Nightwish - Imaginaerum (2011)

1. Taikatalvi
2. Storytime
3. Ghost River
4. Slow, Love, Slow
5. I Want My Tears Back
6. Scaretale
7. Arabesque
8. Turn Loose The Mermaids
9. Rest Calm
10. The Crow, The Owl And The Dove
11. Last Ride Of The Day
12. Song Of Myself
13. Imaginaerum

1. Taikatalvi

Lapsistain rakkain tää näyttämö on
Mis kuutamo kujillaan kulkee
Taipunut havu, kesä hoivassa sen
Valkomeren niin aavan
Joka aavekuun siivin
Saapuu mut kotiin noutamaan

Päällä talvisen maan hetki kuin ikuisuus
Mi pienen kissan jakoin luokseni hiipii
Tääl tarinain lähteellä asua saan mis
Viulu valtavan kaihon
Ikisäveltään maalaa
Laulullaan herättää maan


2. Storytime

It was the night before,
When all through the world,
No words, no dreams
Then one day,
A writer by a fire
Imagined all of Gaia
Took a journey into a child-man's heart...

A painter on the shore
Imagined all the world
Within a snowflake on his palm
Unframed by poetry
A canvas of awe
Planet Earth falling back into the stars

I am the voice of Never-Never-Land
The innocence, the dreams of every man
I am the empty crib of Peter Pan,
A soaring kite against the blue, blue sky,
Every chimney, every moonlit sight
I am the story that will read you real,
Every memory that you hold dear

I am the journey,
I am the destination,
I am the home
The tale that reads you
A way to taste the night,
The elusive high
Follow the madness,
Alice you know once did

Imaginarium, a dream emporium!
Caress the tales
And they will dream you real
A storyteller's game,
Lips that intoxicate
The core of all life
Is a limitless chest of tales...

I am the voice of Never-Never-Land
The innocence, the dreams of every man
I am the empty crib of Peter Pan,
A soaring kite against the blue, blue sky,
Every chimney, every moonlit sight
I am the story that will read you real,
Every memory that you hold dear

I am the voice of Never-Never-Land
The innocence, the dreams of every man
Searching heavens for another Earth

I am the voice of Never, Never Land
The innocence, the dreams of every man
I am the empty crib of Peter Pan,
A soaring kite against the blue, blue sky,
Every chimney, every moonlit sight
I am the story that will read you real,
Every memory that you hold dear


3. Ghost River

It's a long road down the river deep 'n wild
Every twist and turn a wonder-dale
It's a scary ride we'd give anything to take
Let yourself bleed
Leave a footprint on every island you see

Hey you, child of rape, the riverbed awaits
Snow white, pitch-black, your life such strife
Heavenward, deep down, I'll show you such sights
Believe it, we live as we dream / scream

"He will go down he will drown drown, deeper down
The river wild will take your only child
He will go down he will drown drown, deeper down
The mills grind slow in a riverbed ghost town
He will go down he will drown drown, deeper down
If you want me, then do come across"

What is it you dream of, child of mine?
The magic ride, the mermaid cove?
Never met a kinder heart than yours
Let it bleed
Leave a footprint on every island you see

"I am the painted faces, the toxic kiss
Sowing of doubt, troll beneath the bridge
Come across
Death by a thousand cuts
Believe it, we live as we dream / scream"

"I am the desert-scape, the sand inside your hourglass
I am the fear and abuse, the leper children
Every eye sewn shut"

"We will go down we will drown drown, deeper down
The river wild will be our last ride
We will go down we will drown drown, deeper down
The mills grind slow in a riverbed ghost town"

Beautifully shy as you are
Never lose your heart
And do come across


4. Slow, Love, Slow

Come and share this painting with me
Unveiling of me, the magician that never failed

This deep sigh coiled around my chest
Intoxicated by a major chord
I wonder
Do I love you or the thought of you?

Slow, love, slow
Only the weak are not lonely

Southern blue, morning dew
Let-down-your-guards, I-love-you's
Ice-cream castles, lips-to-ear rhymes
A slumber deeper than time

Slow, love, slow
Only the weak are not lonely


5. I Want My Tears Back

I want my tears back

The treetops, the chimneys, the snowbed stories, winter grey
Wildflowers, those meadows of heaven, wind in the wheat

A railroad across waters, the scent of grandfatherly love
Blue bayous, Decembers, moon through a dragonfly's wings

Where is the wonder where's the awe
Where's dear Alice knocking on the door
Where's the trapdoor that takes me there
Where the real is shattered by a Mad March Hare

Where is the wonder where's the awe
Where are the sleepless nights I used to live for
Before the years take me
I wish to see
The lost in me

I want my tears back
I want my tears back now

A ballet on a grove, still growing young all alone
A rag doll, a best friend, the voice of Mary Costa


6. Scaretale

Once upon a time in a daymare
Dying to meet you, little child, enter enter this sideshow

Time for bed the cradle still rocks
13 chimes on a dead man's clock,
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock

The bride will lure you, cook you, eat you
Your dear innocence boiled to feed the evil in need of fear

Burning farms and squealing pigs
A pool of snakes to swim with, oh sweet poison
bite me bite me

"Ladies and gentlemen
Be heartlessly welcome!
To Cirque De Morgue
And what a show we have for you tonight!"

Restless souls will put on their dancing shoes
Mindless ghouls with lot of limbs to lose
Illusionists, contortionist,
Tightrope - walkers tightening the noose

Horde of spiders, closet tentacles
Laughing harpies with their talons ripping,
sher-chrisss, per-vizzz

The pendulum still sways for you
Such are the darks here to show you, child in a corner,
fallen mirrors, all kingdom in cinders


7. Arabesque

[Instrumental]



8. Turn Loose The Mermaids

A kite above a graveyard grey
At the end of the line far far away
A child holding on to the magic of birth and awe

Oh, how beatiful it used to be
Just you and me far beyond the sea
The waters, scarce in motion
Quivering still

At the end of the river the sundown beams
All the relics of a life long lived
Here, weary traveller rest your wand
Sleep the journey from your eyes

Good journey, love, time to go
I checked your teeth and warmed your toes
In the horizon I see them coming for you

The mermaid grace, the forever call
Beauty in spyglass on an old man's porch
The mermaids you turned loose brought back your tears


9. Rest Calm

I went to die in a seaside hotel
Lanes of memory paved by sweet frozen moments

Deathbed memories of home
Never let me go

Every little memory resting calm in me
Resting in a dream
Smiling back at me
The faces of the past keep calling me to come back home
To caress the river with awe
Within there's every little memory resting calm in me
Resting in a dream
Smiling back at me
The faces of the past keep calling me to come back home
Rest calm and remember me

You are the moon pulling my black waters
You are the land in my dark closet
Stay by my side until it all goes dark forever
When silent the silence comes closer


10. The Crow, The Owl And The Dove

Don’t give me love, don’t give me faith
Wisdom nor pride, give innocence instead
Don’t give me love, I’ve had my share
Beauty nor rest, give me truth instead

A crow flew to me, kept its distance
Such a proud creation
I saw its soul, envied its pride
But needed nothing it had

An owl came to me, old and wise
Pierced right through my youth
I learned its ways, envied its sense
But needed nothing it had

Don’t give me love, don’t give me faith
Wisdom nor pride, give innocence instead
Don’t give me love, I’ve had my share
Beauty nor rest, give me truth instead

A dove came to me, had no fear
It rested on my arm
I touched its calm, envied its love
But needed nothing it had

A swan of white, she came to me
The lake mirrored her beauty sweet
I kissed her neck, adored her grace
But needed nothing she could give

Got to grieve her, got to wreck it
Got to grieve her, got to wreck it
Got to grieve her, got to wreck it

Don’t give me love, don’t give me faith
Wisdom nor pride, give innocence instead
Don’t give me love, I’ve had my share
Beauty nor rest, give me truth instead


11. Last Ride Of The Day

We live in every moment but this one
Why don't we recognise the faces loving us so

What's God if not the spark that started life
Smile of a stranger
Sweet music, starry skies
Wonder, mystery, wherever my road goes
Early wake-ups in a moving home
scent of fresh-mown grass in the morning sun
Open theme park gates waiting for

Riding the day, every day into sunset
Finding the way back home

Once upon a night we'll wake to the carnival of life
the beauty of this ride ahead such an incredible high
It's hard to light a candle, easy to curse the dark instead
This moment the dawn of humanity
The last ride of the day

Wake up, dead boy
Enter adventureland
Tricksters, magicians will show you all that's real
Careless jugglers, snake charmers by your trail
Magic of a moment
Abracadabra


12. Song Of Myself

[1. From A Dusty Bookshelf]

[2. All That Great Heart Lying Still]

The nightingale is still locked in the cage
The deep breath I took still poisons my lungs
An old oak sheltering me from the blue
Sun bathing on its dead frozen leaves

A catnap in the ghost town of my heart
She dreams of storytime and the river ghosts
Of mermaids, of Whitman's and the rude
Raving harlequins, gigantic toys

A song of mea song in need
Of a courageous symphony
A verse of mea verse in need
Of a ppure-heart singing me to peace

All that great heart lying still and slowly dying
All that great heart lying still on an angelwing

All that great heart lying still
In silent suffering
Smiling like a clown until the show has come to an end
What is left for encore
Is the same old dead boy's song
Sung in silence
All that great heart lying still and slowly dying
All that great heart lying still on an angelwing

A midnight flight into Covington Woods
A princess and a panther by m side
These are Territories I live for
I'd still give mt everything to love you more

[3. Piano Black]

A silent symphony
A hollow opus #1,2,3

Sometimes the sky is piano black
Piano black over cleansing waters

Resting pipes, verse of bore
Rusting keys without a door

Sometimes the within is piano black
Piano black over cleansing waters

All that great heart lying still and slowly dying
All that great heart lying still on an angelwing

[4. Love]

I see a slow, simple youngster by a busy street,
with a begging bowl in his shaking hand.
Trying to smile but hurting infinitely. Nobody notices.
I do, but walk by.

An old man gets naked and kisses a model-doll in his attic
It's half-light and he's in tears.
When he finally comes his eyes are cascading.

I see a beaten dog in a pungent alley. He tries to bite me.
All pride has left his wild eyes.
I wish I had my leg to spare.

A mother visits her son, smiles to him through the bars.
She's never loved him more.

An obese girl enters an elevator with me.
All dressed up fancy, a green butterfly on her neck.
Terribly sweeet perfume deafens me.
She's going to dinner alone.
That makes her even more beautiful.

I see a model's face on a brick wall.
A statue of porcelain perfection beside a violent city kill.
A city that worships flesh.

The 1st thing I ever heard was a wandering
man telling his story
It was you, the grass under my bare feet
The campfire in the dead of night
The heavenly black of sky and sea

It was us
Roaming the rainy roads, combing the guilded beaches
Waking up to a new gallery of wonders every morn
Bathing in places no-one's seen before
Shipwrecked on some matt-painted island
Clad in nothing but the surf - beauty's finest robe

Beyond all mortality we are, swinging in the breath of nature
In early air of the dawn of life
A sight to silence the heavens

I want to travel where life travels,
following its permanent lead
Where the air tastes like snow music
Where grass smells like fresh-born Eden
I would pass no man, no stranger, no tragedy or rapture
I would bathe in a world of sensation
Love, goodness and simplicity
(While violated and imprisoned by technology)

The thought of my family's graves was the only moment
I used to experience true love
That love remains infintie,
as I'll never be the man my father is

How can you "just be yourself"
when you don't know who you are?
Stop saying "I know how you feel"
How could anyone know how another feels?

Who am I to judge a priest, beggar,
whore, politician, wrongdoer?
I am, you are, all of them already

Dear child, stop working, go play
Forget every rule
There's no fear in a dream

"Is there a village inside this snowflake?"
- a child asked me
"What's the colour of our lullaby?"

I've never been so close to truth as then
I touched its silver lining

Death is the winner in any war
Nothing noble in dying for your religion
For your country
For ideology, for faith
For another man, yes

Paper is dead without words
Ink idle without a poem
All the world dead without stories
Without love and disarming beauty

Careless realism costs souls

Ever seen the Lord smile?
Allt he care for the world made Beautiful a sad man?
Why do we still carry a device of torture around our necks?
Oh, how rotten your pre-apocalypse is
All you bible-black fools living over nightmare ground

I see all those empty cradles and wonder
If man will never change

I, too, wish to be a decent manboy but all I am
Is smoke and mirrors
Still given everything, may I be deserving

And there forever remains the change from G to Em


13. Imaginaerum

[Instrumental]