Dream Theater: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory [1999]

Released	October 26, 1999
Recorded	February 8–June, 1999 BearTracks Studios, New York
Genre	Progressive metal
Length	77:06
Label	Elektra
Producer	Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory is the fifth studio album by American progressive metalband Dream Theater, released in 1999. It is a concept album that deals with the story of a man named Nicholas and the discovery of his past life, which involves love, murder, and infidelity as Victoria Page. It was recorded at BearTracks Studios in New York, where the band had previously recorded their second studio album Images and Words (1992) and the EP A Change of Seasons(1995).

The album is the sequel to “Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper”, a song previously featured on Images and Words. It was also the first album to feature Jordan Rudess on keyboards, and was the last album for which John Myung wrote lyrics until their 2011 album A Dramatic Turn of Events. It was also the first featuring the line-up which did not change until Mike Portnoy left the band on September 8, 2010, making the 2009 release Black Clouds & Silver Linings the last album featuring him on drums.

History

After participating with keyboardist Jordan Rudess in Liquid Tension Experiment, a supergroup composed of various members of famousprogressive rock bands, Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci found themselves writing music and working together with Rudess quite easily. They convinced the rest of the band to offer Rudess the position of full-time keyboardist for the band’s upcoming album. He accepted, and current keyboardist Derek Sherinian was fired from the band via a conference call between the four members in New York and him in Los Angeles (Portnoy and Petrucci have stated that while it was an uncomfortable and unattractive situation, they didn’t want to ask Derek to fly out from L.A. to New York only to be fired)^{[citation needed]}. After his departure, the band went back to BearTracks Studios in Suffern, NY to record their new album, previously the site of recording for Images and Words. (A photograph of Beartracks Studios is featured on the album’s back cover, meant to represent the house in the album.) After the commercial failure of Falling Into Infinity, their record label gave the band free rein over their new album’s direction, which led the band to finally finish the story begun with “Metropolis, Pt. 1” from Images and Words.

The album’s recording was kept secret, to keep fans from meddling with the band’s recording, and to surprise them. Fans had previously requested the band to make the sequel to the first part, but they had not yet been able (nor had they originally intended one to be made). However, shortly before the album’s release, the track list and release date were leaked onto the internet against the band’s wishes.

Following the album’s release, the band embarked on an extensive world tour, and at a show in New York City the band actually hired actors to “perform” the narrative elements of the album whilst they played. The performance was recorded and was released in 2001 as the Metropolis 2000Live DVD. In 2011 the album was released on LP for the first time to celebrate Record Store Day.

Reception

Critical reaction to the album was very favorable. It reached #73 on the Billboard 200 album chart, #2 on the Billboard Top Internet Albums, #6 on the Finnish Albums Chart and #8 on the German Albums Chart^{[citation needed]}. The album was ranked number 95 on the October 2006 issue ofGuitar World magazine’s list of The greatest 100 guitar albums of all time.^[2] It is ranked as the 15th Greatest Concept Album (as of March, 2003) by Classic Rock Magazine.^[3]

In 2010, the album was awarded a gold certification from the RIAA, it being their second album awarded gold. The first was Images and Words.

Story

Characters

Present Time

Nicholas
The Hypnotherapist
The Old Man

1928

Victoria Page – “Metropolis/Love”
Edward Baynes – “The Miracle”
Julian Baynes – “The Sleeper”

Act 1

Scene One

Regression

The album opens with Nicholas relaxing to the sounds of the Hypnotherapist’s voice and entering a hypnotic state in the pursuit of regressiontherapy. A part of “The Spirit Carries On” and “Home” can be faintly heard in the background at one point. The track ends with Nicholas greeting a girl named Victoria.

Scene Two

I. Overture 1928

Nicholas is in a hypnotic trance and marvelling at the surreal peace and comfort. As he settles into his trance, he begins to focus on the subject of his regression therapy, a girl named Victoria and a life that feels strangely similar to his own. In this song, there are many parts included from other songs from the album. At the beginning of “Overture 1928” (00:05-00:11) and at the guitar solo (01:35-01:51) there are riffs from Metropolis Pt. 1. The intro riff is later used in “The Dance of Eternity” The “Strange Déjà Vu” chorus appears from 00:44 to 01:01 and from 02:08 to 02:25. The main theme from “One Last Time” is used from 02:26 to 02:42. A part from “The Dance Of Eternity” is sampled from 02:45 to 03:08. This song is also a slight nod towards The Who’s Tommy. The idea of an instrumental song describing an over-arching experience was the concept of the song “Overture” on that album.

II. Strange Déjà Vu

We hear a little more about previous dreams that have led Nicholas to his therapy, and also continue deeper in the current trance. We learn that every time he closes his eyes, he is taken to this very vivid, recurring dream of another (yet just out of reach of conscious understanding) life. We understand that it is what he’s been dreaming previously that has led him to his regression therapy.

The dream is as follows: there is a pathway to a house. Inside the house and upstairs is a room where a girl appears in a mirror. All of this seems very familiar to him, but it logically shouldn’t. In this dream, probably because this is actually a hypnotic trance and not just a regular dream, some things seem clearer than ever before. He can see the face of a young girl and poses the question, “Young child, won’t you tell me why I’m here?” He sees that she has something to share with him, that there is a reason she is leading him here, a story to be told, and this story is of something terrible that is “tearing at her soul”.

Victoria now expresses her first hint at why she is haunting Nicholas. She has been searching for a way to reveal the truth about her murder. She also expresses great lament, “tears my heart into two”. This along with the next line, “I’m not the one the Sleeper thought he knew”, is her guilt that Julian Baynes never knew about her relationship with his brother, Senator Edward Baynes, which we learn about much later. She feels guilty for what she did to Julian.

Now Nicholas is out of his therapy and back in real life. Even though he is awake, the thoughts and events of this other life are beginning to permeate every second of his day, and this is the beginning of his obsession with resolving this whole thing. He desperately wants to know why this is happening and would cross over to this other world consciously if he knew how. Nothing in the current day matters to him, only learning more about his new obsession. It is here that he has his first inclination that he may have actually lived in the world of which he dreams. He knows that this dreamland holds the key to his peace, and he will not rest until he unlocks that door.

Scene Three

I. Through My Words

Nicholas realizes that he was Victoria in a past life. He now knows why he feels so drawn to her and her world as they share the same soul.

II. Fatal Tragedy

It starts with Nicholas ‘alone at night.’ He knows who Victoria is now, but not why she is so torn or how he is involved. Sometime later he goes to visit an older man, who the story makes a point to tell us is ‘alone.’ Whose house this is, and who the old man is, are things that are never made clear. The importance of the older man is that he knows a little about a murder that happened a long time ago and shares what he knows with Nicholas. We learn that a girl was murdered. Nicholas sits and listens to the older man’s tale and finds that exactly what happened still remains a mystery.

Nicholas then realizes that until he unveils the truth about what happened to Victoria, he cannot live his current life. He is stuck in this obsession and cannot turn back. We learn then that Nicholas understands that without faith and hope, ‘there can be no peace of mind,’ therefore Nicholas encourages himself to be strong and have faith that he will find the truth, because without the truth he will never rest. This song ends with the Hypnotherapist speaking. The next session starts with taking Nicholas back to the point of Victoria’s murder. When he finds out about Victoria’s death he feels that he must learn more.

Scene Four

Beyond This Life

We learn the newspaper account of what happened in 1928. The story is that an anonymous witness heard a horrifying sound and upon reaching the scene of the sound discovered a woman who’d been shot dead, and the shooter standing over her. The witness tried to help, but the man shot himself next. The newspaper account talks of a sad close to a broken love affair. This indicates that the victim and the murderer are identified as previous or maybe even current lovers.

The paper goes on to explain that Victoria and her lover had recently broken up over his decadent lifestyle; it’s later suggested that gamblingand/or drug addiction might be of significance. Julian later drops a liquor bottle in scene 9, so it’s possible his habit was drinking. It’s also indicated that Victoria would have taken him back if he’d straighten up his lifestyle. The article speculates that the murder may have been premeditated.

Next we read an account of the physical evidence at the scene. There is evidence of a ‘violent struggle’ and a switchblade is found. The switchblade causes some confusion, because the victim is a young girl and typically you wouldn’t expect a young girl in 1928 to be carrying a switchblade, unless she was anticipating a need to defend herself. Also found, in the killer’s pocket, is a written note. It clearly reads that Victoria’s lover would rather take his own life than live without Victoria, but it mentions nothing of harming her.

Lastly, there is the repetition at the end of “Beyond This Life.” These lines are deepening Nicholas’s belief that he and Victoria share the same soul. They also indicate that not only souls reincarnate, but they also carry the same personality traits with them, and deeds will follow each soul throughout eternity.

Scene Five

Through Her Eyes

Nicholas is awake again. He has learned that Victoria was brutally murdered in 1928. He feels compelled to visit Victoria’s grave. He expresses the sorrow he feels for her, and how helpless and innocent she was. Not only that, but since he’s learning about his life by looking through her eyes, he realizes that this happened to him also and the unfairness of it begins to nag him.

Upon reaching her grave, he is overcome with sadness. Even the words on her stone indicate that she was a sweet innocent girl who had her life brutally taken from her at a very young age. He is startled by how much her death feels like his own. He compares it to losing someone you love. He continues to let images of her wander through his mind as he just wallows in his sadness for a while. He thinks of how much more he’s lived and again is stricken by the injustice of her young death. As the song ends, Nicholas begins to regain his composure and is comforted by the realization that by facing this tragedy and mourning the loss, he can now move on. This time of pain was necessary to accept his death in a previous life and fully comprehend why this other life has beckoned him.

Act 2

Scene Six

Home

We hear Julian talk of his obsession with decadence and how he is only living a charade. Victoria (as we learned earlier) ultimately leaves him because of his addiction, considered by some to be a combination of cocaine and alcohol (possibly hinted at by the lyrics “Lines take me higher”) and gambling. Next we hear Edward, giving his account of Victoria crying on his shoulder over her breakup with Julian. He finds himself falling for her, and at first even feels guilt over deceiving his own brother. But his obsession for her becomes stronger than his guilt and he seduces her in her vulnerable state. He soon becomes violently possessive as well.

Lastly we hear from Nicholas again, back in present day, and awake. So far he only knows what the older man told him, and what he learned about the newspaper article in his last therapy session. He knows there must be more to the story and he is obsessed with solving this mystery. He yearns for regression and cannot wait for his next therapy session so that he can get back to solving the mystery.

There are several lyrical similarities between “Home” and “Metropolis Pt. 1,” such as references to “the city’s cold blood” and a “lake of fire,” the lines “I was told there’s a new love that’s born for each one that has died.” Also, “Home” contains the lines, “Victoria watches and thoughtfully smiles/She’s taken me to my home,” while “Metropolis” features, “Metropolis watches and thoughtfully smiles/She’s taken you to your home.” Also, in the last several seconds of the song, the beginning of Metropolis Pt. 1 is sampled. At 4.50 a guitar riff from Part 1 is heard.

Mid-way into the song, a woman’s orgasmic moaning can be heard, alongside the sounds of a slot machine and a man encouraging the player to continue playing craps (from 07:45 to 08:40). This illustrates the affair between Edward and Victoria happening while Julian is indulging in his addictions.

Scene Seven

I. The Dance of Eternity

As the last line of “Metropolis Pt. 1” says, “Love is the Dance of Eternity”. This can possibly represent when Victoria and Edward make love, the dance because of the movements and eternity as the endless memory of that moment. Or the theme of Spiritualist, that love is the path to happiness for all eternity (Spiritualist’s vision). At the beginning of the song a backwards sample of the instrumental section of Part 1 can be heard, as well as a sample from the instrumental break. The song includes a keyboard riff used in “Metropolis: Pt. 1.”

II. One Last Time

This song begins with Nicholas going over it in his head. He is not convinced, from the evidence given so far, that the newspaper account is the truth. He also appears to have heard some rumors, most likely rumors of Victoria’s affair with Edward. Did Victoria wound Edward’s soul and bid him farewell? Then we see Victoria, in the past again, saying “One last time, we’ll lay down today.” This may be Nicholas hearing Victoria telling Edward goodbye, that this will be their last meeting.

Nicholas visits Edward’s house, where Victoria and Edward had their affair. The house seems to hold many clues and he feels that he is finally shown some confirmation of what he’s been thinking. Though he is now awake, as he enters the bedroom, he experiences a sort of revelation, almost as though he’s slipped right out of consciousness. The cold returns, as he felt in his recurring dreams before, and he’s suddenly outside and hears a woman screaming and a man pleading forgiveness. It is possible that Nicholas at this point suspects Edward and Victoria were having an affair. That is the suspicion to which the home holds many clues. In his current state of dual consciousness, he is seeing Victoria’s memories of the fatal meeting, but he doesn’t get enough info yet and the scene fades to black.

Scene Eight

The Spirit Carries On

Nicholas is awake again, and for the last time, under hypnosis and reiterating his belief that his soul will transcend, and that he need not fear death. He believes now that Edward was involved in the murder. He plans to expose the truth behind a crime that happened over 70 years ago. Victoria pipes up, in the present this time, and tells Nicholas that he should move on now, she has revealed the truth to him, but he should never forget her. At this point he basks in the peace that he feels as he has appeased Victoria’s nagging and his own obsession. Nicholas now feels that the reason all of this happened, the ultimate message, is that death is not the end, but only a transition, as the Hypnotherapist has already pointed out.

Scene Nine

Finally Free

The last scene holds information Nicholas is not aware of, because the Hypnotherapist brings him out of his last hypnotic trance and we hear him get in his car and leave. What we learn is that Victoria and Julian meet by chance and decide to meet up later in secret so they can talk. She is obviously excited because Julian is the one she has always loved, and she’s going to break it off with Edward. She is no longer torn between Edward and Julian, who she would rather have been with. But she knows Edward would “kill his brother if he only knew” of her affair with him.

They meet without anyone knowing, or so they think. Edward shows up and begins struggling with Julian, who drops a bottle of liquor out of his coat pocket and pulls out the knife. Edward shoots Julian. Victoria screams. Edward tells her “Open your eyes, Victoria,” and shoots her also. Julian crawls over to her, collapses on top of her and utters his last lines (“One last time…”). Edward writes the suicide note, leaves it in Julian’s pocket and then runs for help to play his part as the witness.

We then are transferred back to Nicholas. He’s driving home and thinking about how he is free of the haunting that has plagued him. Also he has learned about his life, that it will carry on after death, through Victoria’s presence in his life. Nicholas arrives home, begins playing a record and pours himself a drink to relax. Soon another car pulls up. The Hypnotherapist enters the room and startles him by saying “open your eyes, Nicholas.” The phonograph gets bumped as Nicholas is startled by the Hypnotherapist. Then we hear static noise, which fades to black. The album recording leaves things unclear as to what happens, but it’s revealed on the live DVD that the Hypnotherapist, Edward’s reincarnation, has killed Nicholas and has completed the cycle yet again. This could be further interpreted in relation to Victoria, whose goal might’ve been to forewarn Nicholas of a murderous cycle, rather than to ease his uncertainty about the afterlife.

The static from the phonograph marks the beginning of what fans have called a meta-album (also known as an album cycle) where the last note or noise of one album is the same or similar to the beginning of the next, The Glass Prison opens Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence with the same static sound, also being the beginning and end to the Twelve-step Suite. The Dream Theater meta-album spans 4 albums, from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory to Octavarium. Octavarium ends the meta-album by having the same piano note at the beginning and end of the same album, with the last lyrics stating “This story ends where it began.”

Track listing

Act I

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	“Scene One: Regression”	John Petrucci	John Petrucci	2:06
2.	“Scene Two: I. Overture 1928”	(instrumental)	Dream Theater	3:37
3.	“Scene Two: II. Strange Déjà Vu”	Mike Portnoy	Dream Theater	5:12
4.	“Scene Three: I. Through My Words”	John Petrucci	John Petrucci	1:02
5.	“Scene Three: II. Fatal Tragedy”	John Myung	Dream Theater	6:49
6.	“Scene Four: Beyond This Life”	John Petrucci	Dream Theater	11:22
7.	“Scene Five: Through Her Eyes“	John Petrucci	Dream Theater	5:29

Act II

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
8.	“Scene Six: Home”	Mike Portnoy	Dream Theater	12:53
9.	“Scene Seven: I. The Dance of Eternity”	(instrumental)	Dream Theater	6:13
10.	“Scene Seven: II. One Last Time”	James LaBrie	Dream Theater	3:46
11.	“Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On”	John Petrucci	Dream Theater	6:38
12.	“Scene Nine: Finally Free”	Mike Portnoy	Dream Theater	11:59

Listening

Lyrics

1. Scene One: Regression

[H:]
“Close your eyes and begin to relax. Take a deep breath, and let it out
slowly. Concentrate on your breathing. With each breath you become more
relaxed. Imagine a brilliant white light above you, focusing on this light as
it flows through your body. Allow yourself to drift off as you fall deeper and
deeper into a more relaxed state of mind. Now as I count backward from ten to
one, you will fill more peaceful, and calm. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. You
will enter a safe place where nothing can harm you. Five. Four. Three. Two. If
at any time you need to come back, all you must do is open your eyes. One.”

[N:]
Safe in the light that surrounds me
Free of the fear and the pain
My subconscious mind
Starts spinning through time
To rejoin the past once again

Nothing seems real
I`m starting to feel
Lost in the haze of a dream

And as I draw near
The scene becomes clear
Like watching my life on a screen

Hello Victoria so glad to see you
My friend

2. Scene Two: I. Overture

[Instrumental]

3. II. Strange Deja Vu

[N:]
Subconscious strange sensation
Unconscious relaxation
What a pleasant nightmare
And I can`t wait to get there again

Every time I close my eyes
There`s another vivid surprise
Another whole life waiting
Chapters unfinished, fading

Closer now – Slowly coming into view
I`ve arrived – Blinding sunshine beaming through

There`s a house I`m drawn into
Familiar settings, nothing new
There`s a pathway leading there
With a haunting chill in the air

There`s room at the top of the stairs
Every night I`m drawn up there
There`s a girl in the mirror
Her face is getting clearer
Young child won`t you tell me why I`m here?

In her eyes – I sense a story never told
Behind the disguise – There`s something tearing
At her soul

[V:]
Tonight I`ve been searching for it
A feeling that`s deep inside m
Tonight I`ve been searching for
The one that nobody knows
Trying to break free

I just can`t help myself
I`m feeling like I`m going out of my head
Tears my heart into two
I`m not the one the sleeper thought he knew

[N:]
Back on my feet again
Eyes open to real world
Metropolis surrounds me
The mirror`s shattered the girl

Why is this other life
Haunting me everyday
I`d break through the other side
If only I`d find the way

Something`s awfully familiar
The feeling`s so hard to shake
Could I have lived in that other world
It`s a link that I`m destined to make

I`m still searching but I don`t know what for
The missing key to unlock my mind`s door

Today I am searching for it
A feeling that won`t go away
Today I am searching for it
The one that I only know
Trying to break free

I just can`t help myself
I`m feeling like I`m going out of my head
Tears my soul into two
I`m not the one I thought I always knew

I just can`t help myself
I`m feeling like I`m going out of my head
Uncanny, strange Deja Vu
But I don`t mind – I hope to find the truth

4. Scene Three: I. Through My Words

[N:]
All your eyes have ever seen
All you`ve ever heard
Is etched upon my memory
I spoken through my words

All that I take with me
Is all you`ve left behind
We`re sharing one eternity
Living in two minds
Linked by an endless thread
Impossible to break

5. II. Fatal Tragedy

[N:]
Alone at night
I feel so strange
I need to find
All the answers to my dreams

When I sleep at night
I hear the cries
What does this mean?

I shut the door and traveled to another home
I met an older man, he seemed to be alone
I felt that I could trust him
He talked to me that night;

“Lad did you know a girl was murdered here?”
“This fatal tragedy was talked about for years”
Victoria`s gone forever
Only memories remain
She passed away
She was so young

Without love
Without truth
There can be no turning back

Without faith
Without hope
There can be no peace of mind

As the night went on
I started to find my way
I learned about a tragedy
A mystery still today

I tried to get more answers
But he said, “You`re on your own”
Then he turned away and left me
As I stand there all alone
He said, “You`ll know the truth
As your future days unfold”

Without love
Without truth
There can be no turning back

Without faith
Without hope
There can be no peace of mind

[H:]
“Now it`s time to see how you died. Remember that death
is not the end but only a transition.”

6. Scene Four: Beyond This Life

[Headline:] “Murder, young girl killed
Desperate shooting at Echoe`s hill
Dreadful ending, killer died
Evidently suicide”

A witness heard a horrifying sound
He ran to find a woman dead and
Lying on the ground

Standing by her was a man
Nervous, shaking, gun in hand
Witness says he tried to help
But he`d turned the weapon on himself

His body fell across that poor young girl
After shouting out in vain
The witness ran to call for assistance
A sad close to a broken love affair

Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are

She wanted love forever
But he had another plan
He fell into an evil way
She had to let him down
She said “I can`t love a wayward man”

She may have found a reason to forgive
If he had only tried to change
Was their fatal meeting prearranged?

Had a violent struggle taken place?
There was every sign that lead there
Witness found a switchblade on the ground
Was the victim unaware?
They continued to investigate
They found a note in the killer`s pocket
It could have been a suicide letter
Maybe he had lost her love

I feel there`s only one thing left to do
I’d sooner take my life away than live with losing you

Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are

All that we learn this time
(What we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life

7. Scene Five: Through Her Eyes

[N:]
She never really had a chance
On that fateful moonlight night
Sacrificed without a fight
A victim of her circumstances

Now that I`ve become aware
And I`ve exposed this tragedy
A sadness grows inside of me
It all seems so unfair

I`m learning all about my life
By looking through her eyes

Just beyond the churchyard gates
Where the grass is overgrown
I saw the writing on her stone
I felt like I would suffocate

In loving memory of our child
So innocent, eyes open wide
I felt so empty as I cried
Like part of me had died

And as her image
Wandered through my head
I wept just like a baby

As I lay awake in bed

And I know what it`s like
To lose someone you love
And this felt just the same

She wasn`t given any choice
Desperation stole her voice
I`ve been given so much more in life
I`ve got a son, I`ve got a wife

I had to suffer one last time
To grieve for her and say goodbye
Relieve the anguish of my past
To find out who I was at last

The door has opened wide
I`m turning with the tide
Looking through her eyes

8. Scene Six: Home

[Sleeper:]
Shine-lake of fire
Lines take me higher
My mind drips desire
Confined and overtired

Living this charade
Is getting me nowhere
I can`t shake this charade
The city`s cold blood calls me home
Home it`s what I long for
Back home where I belong

The city – it calls to me
Decadent scenes from my memory
Sorrow – eternity
My demons are coming to drown me

Help – I`m falling, I`m crawling
I can`t keep away from its clutch
Can`t have it, this habit
It`s calling me back to my home

[Miracle:]
I remember the first time she came to me
Poured her soul out all night and cried

I remember I was told there`s a new love that`s born
For each one that has died

I never thought that I
Could carry on with this life
But I can`t resist myself
No matter how hard I try

Living their other life
Is getting them nowhere
I`ll make her my wife
Her sweet temptations calls me home
Home it`s what I long for
My home where she belongs

Her ecstasy – means so much to me
Even deceiving my own blood
Victoria watches and thoughtfully smiles
She`s taking me to my home

Help – he`s my brother, but I love her
I can`t keep away from her touch
Deception, dishonor
It`s calling me back to my home

[N:]
Her story – it holds the key
Unlocking dreams from my memory
Solving this mystery
Is everything that is a part of me

Help – regression, obsession
I can`t keep away from her touch
Leave no doubt, to find out
It`s calling me back to my home

9. Scene Seven: I. The Dance Of Eternity

[Instrumental]

10. II. One Last Time

[N:]
It doesn`t make any sense
This tragic ending
In spite of the evidence
There`s something still missing

Heard some of the rumours told
A taste of one`s wealth
Did Victoria wound his soul?
Did she bid him farewell?

[V:]
One last time
We`ll lay down today
One last time
Until we fade away
One last time
We`ll lay down today
One last time
We slowly fade away

[N:]
Here I am inside his home
It holds the many clues
To my suspicions
And as I`m standing here right now
I`m finally shown what I have always known

Coincidence I can`t believe
As my childhood dreams slowly come true

Are these her memories
Awakened through my eyes
This house has brought back to life

An open door
I walk on through
Into his bedroom

Feeling as cold as outside
The walls disappear
To some woman who`s screaming
A man pleads forgiveness
His words I cannot hear

11. Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On

[N:]
Where did we come from?
Why are we here?
Where do we go when we die?
What lies beyond
And what lay before?
Is anything certain in life?

They say ” Life is too short”
“The here and the now”
And ” You`re only given one shot”
But could there be more
Have I lived before
Or could this be all that we`ve got?

If I die tomorrow
I`d be alright
Because I believe
That after we`re gone
The spirit carries on

I used to be frightened of dying
I used to think death was the end
But that was before
I`m not scared anymore
I know that my soul will transcend

I may never find all the answers
I may never understand why
I may never prove
What I know to be true
But I know that I still have to try

If I die tomorrow
I`d be alright
Because I believe
That after we`re gone
The spirit carries on

[V:]
“Move on, be brave
Don`t weep at my grave
Because I`m no longer here
But please never let
Your memories of me disappear”

[N:]
Safe in the light that surrounds me
Free of the fear and the pain
My questioning mind
Has help me to find
The meaning in my life again
Victoria`s real
I finally feel
At peace with the girl in my dreams
And now that I`m here
It`s perfectly clear
I found out what all of this means

If I die tomorrow
I`d be alright
Because I believe
That after we`re gone
The spirit carries on

12. Scene Nine: Finally Free

[Hypnotist:]
You are once again surrounded by a brilliant white light.
Allow the light to lead you away from your past and into this lifetime.
As the light dissipates you will slowly fade back into
consciousness, remembering all you have learned.
When I tell you to open your eyes you will return to the present,
Feeling peaceful and refresh.
Open your eyes Nicholas.

[Miracle:]
Friday evening
The blood still on my hands
To think that she would leave me now
For that ungrateful man
Sole survivor
No witness to the crime
I must act fast to cover up
I think that there`s still time
He`d seem hopeless and lost with this note
They`ll buy into the words that I wrote
This feeling
Inside me
Finally found my love
I`ve finally broke free
No longer
Torn in two
I`d take my own life before losing you

[Victoria:]
Feeling good this Friday afternoon
I ran into Julian
Said we’d get together soon
He`s always had my heart
He needs to know
I`ll break free of the Miracle
It`s time for him to go
This feeling
Inside me
Finally found my love
I`ve finally broke free
No longer
Torn in two
He`d kill his brother if he only knew
Their love renewed
They`d rendezvous
In a pathway out of view
They thought no one knew
Then came a shot out of the night
“Open your eyes, Victoria”

[Sleeper:]
One last time
We’ll lay down today
One last time
Until we fade away
One last time
We’ll lay down today
One last time
We fade away
As their bodies lie still
And the ending draws near
Spirits rise through the air
All their fears disappear
It all becomes clear
A blinding light comes into view
An old soul exchanged for a new
Familiar voice comes shining through

[Nicholas:]
This feeling
Inside me
Finally found my life
I`m finally free
No longer
Torn in two
I learned about my life by living through you
This feeling
Inside me
Finally found my life
I`ve finally broke free
No longer
Torn in two
Living my own life by learning from you
We`ll meet again my friend
Someday soon

[CNN report:]
“… their lead story,
all anticipating the outcome of the man considered to be a member of American nobility.
And as you can imagine, as the skies have grown darker
here over Washington,
The moon has grown darker as well and people here are
beginning to resign themselves to the possibility that they are
witnessing yet another tragedy in a long string of misfortunes.
Reaction from everywhere, from Washington and certainly
from around the world has guess…”

[Hypnotist:]
“Open your eyes, Nicholas'”

[Nicholas:]
“AAAH!”

Cast of characters:

Nicholas [N]
Victoria Page [V]
Senator Edward Baynes [the miracle]
Julian Baynes [the sleeper]
The hypnoterapist [H]

RockWorld.vn

Dream Theater: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory [1999]

History

Reception

Story

Characters

Present Time

1928

Act 1

Scene One

Scene Two

Scene Three

Scene Four

Scene Five

Act 2

Scene Six

Scene Seven

Scene Eight

Scene Nine

Track listing

Act I

Act II

Listening

Lyrics

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History

Reception

Story

Characters

Present Time

1928

Act 1

Scene One

Scene Two

Scene Three

Scene Four

Scene Five

Act 2

Scene Six

Scene Seven

Scene Eight

Scene Nine

Track listing

Act I

Act II

Listening

Lyrics

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