Author: Cheesus
NOTE: The lyrics below are presented in a colour coded format to demonstrate which lines are spoken from John's point of view, which ones are from Rena's, and those shared by both.
John
Rena
Both
Cold - Lying in my bed
Staring into darkness
Lost - I hear footsteps overhead
and my thoughts return again
In this section we are given an image of John's wife, lying alone in bed, and is constantly reminded of John's absence (ie 'i hear footsteps overhead and my thoughts return again')
Like a child who's run away
and won't be coming back
Time keeps passing by
As night turns into day
John's Wife is comparing her husbands absence to that of a child whos running away, showing that she may feel that John has abandoned her.
I'm so far away
and so alone
I need to see your face
to keep me sane
to make me whole
This is Mrs. Petrucci showing her feelings of despair and that without seeing/hearing her husband, she feels alone and empty, and feels that she is going insane.
Try to stay alive
Until I hear your voice
i'm gonna lose my mind
someone tell me why
I chose thisl ife
this superficial lie
constant compromise
endless sacrifice
I said that this is from both perspectives because it applies to both John and his wife. They wish for the other person to remain healthy and 'alive' so that they can come home to them. They question why they chose their current life (rockstar away from wife/wife abandoned by rockstar) and realize the compromises and sacrifices that are made to continue living that way are enormous.
Pain - it saddens me to know
The helplessness you feel
Your light shines on my soul
While a thousand candles burn
Told from John's perspective now, he tells us that he knows his wife is feeling upset due to his absence, and that he feels upset for her, but does not forget his love for her and her love for him.
Outside this barren room
The rain is pouring down
The emptiness inside
Is growing deeper still
This barren room seems to be a metaphor comparing his feeling of being trapped within his mind, to that of a barren room. The rain is referring to the sorrow he is feeling, and he states that he feels more empty as time progresses.
You're so far away
and so alone
you long for love's embrace
to keep you sane
to make you whole
John tells us how he feels his wife is feeling, and that he wishes to see her.
Try to stay alive
Until I hear your voice
I'm gonna lose my mind
Someone tell me why
I chose this life
this superficial lie
constant compromise
endless sacrifice
See above.
Moments wasted
Isolated
Time escaping
Endless Sacrifice
I wasnt too sure whether to make this from John's wife's perspective or both of theirs, but whatever. this is pretty straight forward, saying that because John is away, so many moments that could have happened HAVENT, and she feels Isolated and that her time is running out.
Over the distance
we try to make sense of
surviving together
while living apart
Basically John saying that they are trying to make things work, no matter how far apart they are.
striving for balance
we rise to the challenge
of staying connected
in spite of circumstance
No matter what happens to one of them, they will still do their best to make things continue to work, regardless of what will happen.
all you've forsaken
and all that you've done
so that I could live out
this undying dream
won't be forsaken
or taken for granted
i'll always remember
your endless sacrifice
Here, John tells us that he is infinitely grateful for everything that his wife has done for him to achieve his goal of becoming a famous musician/rockstar.
Endless Sacrifice
I agree with the basic meanig entirely, however I think it's a bit rash to assume it's about JP and Rena. It very well may be, but it very well may not be as well
Well I guess because the song is written by John and has some obvious references to Rena and the difficulties of being a touring musician. When I first read the lyrics I was 100% certain that I knew what the meaning of the song was, and this analysis confirms my thinking.
well, it first appeared to be a song dealing with John and Rena, but i suppose, Doug H, that it could also apply to other people, but thats the same with most songs 
Yeah.... For sure..... Really though..... it could be about anybody on this planet. Only DT will be able to settle this one!
I think it's about John and his relationship with God. He's refllecting on his life, wondering why his life has turned out the way it has. God responds to John with this: Pain - it saddens me to know
The helplessness you feel
Your light shines on my soul
While a thousand candles burn
About the candles, Catholics are known for burning candles when they pray, and JP is a Catholic.
The helplessness you feel
Your light shines on my soul
While a thousand candles burn
About the candles, Catholics are known for burning candles when they pray, and JP is a Catholic.
yeah i had the exact same idea when i first heard the song and saw that pertrucci wrote it. cept that i think that the entire song is in johns perspective.
not to say you are wrong in any way, but just a quick reanalyzation of the "rena perspective" from my point of view.
Cold - Lying in my bed
Staring into darkness
Lost - I hear footsteps overhead
and my thoughts return again
i see this as JP in the hotel room trying to sleep and he ends up staring off into space. then the sudden sound from above gets his attention and he goes back to what he was thinking about(my best guess being of his family)
Like a child who's run away
and won't be coming back
Time keeps passing by
As night turns into day
i see the runaway child line refering to the time rather than a person. the child runs and never returns, in the same way that time keeps moving forwards, not backwards. it keeps progressing and soon enough, morning arrives.
I'm so far away
and so alone
I need to see your face
to keep me sane
to make me whole
JP being far from home and expressing the need to see his wife. pretty self explainitory.
then this little part..
Moments wasted
Isolated
Time escaping
Endless Sacrifice
i just see this as being from JPs perspective. mainly the word "isolated." seeing that hes somewhere in the world by himself without the rest of his family. endless sacrifice of course being his career. being in a band causes you to sacrifice alot. in his case, endlessly due to constant world tours and clinics and whatnot.
well thats all i have to say about that. just thought i would chime in with my two cents. good job with your analyzation though. i do admire what you said and the depth that you go into with the explaination. i just saw some of it in a different way is all. and with that, i conclude.
not to say you are wrong in any way, but just a quick reanalyzation of the "rena perspective" from my point of view.
Cold - Lying in my bed
Staring into darkness
Lost - I hear footsteps overhead
and my thoughts return again
i see this as JP in the hotel room trying to sleep and he ends up staring off into space. then the sudden sound from above gets his attention and he goes back to what he was thinking about(my best guess being of his family)
Like a child who's run away
and won't be coming back
Time keeps passing by
As night turns into day
i see the runaway child line refering to the time rather than a person. the child runs and never returns, in the same way that time keeps moving forwards, not backwards. it keeps progressing and soon enough, morning arrives.
I'm so far away
and so alone
I need to see your face
to keep me sane
to make me whole
JP being far from home and expressing the need to see his wife. pretty self explainitory.
then this little part..
Moments wasted
Isolated
Time escaping
Endless Sacrifice
i just see this as being from JPs perspective. mainly the word "isolated." seeing that hes somewhere in the world by himself without the rest of his family. endless sacrifice of course being his career. being in a band causes you to sacrifice alot. in his case, endlessly due to constant world tours and clinics and whatnot.
well thats all i have to say about that. just thought i would chime in with my two cents. good job with your analyzation though. i do admire what you said and the depth that you go into with the explaination. i just saw some of it in a different way is all. and with that, i conclude.
I would also agree more to the above ( relationship between God and John ) And being Catholic myself, candles are burning in most traditonal Catholic Churchs.
You know, sometimes I kind of change one word in this song and pretend the song has a completely different meaning to me. (Songs are what they are to me.) (I interpret them based on my OWN life, not the artist's.)
I'm a christian man, and I like to change the word isolated to I surrender. (That's what it sounded like when I first heard the song.)
This is how the song plays out in my mind...
Cold - Lying in my bed
Staring into darkness
Lost - I hear footsteps overhead
and my thoughts return again
... Nighttime falls and i'm lying in my bed staring, reflecting on my sins, my life in general.
Like a child who's run away
and won't be coming back
Time keeps passing by
As night turns into day
time is a child that has run away on me, and I don't have much time left. I need to change.
I'm so far away
and so alone
I need to see your face
to keep me sane
to make me whole
I feel abandoned even though I know god is always there. It's a feeling i've brought on myself. I need to see your face, I'm longing to come back into the presence of our most high Lord to make me whole again.
Try to stay alive
Until I hear your voice
i'm gonna lose my mind
someone tell me why
I chose thisl ife
this superficial lie
constant compromise
endless sacrifice
try to stay alive, alive meaning in the light of Jesus, not to fall to temptation and allow Satan to strip my life away. Someone tell me why I chose this superficial lie that is the world we live in. Why do I let non believers pull me away from god's grace telling me what's right and wrong and how I can push that line. After all I have the word of God telling me of his glory. the world is foolish. Constant comprimise is me comprimising my beliefs. Endless Sacrifice is what Jesus gives.
Pain - it saddens me to know
The helplessness you feel
Your light shines on my soul
While a thousand candles burn
Having returned to gods grace, I see someone else who's life is in dispair and I want to tell them about the glory of god. The soul of this person is glorious and gods love for them shines through their sins.
Outside this barren room
The rain is pouring down
The emptiness inside
Is growing deeper still[/]
the room where the person and I are is cold and dark and the dispair of this person is growing more and more and Satan tell him/her not to believe the words I speak.
You're so far away
and so alone
you long for love's embrace
to keep you sane
to make you whole
The witness that brings salvation to this person and telling them of the goodness of god.
Try to stay alive
Until I hear your voice
I'm gonna lose my mind
Someone tell me why
I chose this life
this superficial lie
constant compromise
endless sacrifice
This person realizes how they've been living and cries out to god for healing. Again he's wondering why he got sucked into the lies of the world and comprimised what God was offering him.
Moments wasted
I surrender <- this is where I change the words
Time escaping
Endless Sacrifice
Then finally, my confession to Christ as my savior about how hard it is to live here on earth with all that's going on around me.
Over the distance
we try to make sense of
surviving together
while living apart
striving for balance
we rise to the challenge
of staying connected
in spite of circumstance
all you've forsaken
and all that you've done
so that I could live out
this undying dream
won't be forsaken
or taken for granted
i'll always remember
your endless sacrifice
I'm a christian man, and I like to change the word isolated to I surrender. (That's what it sounded like when I first heard the song.)
This is how the song plays out in my mind...
Cold - Lying in my bed
Staring into darkness
Lost - I hear footsteps overhead
and my thoughts return again
... Nighttime falls and i'm lying in my bed staring, reflecting on my sins, my life in general.
Like a child who's run away
and won't be coming back
Time keeps passing by
As night turns into day
time is a child that has run away on me, and I don't have much time left. I need to change.
I'm so far away
and so alone
I need to see your face
to keep me sane
to make me whole
I feel abandoned even though I know god is always there. It's a feeling i've brought on myself. I need to see your face, I'm longing to come back into the presence of our most high Lord to make me whole again.
Try to stay alive
Until I hear your voice
i'm gonna lose my mind
someone tell me why
I chose thisl ife
this superficial lie
constant compromise
endless sacrifice
try to stay alive, alive meaning in the light of Jesus, not to fall to temptation and allow Satan to strip my life away. Someone tell me why I chose this superficial lie that is the world we live in. Why do I let non believers pull me away from god's grace telling me what's right and wrong and how I can push that line. After all I have the word of God telling me of his glory. the world is foolish. Constant comprimise is me comprimising my beliefs. Endless Sacrifice is what Jesus gives.
Pain - it saddens me to know
The helplessness you feel
Your light shines on my soul
While a thousand candles burn
Having returned to gods grace, I see someone else who's life is in dispair and I want to tell them about the glory of god. The soul of this person is glorious and gods love for them shines through their sins.
Outside this barren room
The rain is pouring down
The emptiness inside
Is growing deeper still[/]
the room where the person and I are is cold and dark and the dispair of this person is growing more and more and Satan tell him/her not to believe the words I speak.
You're so far away
and so alone
you long for love's embrace
to keep you sane
to make you whole
The witness that brings salvation to this person and telling them of the goodness of god.
Try to stay alive
Until I hear your voice
I'm gonna lose my mind
Someone tell me why
I chose this life
this superficial lie
constant compromise
endless sacrifice
This person realizes how they've been living and cries out to god for healing. Again he's wondering why he got sucked into the lies of the world and comprimised what God was offering him.
Moments wasted
I surrender <- this is where I change the words
Time escaping
Endless Sacrifice
Then finally, my confession to Christ as my savior about how hard it is to live here on earth with all that's going on around me.
Over the distance
we try to make sense of
surviving together
while living apart
striving for balance
we rise to the challenge
of staying connected
in spite of circumstance
all you've forsaken
and all that you've done
so that I could live out
this undying dream
won't be forsaken
or taken for granted
i'll always remember
your endless sacrifice
:::I think it's about John and his relationship with God. He's refllecting on his life, wondering why his life has turned out the way it has. God responds to John with this...
About the candles, Catholics are known for burning candles when they pray, and JP is a Catholic.
The thing is, Austin, that only that stanza works for a Christian theme to it. DT are known pretty well for their symbolism, so I suppose the candles could be symbolic of how much (assumed Rena) means to him. Look at it this way:
If this is referring to his relationship with God, it would be considered quite blasphemous to put words into His mouth, so as a result we can be pretty sure this is all one person's perspective, else Petrucci's not doing himself any good. Now, take into account "You're so far away and so alone; you long for love's embrace, to keep you sane, to make you whole" -- if that were referring to God, I'd think there was something going on between them.
Not to mention, there's all this all-encompassing (i.e., speaking to both, hence we) "Over the distance, WE try to make sense of surviving together while living apart" indicating that there's distance between them, that both parties are mortal (hence surviving). Not to mention, there's this entire "Endless Sacrifice." I don't know, but the word endless seems to imply that it's seeming to last an aeon, it's still in progress, it's slightly more current than something 2005 years behind. Plus, "moments wasted" is saying that they could be spending time together - and I really don't see Jesus being the sort to go down the pub to spend quality time with John were he still alive.
About the candles, Catholics are known for burning candles when they pray, and JP is a Catholic.
The thing is, Austin, that only that stanza works for a Christian theme to it. DT are known pretty well for their symbolism, so I suppose the candles could be symbolic of how much (assumed Rena) means to him. Look at it this way:
If this is referring to his relationship with God, it would be considered quite blasphemous to put words into His mouth, so as a result we can be pretty sure this is all one person's perspective, else Petrucci's not doing himself any good. Now, take into account "You're so far away and so alone; you long for love's embrace, to keep you sane, to make you whole" -- if that were referring to God, I'd think there was something going on between them.
Not to mention, there's all this all-encompassing (i.e., speaking to both, hence we) "Over the distance, WE try to make sense of surviving together while living apart" indicating that there's distance between them, that both parties are mortal (hence surviving). Not to mention, there's this entire "Endless Sacrifice." I don't know, but the word endless seems to imply that it's seeming to last an aeon, it's still in progress, it's slightly more current than something 2005 years behind. Plus, "moments wasted" is saying that they could be spending time together - and I really don't see Jesus being the sort to go down the pub to spend quality time with John were he still alive.
There's no doubt this song is based on a man and a woman being separated from eachother for an extended period of time, but I imagined the two people were separated by war. The man overseas and the woman home, both wishing they were together
I base this opinion on the lines "Your light shines on my soul while a thousand candles burn\" I take it to mean that there are thousands of people in her very situation \"lighting candles\" for their loved ones fighting the war, but the one candle lit for her love shines brightest on her soul.
Everything else in the song can pretty much be molded to mean whatever you want it to. This was just the only explanation that made perfect sense to me. I\'m no expert though.
I base this opinion on the lines "Your light shines on my soul while a thousand candles burn\" I take it to mean that there are thousands of people in her very situation \"lighting candles\" for their loved ones fighting the war, but the one candle lit for her love shines brightest on her soul.
Everything else in the song can pretty much be molded to mean whatever you want it to. This was just the only explanation that made perfect sense to me. I\'m no expert though.
Another part I completely forgot to mention in my first comment is the last vocal section of the song starting with "Over the distance..." and ending with "I'll always remember your Endless Sacrifice." In the other posts, say that the final section is the man speaking to the woman. In the theory of a couple separated by war, I see that it's the woman talking to the man, thanking him for going to war, protecting his nation and her freedom, and making an "Endless Sacrifice," (death or permanent injury) It's not as happy an ending as the others had, but it makes decent sense to me. Hope it gave you something to think about.
I Don't think that this song relly reflects a relationship between a man and god.
Whilst the "thousand candles" passage has some religious overtones, I think that it's more a use of poetic hyperbole.
Also the last segment of the song
"Over the distance
we try to make sense of
surviving together
while living apart
striving for balance
we rise to the challenge
of staying connected
in spite of circumstance
all you've forsaken
and all that you've done
so that I could live out
this undying dream
won't be forsaken
or taken for granted
i'll always remember
your endless sacrifice"
At least to Catholics, we are not on par with God in the same way a man and a woman would be.
If it's the Man talking, he would not be sacrificing so that God would be able to live out a Dream.
Were it God talking, that segment wouldn't really make sense.
I would think it applies to John/Rena- because other songs relate directly to members of the band- Honor Thy Father, This Dying Soul etc.
Whilst the "thousand candles" passage has some religious overtones, I think that it's more a use of poetic hyperbole.
Also the last segment of the song
"Over the distance
we try to make sense of
surviving together
while living apart
striving for balance
we rise to the challenge
of staying connected
in spite of circumstance
all you've forsaken
and all that you've done
so that I could live out
this undying dream
won't be forsaken
or taken for granted
i'll always remember
your endless sacrifice"
At least to Catholics, we are not on par with God in the same way a man and a woman would be.
If it's the Man talking, he would not be sacrificing so that God would be able to live out a Dream.
Were it God talking, that segment wouldn't really make sense.
I would think it applies to John/Rena- because other songs relate directly to members of the band- Honor Thy Father, This Dying Soul etc.
About the candles, maybe he is praying for his wife?
I agree with Danioko. I think the whole song is from John's perspective and the isolation he talks about is every moments he is not on stage. I've heard from countless touring musicians that the only good part about touring (well, after your first few tours when you're in your twenties) is when you're on stage. The rest is just waiting and wishing you were home with your loved ones.
Last night, the storm outside and a dark room really helped me decode Train of Thought. I think it's the music I want to comment on.
With the sort of sing-along chorus and driving guitars, it would make sense that the same emotions are shared by both JP and RP.
The way that the really long instrumental section is constructed would suggest the "sacrifice" that JP has made, and that it is "endless" because the section is so long. Now when we finally get LaBrie back in, he "always remembers" their sacrifice, and the same part is used again. The final chord is like a sort of salute or shout-out.
With the sort of sing-along chorus and driving guitars, it would make sense that the same emotions are shared by both JP and RP.
The way that the really long instrumental section is constructed would suggest the "sacrifice" that JP has made, and that it is "endless" because the section is so long. Now when we finally get LaBrie back in, he "always remembers" their sacrifice, and the same part is used again. The final chord is like a sort of salute or shout-out.
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