AYERON - Into the electric castle

AYERON

Into the electric castle:

Disc 1

I) WELCOME TO THE NEW DIMENSION

Welcome! You have entered the cranial vistas of psychogenesis. This is the place of no-time and no-space. Do not be afraid for I am merely the vocal manifestation of your eternal dreams. I am as water, as air -- like breath itself. Do not be afraid.
Look around, but linger not. Where I lead you will follow. Mark these words well. Ignite my anger with your delay and punishments will come your way.
You are eight mortal souls of the flesh, chosen from different eras ancient and modern. The trivia of your mortal lives is unimportant - to me Indeed, some may die
You have a task: To release yourselves from this Web of Wisdom, this knotted Maze of Delirium, you must enter the nuclear portals of the Electric Castle!


II) ISIS AND OSIRIS

A) LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN
HIGHLANDER:
What heathen place is this that I've arrived in
Is now the time I pay for all my sins
I can't believe that this is God's creation
This realm was fashioned by the Deil's ane hand

INDIAN (CHORUS):
No it has been foretold, in our legends of old
Wake the spirit within, let the journey begin

HIGHLANDER:
This quest you speak of is for redemption
How can we travel when our souls are lost
You think we find ourselves at gates of new salvation
When I can only sense the end is here

INDIAN (CHORUS)

KNIGHT:
We're at the gates of Avalon, the island of spirits
We're at the gates of Avalon, in search of the grail

B) THE HALL OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
ROMAN:
There's no way out, slaves for eternity
Down in the underworld, the jaws of Orcus
I call on Jupiter, ruler of the gods
Show us the way, from damnation to salvation

EGYPTIAN (CHORUS):
The fields of Yaaru lie waiting for us all
Rejoice! the judges have ruled
We have been chosen to enter the great hall
Of Isis and Osiris

ROMAN:
No you're wrong, we're trapped here in darkness
Among departed souls, and mislaid spirits
I call on Mars, the ancient god of war
Grant me the power, to free me from this evil

EGYPTIAN (CHORUS)

C) STRANGE CONSTELLATIONS

HIGHLANDER
Can you see the stars? can you recognize the constellations?
If I could only see the hills that we're supposed to climb
Even the sunlightit doesn't warm..doesn't warm
How are we gonna find our way?
If we can't recognize the stars, if we can't recognize the constellations
Where do we go?


D) REPRISE
HIGHLANDER
The quest you speak of, it isn't bound for glory
No grail exists within this heathen land
You think we find ourselves at gates of new salvation
When I can only sense the end is near

III) AMAZING FLIGHT

There is danger ahead. But do not be afraid. For I am with you- like breath itself. Darkness will lead to light- colour will bleed into the night. Beautiful colours, the likes of which you have never seen. Let the dream of confusion lead you into the virgin light! Be gone! Be all- seeing, be brave.Be gone!

A) AMAZING FLIGHT IN SPACE
BARBARIAN
I'm looking 'round bewildered
Is this some dark and evil jest?
What brought me to this cursed keep
Perchance some crazy quest
Gos forbid I am no coward!
Pitted against a monster, man, or ghost
I'd wield my blade with crimson gusto
For I am the proud barbarian host!

HIPPIE (CHORUS)
Hey dude, you're so uncool
But hey, that's alright
Like there's no need to get uptight
My eyes reflect the stars
And smile lights up my face
We're on an amazing flight in space

BARBARIAN:
I shook city walls and towers
Wreaking havoc in the streets
Burned palaces of cow'rdly kings
Not a one stood up to me (fools) here

Bear bloody banners in blazing skies
Brandish battle-axe and broadsword
Let drums of glory sound like thunder!
Hail!! barbaric warlord!!

HIPPIE (CHORUS

B) STARDANCE
INDIAN:
Chanting

C) FLYING COLOURS

IV) TIME BEYOND TIME

FUTUREMAN:
From the cities underseas
To the skyways in the east
From the stations on the moon
To the planet of neptune
I'm a sophisticated man
And you would say I'd understand
Is it a virtual design?
Are we launched into a time beyond time
Space beyond space
We are lost here in this cyber world
Is there no way out?

KNIGHT:
I don't understand your words
They strike as hard as steel
I'm sworn to the sacred quest on the isle of Avalon
To retrieve the magic chalice
Which holds the power to heal
Only the pure of hearts are received into the realm

ROMAN:
Just look around you now and tell me what you see
A world full of treachery
Skies of silver and seas of gold
The past in young and the future old
We're closed in by iron gates
Beyond them Elysium waits
Far away on the edge of the world in a time beyond time
Space beyond space
We are lost here in the underworld
Is there no way out?

FUTUREMAN
From the birthcry of our race
To the mysteries of space
I'm and educated man
And you would say I'd understand


V) THE DECISION TREE (WE'RE ALIVE)

Ah, my friends! So light of foot. So swift. You have come this far. And now- here beneath the ancient, omniscient boughs of the Decision Tree one of you must depart this world of flesh. Only seven may continue. Only you can decide.

BARBARIAN
Let it be clear I won't be the one to die here
Honour and glory are heaped upon my name
Let it be clear I'm not the one who cries here
What about the tall one, the one who's lost to shame

HIGHLANDER:
I've followed princes, I've raised their bloody banners
I've killed and wounded on the side of right
I've reaped the harvest, scattered fields with ashes
I've buried children, sowed the seeds of hate

CHORUS:

ALL
We're alive
We'll survive
We will strive for our freedom
We're alive

We'll survive
We'll arrive in our eden

HIGHLANDER:
I've followed prices
I've followed kings
I will take their lead no more
I will not lie
In shallow graves
(I'm nobody's slave)

BARBARIAN:
Let it be known, by Thor the god of Lightning
I have been chosen to do battle at his side
Let it be clear I was born to go down fighting
What about the craven, the one who's lost his pride?

HIGHLANDER
Don't speak to me, of honour, pride, and glory
I've tasted blood, seen your ype before
You talk of battles but all you tell are stories
You'd see me buried in a shallow grave

(CHORUS)


VI) TUNNEL OF LIGHT

Be joyful, my friends! You will now enter the tunnel of light. Let brilliance suffuse your souls! Make your choice. Your path is incandescend.

HIGHLANDER:
Don't offer me the light, when I only know the darkness
Thats where I want to hide
There's a chill in my bones, that I recognise from another life
That's why I'm heading home

EGYPTIAN: Ra- heliopolis, ka-anenti
ROMAN: Into Elysium!
KNIGHT: The isle of Avalon!
EGYPTIAN: In the tunnel of light

HIGHLANDER:
Don't tempt my heart with hope,
In the shadow of broken promises I guard my dreams
In the bend of a swollen river
In the roots of weeping willows, I choose to lie

EGYPTIAN: Ra- heliopolis, ka-anenti
ROMAN: Into Elysium!
KNIGHT: The isle of Avalon!
INDIAN: The legend has begun!
FUTUREMAN: Our one and only sun
EGYPTIAN: In the tunnel of light

EGYPTIAN: Ra- heliopolis, ka-anenti
HIGHLANDER: I rest my broken heart, where the willow weep
ROMAN: Into Elysium!
HIGHLANDER: I will lay me down
KNIGHT: The isle of Avalon!
HIGHLANDER: I will rest my head
INDIAN: The legend has begun!
HIGHLANDER: I will close my eyes
EGYPTIAN: In the tunnel of light

VII) ACROSS THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

And now this Rainbow Bridge: an iridesent span of tears - so fragile and yet so strong. Will it support you mortal shells? Or will you fall into the fiery brine below?

KNIGHT
I hark back to olden days
To her and her magic ways
Two souls in harmony
In an endless sea

The cruel wings of destiny
Carried you away from me
And left a heart unstilled
That never will be filled

ROMAN (CHORUS)
Beyond these stygian skies our fortress lies
Across the rainbow bridge
We'll span the sea of tears and conquer all our fears (inside)

KNIGHT:
I'd sacrifice my very life
To have you at my side
Like a dream I see your face
Through the misty haze
We were one amid the stars
And time never healed my scars
Deep inside the sadness burns
I must return!

ROMAN (CHORUS):
Beyond these stygian skies our fortress lies
Across the rainbow bridge
We'll span the sea of tears and conquer all our fears
Forsake this mourning field and drop your shields
Across the rainbow bridge
Run to the other side where all our dreams abide

HIPPIE:
Scarlet crimson rosey red
I must be dead
Or stoned out of my head

Orange yellow tangerine
The acid queen
In a psychedelic scene

Ochre chestnut chocolate brown
I'm upside down
On a cosmic eiderdown

Ivory milky chalky white
The stars ignite
I vanish in the light- that burns so bright

Step forward, step forward- beyond lies your goal: The Electric Castle! The past is gone! Do you wish to lapse in limbo forever? No! Be resoluteThere are trials ahead- and rewards for those who strive: The surreal search endures.

ROMAN & KNIGHT
Run run the past is gone, it cannot be undone
Run run the future is here, our fate is drawing near

ROMAN (CHORUS)

Disc 2

I) THE GARDEN OF EMOTIONS

Behold: The Star Towers of The Electric Castle! See how it embraces the sky! How isignificant the mere mortal, drawfed by the majesty of its electric edifice! But first, my seven searchers - you must meander through the verdant vines of the Garden of Emotions. Succomb to its allure. Breathe deep the intoxicating aroma of endless- entwined emotions.

A) IN THE GARDEN OF EMOTIONS
HIPPIE:
It's kinda groovy
In this world of fantasy
Where no one else can go
Within these boundaries
I'm shielded from reality
Without a care or woe

EGYPTIAN:
Amon-ra, have you copme to seal my fate?
In the garden of emotions
Free my ka, how much longer must I wait?
In the garden of emotions

HIPPIE:
I roam the universe
In cosmic meditation
To find my inner me
I'm getting high on love
Spiritual vibrations
To set bad karma free

EGYPTIAN:
Amon-ra, have you come to seal my fate?
In the garden of emotions
Free my ka, how much longer must I wait?
In the garden of emotions

B) VOICES IN THE SKY
ROMAN: Take up arms and follow me
BARBARIAN: Hey who are you to take the lead?
ROMAN: I will keep you all from harm
BARBARIAN: So what kind of god do you think you are?
ROMAN: A warrior is what I am
BARBARIAN: No I'm the wolf and you are but a lamb
ROMAN: If you doubt my force you'll live no more
BARBARIAN: You will end your war upon my sword

INDIAN
'And voices in the sky
Shall cause the soul to die'

ROMAN: We'll break away by my command
BARBARIAN: No we'll crush our foe and quell this land
ROMAN: You cannot kill what's already dead
BARBARIAN: Whoever rivals me will lose his head
ROMAN: You'll endanger all our precious lives
BARBARIAN: Well I don't care, I will survive
ROMAN: I'm the only one who can set us free
BARBARIAN: Go chase your ghost and leave me be

INDIAN
'And voices in the sky
Shall cause the soul to die'

C) THE AGGRESSION FACTOR

INDIAN
Fury and fear

Destiny's near

Spirits appear

The legend is here

FUTUREMAN
It must be feeding on our negative emotions
We're at the mercy of some vile Computerscheme
We'll have to try to hide our antagonistic notions
If we ever want to end this future dream

KNIGHT
Chivalrous and bold
Pitiless and cold
Valiant and true
Treacherous and cruel
Chivalrous and bold
Pitiless and cold
Valiant and true
Treacherous and cruel

INDIAN
Fury and fear

Destiny's near

Spirits appear

The legend is here

FUTUREMAN:
We have to free our minds from anger and Aggression
It's the only way to defy this cold machine
If we're to stand up to this emotional oppression
We had better stand together as a team

KNIGHT
Chivalrous and bold
Pitiless and cold
Valiant and true
Treacherous and cruel
Chivalrous and bold
Pitiless and cold
Valiant and true
Treacherous and cruel

EGYPTIAN
Amon-ra, have you come to seal my fate?
In the garden of emotions


II) VALLEY OF THE QUEENS

EGYPTIAN
My jouney's over
I'm standing on the edge
And close my eyes
To this world of lies

My will is broken
It's the end of all my dreams

My sould yearns
For the valley of the queens

My rose has withered
It will never bloom again
The soul is dry
Time has come to die

My faith has left me
They've stolden all my dreams
Oh lay me down
In the valley of the queens

My search has ended
My name is carved in stone
On the temple wall
Beyond Osiris' hall

No holy sunrays
Will light my tomb of dreams
I won't return
From the valley ofThe Queens


III) THE CASTLE HALL

At last! You enter the Electric Castle! Here in this vast hall where even shadows fear the light - here you must confront your past. If you have killed, beware of the Gathering of Spirits for they do fish for men. Here, the disembodied Astral World becomes flesh once more. I pity the men of swords. For here blood runs cold

BARBARIAN:
Cries from the grave resound in my ears
They hail from beyond my darkest fears
Faces of the past are etched in my brain
The women I raped, the men I've slain

Shades of the dead are sliding on the wall
Demons dance in the castle hall

KNIGHT:
I call upon the sword, the mighty Excalibur
Grant me the skill to fulfill my quest

I call upon my king and the knights of the table round
Grant me the courage to stand to this test

I call upon the seer, Merlin the sorcerer
Grant me the magic to end my pain

Shades of the dead are sliding on the wall
Demons dance in the castle hall

REPEAT ALL


IV) TOWER OF HOPE

From the wind-torn ramparts of the Tower of Hope we survey a thousand futures. Release your dreams from this electric pinnacle. You must have hope

HIPPIE
We're climbing up the stairs
And hope is flowing through our veins

FUTUREMAN
There's magic everywhere
We've been released of all our chains

HIPPIE
We're taking in the view
Oceans of blue, fields of green

FUTUREMAN
I fear this can't be true
We're still inside this dream machine

CHORUS:
HIPPIE: I only felt what I wanted to feel
FUTUREMAN: I only saw what I wanted to see
HIPPIE: I'm at the end of my rope
BOTH: Lost in the tower of hope

HIPPIE:
I see a brand new age
Where peace and harmony prevail
FUTUREMAN:
But we're still in this cage
Destined to die here if we fail

CHORUS

Repeat second verse

HIPPIE: I only felt what I wanted to feel
FUTUREMAN: I only saw what I wanted to see
HIPPIE: I only went where I wanted to go
FUTUREMAN: I only knew what I wanted to know
BOTH: And we became who we wanted to be
HIPPIE: I only felt what I wanted to feel
FUTUREMAN: I only saw what I wanted to see
HIPPIE: I'm at the end of my rope
BOTH: Lost in the tower of hope


V) COSMIC FUSION

A) I SOAR ON THE BREEZE
INDIAN:
Spirits - flying, I soar on the breeze
Mortals - dying, I soar on the breeze
Into the sun

Lovers - crying, I soar on the breeze
Demons - sighing, I soar on the breeze
Into the sun

I'm drawn towards the sun
And then we will be one
My soul will melt into the universe

FUTUREMAN: It's all a lie
ROMAN: You will just die
FUTUREMAN: So don't give in
ROMAN: For we can win


B) DEATH'S GRUNT
DEATH:
I am the breeze - the bringer of rest and ease
I am the wind - the forgiver of those who've sinned
I am the storm - I blow the devil's horn
I am the fire - the source of lust and desire
I am the sun - the joining has begun
I am your fate - the guardian at the gate

I am death and I claim your final breath!

INDIAN: Screams

C) PASSING OF AN EAGLE

VI) THE MIRROR MAZE

It is time to reflect upon your 'ego-self'. No-where to hide when the walls echo the you that we all see. Ah, the smiles dissolve! The pulse begins to race; the face a flush of fear so plainly painted. The Mirror World - the Mirror Maze: Confrontation

A) INSIDE THE MIRROR MAZE
HIPPIE:
Mirror mirror I can see a lonely child, he kinda looks like me
Staring out into infinity
His father lies, his mother cries, his spirit flies up into the skies
Wandering off to another galaxy

FUTUREMAN:
Secret fears we all try to hide
Lie dormant deep inside us
Defy the ghosts of long forgotten days
Here inside the mirror maze

HIPPIE:
Mirror mirror I can see an angry boy, oh well I guess he's me
Rising up to the society
He's aware that noone cares and life's unfair so he grows his hair
And takes a trip into eternity

FUTUREMAN:
Secret fears we all try to hide
Lie dormant deep inside us
Defy the ghosts of long forgotten days
Here inside the mirror maze

B) THROUGH THE MIRROR
ROMAN: I see a man, who's unable to withstand his fears inside
KNIGHT: Inside we're all but frightened men but we have to fight until the end is here
ROMAN: Hear what I say: I am doomed, I have to pay, I can't go on
KNIGHT: Go on and persevere for we have to make it out of here alive
ROMAN: A life is but a dream, for in the mirror I have seen what lies within
KNIGHT: Within this armour cold and bright lies a noble heart with the will to fight the pain
ROMAN: The pain cannot be healed, I'm surrounded by this shield I cannot break
KNIGHT: Break through the mirror now, follow me, I will show you how

ROMAN: We've reached the other side, I have overcome my pride and made it through
KNIGHT: We threw aside our darkest fears and stepped across these new frontiers of time
ROMAN: Time can only tell what awaits us in this hell full of deceit
KNIGHT: Deceit, guile and treachery, will they ever set us free again?

ROMAN: Riding on the wings of time


VII) EVIL DEVOLUTION

The future's doored ingress! What lies beyond? One of you - ah, survived so much! -- are you man enough to force this door upon its golden hinge? You craved the answer - but can you bear the truth? The door! -- The future!

FUTUREMAN:

Our hope's dissolved
For man's evolved into another state of being
Have we 'progressed' beyond the need of feeling?

A cyber-brain
The last in the chain of man/machine alliance
Have we become the victims of our science?

Evil devolution
Is this an illusion
Out here in space

Human humiliation
This mutation
Of our human race

Is this the end
Will we transcend the need for human pleasures?
Will we abandon all our earthly treasures?

Will mankind yield?
On the battlefield of natural selection?
To an inorganic digital perfection?

Evil devolution
Is this an illusion
Out here in space

Human humiliation
This mutation
Of our human race


VIII) THE TWO GATES

And so it's come to this. Two Gates - two portals await. Let your choice be guided by collective wisdom. Ah, hath the prospect of freedom ever tasted so good? One gate completes the circle; one step away from your own dimension, your cherished time. One gate severs all connections: one step away from the dreamworld of everlasting ebony. You call it oblivion.
It is a brave soul who makes the first choice.

BARBARIAN:
Behold these gates, the first one plain and old
Behold these gates, the second forged of gold
The gate of old spells out disgrace and shame
The one of gold cries out my noble name

I challenge death to meet me at this gate
I challenge Odin to pronounce my fate
And if I thrive I've overcome this land
But if I fail I'll die a worthy man

CHORUS:
ROMAN: Open the gate, we're now on our own
ALL: Enter the gate to your destiny
ROMAN: Will it be fortune or fate, the truth shall be known
ALL:Enter the gate to your destiny

BARBARIAN:
Cowards whine beyond the olden gate
Valhalla shines beyond the golden gate
I walk alone so dare not follow me
But choose your own and die in agony

CHORUS

KNIGHT:

We have been saved, our journey has ended
But tell us why, why this ordeal?
What was your aim, or was it just some game
Have we been humbled, or did we prevail?
We've been enslaved, our wounds have not mended
And who are you, what magicians or gods?
What was your plan, we don't understand
Did we pass, or did we fail?
CHORUS

IX) 'FOREVER' OF THE STARS

I am of the stars. I am called 'Forever'. Eternity courses through my veins. It is cold beyond your sun where we come from. We seed the universe with the milk of a million moons. You are that seed. Your earth is our experiment. We vanquished the dinosaurs with the careless trajectory of a child's lost meteorite. We peopled your planet to experience your emotions - such feelings lost to us aeons ago. How we envied you your loves and passions, your dangerous desires.
The fires of your emotions gleamed like lost beacons in the darkened depths of the fathomless universe. And eight of you, plucked from Time. Not randomly, you understand. Representatives of your world's turbulent history. We have observed your tribulations from nameless nebulae.

The experiment is over. I am weary now. So tired. I too am far from home. Open the gate - complete the circle. You won't remember - you won't recall - for I am only the air that you breath, after all


X) ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER SPACE

HIPPIE
Was this a dream I just had?
I have my doubts
I can't make out the truth
From the lies here inside

What kind of trip have I been on?
Where did I go
I'd like to know just why
Did it feel so damn real?

FUTUREMAN:
There's something strange going on
I don't know why
It's something I can't place
An open space, a shrouded face

As if my memory files
Have been erased
And then replaced by lies
False replies, clouded skies

HIPPIE AND FUTUREMAN (CHORUS):
A secret yearning lurks inside
Like a dream trying to hide
Another time, another space
An empty feeling haunts my brain
A strange void I can't explain
Another time, another space

ROMAN:
I've been relieved of all my pain
I've been reborn
A mighty storm has raged
And my fears disappeared

KNIGHT:
I've found the grail here within

In a magic dream
I have seen a world
Of make belief, of joy and grief!

CHORUS: ALL

Remember Forever

'Into the Electric Castle' tells the story of 8 stereotypical characters from different periods of time who suddenly find themselves in another dimension. A Highlander, Knight, Egyptian, Indian, Barbarian, Roman, Hippie and Futureman each try to understand where they are and what they are supposed to do. It is then that a voice rings out from the sky to tell them that the dimension they have arrived in is built on dreams and fears. In order to find their way back to their own dimension and time, they must go in search of The Electric Castle. During the search every character is forced to confront his or her innermost fears, and not everyone survives the treacherous journey to the Castle.

At the end of the journey those that successfully dealt with their personal demons find out that the voice belongs to an alien named 'Forever of the Stars', a member of an alien race living in a distant galaxy. These aliens created planet Earth and its people as an experiment so they could study, and hopefully one day experience emotions, as they themselves lost feelings eons ago.

'Into the Electric Castle' is a double CD. On disc 1 we experience the journey to The Electric Castle and on disc 2 we find out what happens when they arrive there.

Dream sequencer

On 'Universal Migrator part I: The Dream Sequencer' Arjen picks up the story of the 22nd century. Over a hundred years have passed since the last world war destroyed all life on earth, which the main character Ayreon already predicted in the 6th century (see the first Ayreon CD 'The Final Experiment').

During the battles a number of colonists resided on Mars, witnessing the destruction on earth from afar. For years they managed to keep themselves alive with the supplies they brought with them from earth. These supplies ran out and almost all colonists have died. The main character in the story is the last surviving human being, a child of the first colonists. He has never been on earth.

To make the boredom on Mars somewhat bearable, clever technicians designed the Dream Sequencer, a machine that allows Colonists to travel back to their own youth by means of hypnoses, but also to their lives before; their pre-incarnations so to speak.

It is in this machine that the Colonist relives his youth on Mars, his death as a woman on earth during the war of 2084, the first moonlanding of 1969, and his life as the standard bearer in the famous 17th century painting of Rembrandt: The Nightwatch. He stood on the shores of England as Queen Elisabeth I, watching the English fleet sail out to stop the Spanish Armada, and as a Mayan girl he witnessed sacred ceremonies in Tikal. We find out that the Colonist once was the minstrel Ayreon and that, in another even earlier incarnation, he was present during the construction of Stonehenge. His soul's first incarnation was the first human being on earth.

(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 childhoodand 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.'

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

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

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

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 highborn 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

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

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

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

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

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

Arjen Lucassen
Clive Nolan
Damian Wilson
Edward Reekers
Erik Norlander
Floor Jansen
Jacqueline Govaert
Johan Edlund
Lana Lane
Mark McCrite
Mouse
Neal Morse
Rob Snijders