Dream Theater

Build Me Up, Break Me Down

Today I will be your savior,
tomorrow a demon
You crave my erratic behavior,
and watch my every move

Obsession at all cost,
you'll be the death of me
Broken and torn apart,
why can't you let me be?

You build me up,
you break me down
Until I'm falling to pieces
I crash and burn,
I never learn
I'm your guilty addiction

Build me up,
break me down

Tonight I am the new messiah,
you deify
When I'm no longer desired,
I'll be crucified

The one who's free from sin,
the first to cast the stone
Fighting the fear within,
I won't be left alone

You build me up,
you break me down
Until I'm falling to pieces
The price I pay,
to live this way,
and the fantasy stays alive

I can't live up
I can't let down,
and leave you falling to pieces
I crash and burn,
I never learn
I'm your morbid obsession

Build me up,
break me down

You build me up,
you break me down
Until I'm falling to pieces
The price I pay,
to live this way,
and the fantasy stays alive

I can't live up
I can't let down,
and leave you falling to pieces
I crash and burn,
I never learn
Your iconic fixation

Build me up,
break me down

Build me up,
Break me down

Thev Count of Tuscany

Several years ago,
in a foreign town
Far away from home,
I met the Count of Tuscany

A young eccentric man,
bred from royal blood
Took me for a ride,
across the open countryside

Get into my car,
let's go for a drive
Along the way I'll be your guide,
just step inside
Maybe you'll recall,
I kind of felt curious,
a character inspired by my brother's life

Winding through the hills
City far behind,
on and on we go
Down narrow streets,
and dusty roads

At last we came upon,
a picturesque estate
On sprawling emerald fields,
an ancient world,
of times gone by

Let me introduce my brother
I've been a gentleman
Historian
Sucking on his pipe
Distinguished accent
You're making me uptight
No accident

I wanna stay alive
Everything about this place,
just doesn't feel right

I don't wanna die
Suddenly I'm frightened,
for my life

I wanna say goodbye
This could be the last time,
you see me alive

I may not survive
Knew it from the moment,
we arrived

Would you like to see,
a secret, holy place?
I come here late at night,
to pray to him by candlelight

Then peering through the glass,
I saw with disbelief
Still dressed in royal clothes,
the saint behind the altar

History recalls,
during times of war
Legend has been traced,
that inside these castle walls

When soldiers came to hide,
in barrels filled with wine
Never to escape,
these tombs of old,
are where they died

Down the cellar stairs,
I disappeared
Like the English heir,
the end is near
Come and have a taste,
a rare vintage
All the finest wines,
improve with age

I wanna stay alive
Everything about this place,
just doesn't feel right

I don't wanna die
Suddenly I'm frightened,
for my life

I wanna say goodbye
This could be the last time,
you see me alive

I may not survive
Knew it from the moment,
we arrived

Could this be the end?
Is this the way I die?
Sitting here alone?
No one by my side

I don't understand
I don't feel that I deserve this
What did I do wrong?
I just don't understand
(I just don't understand)

Give me one more chance,
let me please explain
It's all been circumstance,
I'll tell you once again

You took me for a ride,
promising a vast adventure
Next thing that I know,
I'm frightened for my life

Now wait a minute, man
That's not how it is
You must be confused,
that isn't who I am

Please don't be afraid,
I would never try to hurt you
This is how we live,
strange although it seems
Please try to forgive

The chapel and the saint,
the soldiers in the wine
The fables and the tales,
all handed down through time

Of course you're free to go,
go and tell the world my story
Tell them about my brother,
tell them about me
The Count of Tuscany

Wither

Let it out, let it out
Feel the empty space
So insecure
Find the words
And let it out

Staring down, staring down
Nothing comes to mind
Find the place
Turn the water into wine

But I feel I'm getting nowhere,
and I'll never see the end

So I wither,
and render myself helpless
I give in,
and everything is clear
I breakdown,
and let the story guide me

Turn it on, turn it on
Let the feelings flow
Close your eyes
See the ones you used to know

Open up, open up
Don't struggle to relate
Lure it out
Help the memory escape
Still this barrenness consumes me,
and I feel like giving up

So I wither,
and render myself helpless
I give in,
and everything is clear
I breakdown,
and let the story guide me

I wither,
and give myself away

Like reflections on the page,
the world's what you create

I drown in hesitation,
my words come crashing down
And all my best creations,
burning to the ground
The thought of starting over,
leaves me paralyzed

Tear it out again,
another one that got away

I wither,
and render myself helpless
I give in,
and everything is clear

I wither,
and render myself helpless
I give in,
and everything is clear
I breakdown,
and let the story guide me
I wither,
and give myself away

Like reflections on the page,
the world's what you create
The world's what you create
Let it out, let it out

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

[I. Overture]

[II. About to Crash]

She can't stop pacing
She never felt so alive
Her thoughts are racing
Set on overdrive

It takes a village,
this she knows is true
They're expecting her,
and she's got work to do

He helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
As he rubs his red-rimmed eyes
He says I've never seen her get this bad

Even though she seems so high,
he knows that she can't fly
And when she falls out of the Sky,
he'll be standing by

She was raised in a small midwestern town,
by a charming and eccentric loving father
She was praised as the perfect teenage girl,
and everyone thought highly of her

And she tried everyday,
with endless drive,
to make the grade
Then one day,
she woke up to find,
the perfect girl,
had lost her mind

Once barely taking a break
Now she sleeps the days away
She helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
All she wants to do is cry
No one ever knew she was so sad

Cause even though she gets so high,
and thinks that she can fly
She will fall out of the Sky,
but in the face of misery
She found hopefulness,
feeling better
She had weathered,
this depression (..this depression)

Much to her advantage,
she resumed her frantic pace
Boundless power,
midnight hour
She enjoyed the race

[III. War Inside My Head]

Napalm showers
Showed the cowards
We weren't there to mess around

Through heat exhaustion,
and mind distortion
A military victory mounted on innocent ground

Hearing voices from miles away
Saying things never said
Seeing shadows in the light of the day
Waging a war inside my head
War inside my head

Years and years of,
bloodshed and warfare
Our mission was only to get in and kill

A free vacation,
of palmtrees and shrapnel
Trading innocence for permanent psychotic hell

Hearing voices from miles away
Saying things never said
Seeing shadows in the light of the day
Waging a war inside my head

Feeling strangers staring my way
Reading minds never read
Tasting danger with each word I say
Waging a war inside my head

[IV. The Test That Stumped Them All]

Standing in the darkness
Waiting for the light
The smell of pure adrenaline
Burning in the night

Random blinding flashes
Aiming at the stage
Intro tape begins to roll
Igniting sonic rage

Still they keep me between these hollow walls
Hoping to find in me,
the answers to the test that stumped them all

"The boy is simply crazy,
suffering from delusions
We honestly think that maybe,
he might need an institution

He lives in a world of fiction,
and really could use some help
We have just the place to fix him,
to save him from himself"

Curled up in the darkness
Searching for the light
The smell of stale sweat and shit
Streaming through the night

Random urine testing
Pills red, pink and blue
Counseling and therapy
Providing not a clue

Still they keep me between these hollow walls
Hoping to find in me,
the answers to the test that stumped them all

"We can't seem to find the answers,
he seemed such a clear cut case
We cannot just let him leave here,
and put all this work to waste

Why don't we try shock treatment,
it really might do some help
We have just the tools to fix him,
to save him from himself"

[V. Goodnight Kiss]

Goodnight kiss in your nightgown
Lavender in your bed
So innocent as you lie down
Sweet dreams that run through your head

Are you lonely without Mommy's love?
I want you to know I'd die for that moment
You're just a poor girl
Afraid of this cruel world
Taken away from it all

It's been 5 years to the day and,
my tainted blood's still the same
I can't help acting this way and,
those bastard doctors are gonna pay

I'm so lonely without baby's love
I want you to know I'd die for one more moment
I'm just a poor girl
Afraid of this cruel world
Taken away from it all

[VI. Solitary Shell]

He seemed no different from the rest,
just a healthy normal boy
His mama always did her best,
and he was daddy's pride and joy

He learned to walk and talk on time,
but never cared much to be held
And steadily he would decline,
into his solitary shell

As a boy he was considered somewhat odd,
kept to himself most of the time
He would daydream in and out of his own world,
but in every other way he was fine

He's a Monday morning lunatic,
disturbed from time to time
Lost within himself,
in his solitary shell

A temporary catatonic,
madman on occasion
When will he break out,
of his solitary shell

He struggled to get through his day
He was helplessly behind
He poured himself onto the page
Writing for hours at a time

As a man he was a danger to himself,
fearful and sad most of the time
He was drifting in and out of sanity,
but in every other way he was fine

He's a Monday morning lunatic,
disturbed from time to time
Lost within himself,
in his solitary shell

A momentary maniac,
with casual delusions
When will he be let out,
of his solitary shell

[VII. About to Crash (Reprise)]

I'm alive again,
the darkness far behind me
I'm invincible,
despair will never find me

I feel strong,
I've got a new sense of elation
Boundless energy,
euphoria fixation

Still it's hard to just get by,
it seems so meaningless to try
When all I want to do is cry,
who would ever know I felt so sad

Even though I get so high,
I know that I will never fly,
and when I fall out of the Sky
Who'll be standing by?

Will you be standing by?

[VIII. Losing Time & Grand Finale]

She dresses in black everyday
She keeps her hair simple and plain
She never wears makeup,
but no one would care if she did anyway

She doesn't recall yesterday
Faces seem twisted and strange
But she always wakes up,
only to find she'd been miles away

Absence of awareness,
losing time
A lapse of perception,
losing time

Wanting to escape
She had created a way to survive
She learned to detach from herself,
a behavior that kept her alive

Hope in the face of our human distress,
helps us to understand the turbulence deep inside
That takes hold of our lives,
shame and disgrace over mental unrest
Keeps us from saving those we love,
the grace within our hearts,
and the sorrow in our souls
Deception of fame
Vengeance of war
Lives torn apart
Losing oneself
Spiraling down
Feeling the walls closing in,
a journey to find,
the answers inside
Our illusive mind