is kind”
Over the scape that fills the night
Something fair sleeps in your world
The rooftops all sleeping
Underneath them brittle
Little man-things
Unveiled clowns, false kings
Every moment the world in writing
The horizon in blazing
As another library burns down
Soon the morning comes
And into my heart’s night
Infinity enters
Every night I see
The “once upon a time – life”
Greeting me
But you can’t buy me back
With a memory
With your brazen summer sun
Every night I sound
My low “I hope your world is kind”
Over the scape that fills the night
Something fair sleeps in your world
Auri in the night
Sighs “I hope your world is kind”
As the dawn comes and by her side
He sits down and starts to play
Skeleton Tree
Canto
Osseus
Arbor
Cantor
Say the magic word
Desert Flower
All I wanted was
For to see your smile break out
A mirror for the sun and the early rising moon
All I wanted was
Past the line, on the steps, follow you
Hear me slowly breathe
Cross the line, up the steps, follow you
Hear my fading voice
All I wanted was
For to wake you from our dream
The hope of kingdom come
Drifting out across this field
All I wanted was
Past the line, on the steps, follow you
Hear me slowly breathe, and we’ll
Cross the line, up the steps, follow you
Hear my failing voice
Once this morning has passed
Once this morning has gone
All I wanted was
For to cross the Rubicon
Softly pull the fences down
Cross the waves, across our lives
All I wanted was, to go
Navigatio
Night 13
I woke to the echo of stars
All around me, under me
A bed made of curious cloth
A pillow from a crib
The skies are dark, all of them
Still comforting, starlight pouring
All over this new home
High above
Younger than yesterday
I feel no pain, no memory lost
Alone yet with everything
What is this space?
Goodnight to an old soul
Goodbye to life once lived
This is my island now
To live it once more
Not long now
This timeless, weightless fall
The calming mother’s call
Back in time I’m cleansed and bare
And I see the light
Now I know
They left me with a softest bed
A whitest cloth for a waiting dead
A light to brighten
The frequent night
An apple for a thirsty bite
A clean slate, a newborn mind
Brightest blue, purple moon
Life once lived, now understood
High above
Tonight I will make the leap
Deep down to the night unknown
That’s why they put me here
They, they
Goodnight to an old soul
Goodbye to life once lived
This is my island now
To live it once more
Not long now
This timeless, weightless fall
The calming mother’s call
Back in time I’m cleansed and bare
And I see the light
Now I know
See
See, far, far deeper than the mind’s eye
Hear, far, far deeper than the inner voice
Feel, far, far deeper than the beating heart
A costume change is all we ask
But still we are the same
From a pitch black centre
From a pitch black centre
The lighthouse turns onto an ocean ablaze
What is this?
What is this?
Speak, far, far clearer than the open mouth
Breath, far, far clearer than the winter sky
Dream, far, far clearer than Orion’s crown
From there we get no sympathy
But love’s a wine dark sea
Rich and moving
Rich and moving
The shock of life
I saw you age but not
What is this?
Is this a kiss?
See, far, far deeper than the mind’s eye
Hear, far, far deeper than the inner voice
Feel, far, far deeper than the hand of time
Aphrodite Rising
I am coming for you
I am coming for you
There’s nothing you can say or do now
So don’t try
It’s written in this land
It’s written in the stars
It’s written in your heart and
I am coming for you
So don’t try
Lights out
The night pours in
Catch me if you can but you never will
Look deep, earthy deep
For I drift as you sleep
So surrender all
Surrender all
Arrival
There’s nothing you can say or do now
So don’t try
It’s written in this sand
It’s written in the trees
It’s written in the sea
I’m falling through the constellations
I am coming for you
So don’t hide
Underthing Solstice
She is here again
Midwinter solstice, labor’s end
Fantastically ornate woes
Human fancy, I suppose
From rooftops I can hear them sing
Through careful air
The choirs meet
I wonder and ponder
If one could meet mine
The light of dawn will not wait
Yet this night comes with
A wish inside
Never unlock the moon
The silence might escape
Their world is far, always the same
Tonight I gave Yule its true name
Began this song that might not do
What a proper song should do
As I don’t do remembering
Can’t give this song a ghost of past
I wonder I ponder
Why there is weight in time
The light of dawn will not wait
Yet this night comes with
A wish inside
Never unlock the moon
The silence might escape
The light of dawn will not wait
So, dear song,
Let’s rest here a while
Never unlock the moon
It will keep you safe at night
The light of dawn will not wait
Yet this night comes with
A wish inside
Never lock the easy wind
The broken need to fly
Precious dark
There’s a place I don’t want you to know of
Hidden deep in a blindfolded heart –
Where the desperate walk in silence,
Waiting for the ghosts to depart
There’s a game I don’t want you to know of
Masquerade, Cirque du Dècadence
A pawn in an empty chessboard
Moved around by a hand of a fool
Never played it safe
It’s a wicked game
Any hand, any call, I’m in
It said: “Love like you’ve never been hurt
And dance till dawn like you’ve just been born
A perfect toy made by perfect tools
Playing Ring Around the Rosie with a crowd of fools
Take a hold of my hand, I have sights to show you
Gingerbread house, Pleasure Island, Big Blue
Turn off the light, close your eyes wide shut
And welcome the precious dark”
I have seen far, I’ve never seen close
There are no mirrors on my wall
Silent is the call of my ocean
And the sirens washed ashore
All the sins they have long shadows
Turn the switch and the past comes alive
Live and learn, 1,2,3, know your ABC
It’s their answer to every “why”
Never played it safe
It’s a wicked game
Any hand, any call, I’m in
It said:” Love like you’ve never been hurt
And dance till dawn like you’ve just been born
A perfect toy made by perfect tools
Playing Ring Around the Rosie with a crowd of fools
Take a hold of my hand, I have sights to show you
Gingerbread house, Pleasure Island, Big Blue
Turn off the light, close your eyes wide shut
And welcome the precious dark”
There was always a place that you knew of
You were holding the keys all along
There was always a game that you knew of
Now you’re one of them washed ashore
Never played it safe
It’s a wicked game
Any hand, any call, I’m in
It said:” Love like you’ve never been hurt
And dance till dawn like you’ve just been born
A perfect toy made by perfect tools
Playing Ring Around the Rosie with a crowd of fools
Take a hold of my hand, I have sights to show you
Gingerbread house, Pleasure Island, Big Blue
Turn off the light, close your eyes wide shut
And welcome the precious dark”
Love like you’ve
And dance till dawn
A perfect toy
welcome the precious dark”