Sonata Arctica Album

[Tony Kakko]

I'm a doorman at my Death Row, you faceless foe of heart
An accent, a drop of darkest blood on snow, white feather in the tar....
a tearstain on your frozen face...
A life - in black and white

You slaughtered my soul again
Tried my best to be worth your two realities
You're breaking my heart again
To squeeze out a rhyme, I bid you farewell

Stupidity, ignorance, leave a light on for the blind

[Chorus:]
Now I will hit you where it hurts
Take what is rightfully mine, I need a sign
That you're worth fighting for
Winning or losing, alone
I am only a pawn

I'm tired of pleasing you
Discolored this emptiness, wrapped in a scheme
I... delayed my dreams to see
---Who blinded your eyes from things that are real...

For me, I believe in the taste of bitter sweet
Dying fountains full of stories untold
After a history of "losses" attained the victory where it occurred
Lips so cold, the final testing ground for beautiful words

Diving in the seas of sin, without knowing where lies the bottom
Idle moments spawned you idle people, no morality, no soul.

Sabotage or a fatal mistake?
Scandal born, a new race
Unauthorized use, not stealing?
We've no rights, just passion and rage...

People you know, on your side, touching concern
Stand on a chair and scream as the tables turn
Take a bow, take the blame, soon you'll wake up screaming your nightmare's name...

[Chorus]

People you know, on your side, touching concern
Stand on a chair and scream as the tables turn
Always a minute too late, now feel the burn
Wake up, friend, you're screaming the name of the

Doorman of my Death row, you faceless foe of the heart
An accent, a drop of darkest blood on snow, white feather in the tar....
Tearstains on my frozen face, follow the wicked trail if you
Wish you see the sum of all my fears in many shades of gray
You’ll see...
Your dreams in Black and white...
Nightmares in Black and White...
Sweet dreams in Black and White..
Your life is Black and White...

[Tony Kakko]

I was nowhere near ready when all it ended
So I hoped we could find a new day, cannot live without you

You gave me the chance, time and again, in vain
Now my feelings for you, every tear, every smile, paid in full
Break the chain, but no longer can I take the pain

It's hard for me to love myself right now,
I've waited, hated, blamed it all on you

Needed to be strong, yet I was always too weak
So I can only blame myself for this state we are in
I will take what you have for me now, if it's not too late
Did you change? I did too. Love can grow from the last grain

It's hard for me to love myself right now,
I've waited, hated, blamed it all on...

You...
I need you...less and less...
Every day feeds this moral decay
Yet I have grown to love you even more

I fall back, and I turn another cheek.
You mouth the words you're not ready to speak
You're scared of me now; no I never had a clue
That I'd become so much stronger than you.

I will take - what you have - for me now, if it's not too late

If you like, I will leave; I will not miss the last train again

It's hard for me to love myself right now,
I've waited, hated, blamed it all on you...

It's hard for me to love your face right now
I'm waiting, hating, needing being

Me...
I need you...less and less...
Every day leads us farther away...
From that moment

It hard for me to hate myself right now
Finally I'm understanding me
One day we may have whole new me's and you's
But first I need to learn to love me too...

[Tony Kakko]

We have been stuck in here a day, seeking
Answers for all eternity, or something
Hear the meaning, speaking in me
Have faith in me, have faith in me...

I cannot say that I am fine
And take all you say at face value
I’ve talked to you more than I have...
Have faith in me, have faith in me...

I’ve talked too much today
You don't trust me
So I keep on talking in every way.

Across the sea I hear you calling me
For the sake of revenge you command me
This ain't over, no it’s never over
ґtill the fat lady sings, you love me

I’m tired, yet I am swimming
You will not let go of me, you are drowning
As you’re quietly pulling me under
We will never make it unless you let go...

There’s no crime, yet I stand accused
And I... see the solution naked before me.
You reduced me to a weapon, unlike you
Have faith in me, have faith in me...

I cannot hear, though I incline my ear, why do I even try...
I've told you all 'bout what I am
Have faith in me, have faith in me...

I’m feeling weak today
Please, don't crush me

I keep on walking, far away.
I keep on crawling, all in vain

I am feeling slow today
So don't rush me

We live this wretched serenade
You keep me playing, anyway...

Across the sea I hear you calling me
For the sake of revenge you will command me
This ain't over, it’s never over
ґtill the fat lady sings, you love me

I’m so tired, yet keep on swimming
You will not let go of me, you’re drowning
Now you’re quietly pulling me under
Oh so quietly pulling me under...

[Tony Kakko]

You borrow the moment, betray your own heavens
The darkness is thickening, breathing gets harder
The balance is off, some take more than give back,
the attitude, ignorance, proved to be fatal

for that tiny spark that led our way
you poisoned the air, should you stay away, hence
Wish to be one of us, follow the trail
Take the time offered, don't toss it away

travesty, no trial, defendant is guilty
and we are the judges and sentence the jury
to pay for forgiveness with silent contentment
Stand in the line with the rest of us

We cannot carry you further today
hear what you don't say, thus help... in any way
Need you to learn how to cry without darkness
Face like the others the pain that is harmless

Feel the world has let you down
somehow, we cannot see this
Have to bear the winterburn
You can only wait, if it will fade with time

Secrecy, silence, a stench of treason
the glow of the darkness, you brought in the daylight
The cure will not kill you, there's no such mercy.
rules of the nature are fair and cruel...

we cannot wait for you, for limbo, forever
don't make us walk away, packs stay together
Fear would be justified. Will be there soon.
The things that you do will infect us too

Feel the world has let you down
somehow, we cannot see this
Have to bear the winterburn
You can only wait, if it will fade with time

Where's your trust, where's your heart, where's your soul?
Who's your friend? Who'll be there in the end?

Who do you call a friend...
should we start to bewail?

a lot of things are changing
and re-arranging
I have to say I saw it coming
yet did nothing...
In the darkest of times
B.o.B's earn the right for the name

Not all shared the idea to give you the chance to
fail us again, to bite off
the feeding hand...

counting one, two...see?
odds defying the gravity...

we'll move along, well fed puppy...
you are too confident and careless to cut it
had no rules, that is to change
or you'll forever run alone

but you never will, the little child of the wild
you've got a skin, gray coat, they hate
no, you cannot hide behind your glowing eyes
you bear the sign and it won't fade

Feel the world has let you down
somehow, we cannot see this
Have to bear the winterburn
You can only wait if it will fade with time

[Tony Kakko]

The leaves they fall
upon the day that makes a memory
those pleading eyes,
echoing, silently in me

the final nights
I guard her sleep, I can do without
the fear's down deep
There's nothing good in this morning...

Oh, and I know...
invested feelings in the one I would outlast
My little friend is getting tired, fading fast...

Did not want to see the signs of the dimming flame
I need to have more time

No, I don't want to let you go
Tonight I fear I'll say goodbye to my little friend
Don't want to let you go...

the warmest heart I've found
I lower into the ground
my tears, forever with you
resting under your tree

you have always liked this place
it now belongs to you...
I need to set you free
and go on alone

one day in my feeble timeline
You gave me your heart and stole mine
tomorrows came too fast for me
to hear your slow, silent goodbye...

the kindest heart I've found
I lowered into the ground
your smile kept me alive
back when the skies were still

you always liked this place
now sleep under the tree
I planted here the day
when you were born

I should've been ready, seen the nearing end
my little old friend, a child.
That day I had to say goodbye and turn the bend
but I'll never let go

[Tony Kakko]

There is a man in this world, who has never smiled
You may know his tragedy, the later years, by heart
In the beginning, there was a mother, a father, and a child
A troubled little silent boy, whose life they worked to destroy
Known to us from this day on
By his father,
Caleb.

His mother came up with such a clever way to save the day with a little white lie.
He thinks he missed the point back then, but now he's grown to understand it, in a way.

"Father said "I'm sorry" only once, as I remember"
"The words were not meant to hurt, only destroy you, my stupid son..."
One person can make a difference, sometimes...
Just turn his head when the kid is still and has a weak neck.

Smiled at his funeral, "happy you're dead."

All his solutions, it seemed, were only problems in disguise
Glueing on his drinkinґ face, got ready to erase another day...

Mother was yet confident, although they had it tight, taught her son
At the end of every tunnel’s a little light.
It wasn't a lie, it was her hope, that everything would be fine one day
"He can fulfill his every dream, I’m happy as long as he’s not."

"I hate it and fear can't face it
the child is not right, he's my greatest shame

Go out, create thunder, and stand right under
That old apple tree
Where dead snakes let him feed on those

Lost hopes, all those kind words could hurt him even more, now
Somehow, lost one more way back home

Out on the lake, he rows towards a monster he should’ve been running away from, years ago.
The past had made him blind to the way he’d turned the pain into a way of life.

Followed his father, tucked him in, Caleb knows the trade.
He’s the portrait of a man his mother drew to hate forever.
She was a beast, a deadly saint, wrong in many ways
Wanted to keep up the charade, until the end waltzing together

Over the hills, under the sea,
Fighting the will, whole Universe
Why does a man driving a hearse
Live in fear, Gift and a Curse

Taking ґem out, taking ґem all,
Shooting the wall, over and out
When nothing moves, all’s well,
A decision he can find a way to live with

...and dried up flowers are so beautiful.
And it applies to all things living, and dead.
For that I serve my time... in my suite in Hell.

"Now I ring the bell to tell the world,
I'm ready when they bring out the soon to be dead against the wall ..."
oo-oo-ooo
This necessary evil has no heart
ooo-oo-ooo
Flowers and people he will now enlace
A price he must pay serving a cold
...whatevergod.

[Tony Kakko]

0:25
Number nine out of eleven little littermates
Rotten apples, all the way...
Littermates, all with different fates...
Taught them almost all I knew

and now, the best, the primus
Number Nine of eleven little littermates,
feeling almighty,
is after my throne.

0:53
In the bright daylight, little Number Nine
Dressed to kill, much like me
Takes a look at the free world behind the gate
Of a castle and escapes.

1:03
I leave the baits, the night awaits
Snare well hidden for the littermate.
Evaded all but one, one by one.

1:11
Eleven little littermates
Annihilate.
Only Number Nine's not in sight...
Hiding, for the moonlight eats the day
Kisses burn the paperthin wings away

1:47.
Hate me, hate me, if they want you to break me
Love – is – for - the weak
And the restless, relief in the end.
A broken lock and a twisted dream

1:56
for an early tomb, destiny's overruled
Trailed it back to the Pagan Cathedral."

2:03
Donґt love me, donґt you dare!
I lie, I cheat and I donґt care
Don't you go telling me tales about fidelity.
truth ain't safe with me

2:13
In (sane), in (pain)
Ran into a needle
Eye (love), Eye (hate)
donґt need anyone
Lights (on), Lights (out)
read it loud and clear...
and hear the lion roar.

without my eyes, they failed me,
knots untied.
I turned my weakness into a
fine profession
more I hear, more I see
I can feel
the path I choose
What I did was a must,
Faced the music, away from the light, alone...
Without a view.

Someone thought to know me well
Drowned me in a wishing well...
Making mistakes, we all do,
Worst of mine was trusting in a stranger.

For now I'm feeling fine
Drank poison, liked the sign
Now touch the greatest fear
Impaired, to look sincere.

One step behind you, turn around and I am gone with what I need.
The essense of timely death, cold and dark, Love Less Hard.

[Tony Kakko]

My painted face, I'm a clown,
and I'm laughing while my dream turns into a nightmare,
fade away, I'm asleep,
not too deep...

The walls of night have left me scarred
the broken glass I stepped on, twice.
the ardent spirits' rusty edge, decapitate me...

I can't sleep, fear darkness
go through the motions, did I fall asleep?
I'm bowling, the old nine pin, a sign unwanted...

Now I'm a target, I'm hot and frozen,
stormy rain I'm stuck in an elevator
wet from the muddy water,
breathing hot air, winds convey me...

bababababaaaa...
the number talks and I cry in my own Hell....
bababababaaaa...
Wide awake, I'm asleep, see a friend as a ghost

I'm skating with a seal,
the tarantula, the fly, the broken ring
the dusty little flea
an ugly giant, a disappointed child

here comes a rabid snake
the broken violin, a wild ballet
Shakespeare and company
refuse to kill the kitten scratching me...

I'm falling, I'm falling, I'm falling, I'm falling... - awake

You know, if you believe the dreams, the nightly visions, worlds entwined
then you also fear your shadow, paranoia, part two...

All the good things in my life dwell in my mind
Took a wrong lane, every day, I hear myself say
Sickening's this feeling, my life, my hopes, my dream's but a drop of fuel for a nightmare

they all turn out the same
My destiny, my flame
believing is control?
no.
the painting comes alive,
takes me inside a world without a name, a place beyond compare

Believe the dreams that let you sleep
the broken glass you need to sweep
The book you read; if you found an explanation
to help you in any way,
you are your own prison.

Woke up today,
the good and the bad and the ugly dreams are gone
...jumped off the carousel

[Tony Kakko]

The weight of days on me....
I am done.

The corn is burning under my feet
The words like circles and
I'm waiting for someone to catch my fall
in the deepest void of all

Haven't seen you in weeks
No clouds in the sky to rain me a drop
loving touch I need
and I am killing time by the lake
diving off the cliff, many times
scarring myself, colliding
on the lake bed so dry....

The world's without virginity
And souls have no intergrity
The Word of grave old danger -Love,
It's all I'm after, oh
I am done...

The ground's not shaking under my feet
The World's not turning anymore
Wind is a thief, lonelier than me
and it - does - not - want - me - in here...

plant a Flower of Love, care for it, water it,
Lounge in the shade of the stale champagne
A flower so fatal, yet beautiful
Showed the Bee where to fly
and then let it die

The world's without virginity
The souls have no intergrity
The Word of grave old danger -Love,
It's all I'm after, oh
I am done...

Bring me to recovery
give it to me, I'm after tranquillity
I somehow lost my line of sight
Before I cast the final die...
Once planted plastic grapes,
The harvest of a lifetime,
Real bad wine.

The sum of false virginity
and my lost integrity
The Word of grave old danger -Love,
For you I'm after, oh
I am done

The world without virginity
A soul with no integrity
The Word of grave old danger -Love,

Bring me to recovery
give it to me, I'm after tranquillity
I somehow lost my line of sight
Before I cast the final die...
Once planted plastic grapes,
The harvest of a lifetime,
Real bad wine.

The ground is shaking under my feet
The World is turning,
and the
Wind has a friend in Misery,
but I know - she - only - loves - me...

[Tony Kakko]

They've decided to own the world tonight, create the standard, now roll the reel.
Ambush the poor, take what they have to create a warlike feel (turn the page)

A vision, resolution, friends and allies, easy come
The golden moments, our lifestyle depends on your children, we're doomed if

the war is over, all is lost
Down the drain, keep fingers crossed
Hope the World forgets or the World forgives
Charm their minds and hearts, once more,
For me.

Use the time in the public eye
"How we love you so"
Now people, you should know, who's your foe
Who's your friend, your enemy?
The Enemy!

"Yes, you are needed, so badly wanted.
If we wish to live in peace, we need to fight, it demands a sacrifice."
New blood is gathered, donations needed.
Every day, one soul away of your fulfillment, the necessity.

Unplug the damaged toys, all amputated souls
For everything is over for them, we cannot
Use a man, who's lost a hand,
The education paid in full, as planned

Did you hear, they say, the ground they walk's always been holier than mine.
- Oiling the wheels with fire
The only, the righteous, the privileged ones, the law, and the almighty power.
- Burning the fields for one flower.
[A:]
What was black is now blue, nothing much is really new
On the eve of Hell on Earth you walk the reddish snow.
A chain of command lacks the balls to right the wrong, you proclaim
They always only change the cadency, the song remains the same.
[B:]
Kaikkivoipaiselta itsevaltiaalta avaimet elämään.
Kahlehdimme ainoamme oikeudesta turvaan pysyvään.
Itsevaltiaamme ääni korvissamme, lainan lunastamme,
äideillemme muiston marmoriin.

You made our babies go where no parent can follow.
The song remains the same
“For die we must”, our heirs say. Drowning in sorrow forever left hollow...

The bullets you created, shall be used against you, by the people,
All the things you buried will be excavated and re-animated
Fear the future, fear the creed,
We all can see what's been concealed
Together we stand alone behind the lines
With our bare bones

One, two, three, four, what the hell're we fighting for, now
Five, six, lucky seven,
Stripmine your private road to hell.

Had we known how this ends in our defeat. I wonder…
Would we still have given you all the children you would ever need.

Always washed their minds, clean and white
Like papers you have signed
And people, a single mind, you feed the beast
Thus create a warlike feel

[Tony Kakko]

If you were my child I'd carry you away
I'd travel through time, before silence was born

No hope for the child, this world has gone bad.
When when's today, the machines say, what is a man to do

No light, only suffocating dark
deep
burning
pain
I'm losing everything I am
remember nothing of my past
Now, it is all gone,
and I fear the Game is Over.

save me, save me, save me, take me away, away from this time, back where lies my home

Where is my home...
Where is my home...
Where is my home...

my grass isn't green...
my sky isn't blue...
The river runs dry...
my flower has died...
This isn't my home

I follow the moon to find a path away from the scorching sun...
I follow the stars to my abode, it's burning...
I seize the moment to hear a story no ones telling anymore
the worlds forgotten, the words forbidden.

[Tony Kakko]

Once I got caught in an avalanche,
I must have died,
When a Black Swan flew to the rescue and cried
An offer I could not refuse, now I'm working on the other side.

Well, I flew with the bird then, we flew all night
I got to see my prison from a thousand feet high
buy me a drink, and I tell you
'bout the Black Swan

Must keep those black wings folded, until the time is right, to find the one whom I can steal
a soul from, to buy more time
Must keep my secrets untold, until the wrongs are right, the only one I could deceive,
I buy my time; need you to fly on the Black Swan

The date is set, we all must face it
Door to door, seeking salvation
--- I must, for die I wish not
My hopes stay afloat when you give in to the

Silver lining, sharp and so cold
anger fades into a vague smile
--- you see, I'm ready to do it for everyone
I stabbed you in the back, who will save you now...

Don't worry, I've done this before
It'll hurt like hell and leave you sore
No use escaping, hold on to your ticket of gold
and close your eyes...

One day I know you will sell your soul
And trade all you are for silver and gold...
You'll get an odd advice from a stranger
Take it, from me, with love...

Once I was in love with someone like you, Engaged to be whole,
got torn out of your memories, covered in snow...

I need to find a way to pass on the gift I once received
I'm ready to face it...
I'll take my chances, if I am
returning to the deep
dark snow grave, so be it
I-should-not-rest-now...but forever!
I'll feed... - the ferryman's creed.
with an empty promise for my lost soul...

Must keep those black wings folded, until the darkest night
a soul from you to buy me some time

pouring boiling water on a solid frozen flower
Black nailed finger of the creator

I take a bow, thank for this opportunity
But I've given the last ride for all those close to kin

Must keep those black wings folded, until the time is right, to find the one whom I can steal
a soul from, to buy more time
Must keep my secrets untold, until the wrongs are right, the only one I could deceive,
I served my time, need you to fly with the Black Swan

[Tony Kakko]

It was not hard - to choose all the words that I should
put in your mouth
in my own play of shadows
Between lines, word for word, honey.

See who I am?
Out where nothing's forgiven
A small yet very loud part of me is still screaming after you...

Good enough was good enough for me
as it should always be
You broke my heart when it was weak
Guess you were not meant for me...

I had a dream you broke - with your twisted ways
Still leaving me? Please take your time, but go away
Don’t flash that light anymore, honey...

The seasons change...
I was the summer to your heart
the winter lured you away more than once, now I know:
I am free

Good enough was good enough for me
as it should always be
You broke my heart and still I grieve
How can you be over me?

I always thought we’d made it, found a way to live together
You saved the best for last and now it's too late
I count the hours of the day that
seems to last forever

Words through the door
a glance from a broken window
I found your key from the floor
and my heart, suddenly, cut off clean

Good enough was good enough for me
as it should always be
You broke my heart and still I grieve,
How can you be over me?

Good enough was good enough for me
as it should always be
You spread a tale of lies about me
And I believed it, my heart's got a leak...

[Tony Kakko]

I walk with the crowd, alone,
Unseen, or am I imagining?
it's easy keep hiding at home
Still healing

I teach myself how to stay calm
When they wish to behold me
They may, take and divide my time
The secret, no one told me...

Like creatures of the night, they follow...
Bearing the wrong side
Is hard for me sometimes

This need I still can recognize
To swim in the oceans of vanity
Some of us enjoy the rain
[Choir:] and thunder

For me all the shadows are bright
I'm burning in the starlight and I
Hope to feel light as a kite
And fly towards the twilight of my life

Like creatures of the night, they follow...
Bearing the wrong side
Is hard for me sometimes
And now they

have disappointed my broken heart
I'm dancing, they're demanding
The unknown and innocent days are gone
Taken without asking

Safe, further away,
I'll disappear like a mountain without a trace
They tied a knot on my life
It gets tighter when I try to hide.

"They live like the vultures, for a filthy anecdote
They go thru my bones to find just one odd note
I welcomed them kindly, thus they have the right
To leave me in darkness with my shattered heart"

A face of a newly wedded clown
Doesn’t offer you the high
Now you're lower than the poor souls you feed

Built the walls out of silence
I will not be taken there anymore
What is wrong with your eyes?
Sad for the right reasons?
I'll show you the ashes of life

No empathy behind your eyes
Sleeping like an angel every night

I don't feel Safe,
Can’t disappear without getting my last embrace
They tied a knot on my life
It gets tighter when I try to hide.

Safe, further away,
Can’t disappear without getting my last embrace
Once the time finally comes
Will they dig me up from my unmarked grave?

It doesn't matter
If you're wrong or if you're right.
It makes no difference
If you're black or if you're white.

All men are equal
Till the victory is won.
No colour or religion
Ever stopped the bullet from a gun.

Out in the fields,
the fighting has begun.
Out on the streets,
They're falling one by one.
Out from the skies,
A thousand more will die each day.
Death is just a heartbeat away.

It doesn't matter
If you're left or to the right.
Don't try to hide behind the cause
For what you fight.

There'll be no prisoners taken
When the day is done.
No flag or uniform
Ever stopped the bullet from a gun.

Out in the fields,
The fighting has begun.
Out on the streets,
They're falling one by one.
Out from the skies,
A thousand more will die each day.
Death is just a heartbeat away.

There's no communication,
No one to take the blame.
The cries of every nation
Have fallen on deaf ears again.

Out in the fields.
Out in the fields.
They are falling one by one.
Out in the fields.
No flag has ever stopped
The bullet from a gun.

Death is just a heartbeat away.
Out in the fields,
A heartbeat away.
Out in the fields.
Death is just a heartbeat away.
Out in the fields,
A heartbeat away.
Out in the fields.

In the fields,
The fighting has begun.
Out on the streets,
They're falling one by one.
Out from the skies,
A thousand more will die each day.

[Tony Kakko]

My painted face, I'm a clown,
and I'm laughing while my dream turns into a nightmare,
fade away, I'm asleep,
not too deep...

The walls of night have left me scarred
the broken glass I stepped on, twice.
the ardent spirits' rusty edge, decapitate me...

I can't sleep, fear darkness
go through the motions, did I fall asleep?
I'm bowling, the old nine pin, a sign unwanted...

Now I'm a target, I'm hot and frozen,
stormy rain I'm stuck in an elevator
wet from the muddy water,
breathing hot air, winds convey me...

bababababaaaa...
the number talks and I cry in my own Hell....
bababababaaaa...
Wide awake, I'm asleep, see a friend as a ghost

I'm skating with a seal,
the tarantula, the fly, the broken ring
the dusty little flea
an ugly giant, a disappointed child

here comes a rabid snake
the broken violin, a wild ballet
Shakespeare and company
refuse to kill the kitten scratching me...

I'm falling, I'm falling, I'm falling, I'm falling... - awake

You know, if you believe the dreams, the nightly visions, worlds entwined
then you also fear your shadow, paranoia, part two...

All the good things in my life dwell in my mind
Took a wrong lane, every day, I hear myself say
Sickening's this feeling, my life, my hopes, my dream's but a drop of fuel for a nightmare

they all turn out the same
My destiny, my flame
believing is control?
no.
the painting comes alive,
takes me inside a world without a name, a place beyond compare

Believe the dreams that let you sleep
the broken glass you need to sweep
The book you read; if you found an explanation
to help you in any way,
you are your own prison.

Woke up today,
the good and the bad and the ugly dreams are gone
...jumped off the carousel