Ayreon Album

Actual fantasy!

Sit back and relax.
Crawl into the maze within your mind.
Leave it all behind.
Now allow yourself to slide into a world.
As real as you want it to be.

Actual fantasy!

EDWARD REEKERS:
Once upon a time, as in ancient history
High upon a hill, in a shroud of mystery
Loomed the abbey, as we journeyed through the night
And wended our way towards the light.

As we entered through the gates, we heard the silent calls
There was something evil that lurked within these walls
As I relive my days in this godforsaken place
All that appears before me now... is her face...

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
Another man died today like the ones before (Like the ones before)
With blackened tongue and blackened finger (Blackened finger)
Within the labyrinth behind the bolted door (Behind the bolted door)
Lies the answer to our mystery...

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Heed the book that kills - it holds an evil power!
Those who turn the leaves wither like a flower!
Well guarded by the seer inside the abbey tower.
For laughter kills the fear within...
The abbey of Synn.

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
We found the secret path that led us here to you (Led us here to you)
Give us the deadly book of laughter (Deadly book of laughter)
Too many men have died for a teaching of the few (Teaching of the few)
Open your heart. Reveal the mystery.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Heed the book that kills - it holds an evil power!
Those who turn the leaves wither like a flower!
Well guarded by the seer inside the abbey tower.
For laughter kills the fear within...
The abbey of Synn.

EDWARD REEKERS:
And then she came to me, like a creature from the dawn
Enchanting as the moon, radiant as the sun.
She took the boy in me, and gave me back a man
With a force I could not withstand.

The seer burned the abbey down, and perished in the fire...
We couldn't save the book. The flames were rising higher...
So many died in vain for an ancient discipline...
Laughter kills the fear within...
The abbey of Synn.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Heed the book that kills - it holds an evil power!
Those who turn the leaves wither like a flower!
Well guarded by the seer inside the abbey tower.
For laughter kills the fear within...
The abbey of Synn.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
He's a stranger,
I don't know where he's coming from.
Is he a danger to me?
Or just another man?
He knows magic,
Or maybe he's a charlatan...
Is it a sly trick he plays?
Does he have a plan?

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
He said he came from a world beyond my dreams.
From the depths of my mind...
He said he'd burn like star and disappear,
But leave his spirit behind...

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
He's a stranger,
A man with a destiny.
A rearranger of fate,
A changer of lives.
They will erase him,
For they are all afraid of him.
They're gonna trace him, and then,
Cause him to die...

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
He said he'd cure me. I do not have to die.
I hold my fate in my hands...
He said he'd always be there, everytime I'd cry.
One day I would understand.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
He was a stranger,
They shot him, and now he's dead.
I'm out of danger, he lives on...
Inside my head.

BOTH:
He said he came from a world beyond my dreams.
From the depths of my mind... (From the depths of mind!)
He said he'd burn like star and disappear.
But leave his spirit behind...

He said he'd cure me. I do not have to die.
I hold my fate in my hands... (I hold my fate in my hands!)
He said he'd always be there, everytime I'd cry.
One day I would understand.

Lost in a world created by man
I can't recall how it all began
Tell me, who am I?

Fictional stars in lost galaxies
Synthetic dreams and false memories
Is this all a lie?

There is no escape
(There is no way out of here)
I'm locked in this universe
(The real world will disappear)
Where fantasy dies
(You will see your dreams)
Material lies
(Materialize)
Computer eyes
(Computerize)

Virtual reality, computer override
Actual fantasy, locked away inside

Am I no more than a program?
An artificial dream?
A river of electrons flowing with the stream?

A parallel dimension, battle simulations
Mind over matter, brain stimulation

I don't know if I exist. I think therefore I am.
Without emotions, I'm but a hologram.

There's no escape!
I'm locked in this universe
Where fantasy dies
Material lies
Computer eyes

There is no escape
(There is no way out of here)
I'm locked in this universe
(The real world will disappear)
Where fantasy dies
(You will see your dreams)
Material lies
(Materialize)

Computerize...
...Computerize...
...Computerize...
...Computerize...
...Computerize...
...Computerize...
...Computerize...
...Computerize...
...Computerize...

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Ready for the enemy
Hungry for the battle
Fighting hard for victory
In the army of the king

Armed with shield and sword
We mounted our horses
Leaving on a sacred quest
On our way to fight the holy war

They attacked from different sides
Hard pressed with numbers
We could not even run nor hide
We had to stand and fight
Then I felt a blade of steel
Penetrate my armour
I did not dream the pain was real
As I went down I knew my time had come...

EDWARD REEKERS:
And then he rode into the night
Towards that eerie distant light that seemed to charm him

EDWARD REEKERS: Until he came to a road that disappeared
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Beyond the last horizon

EDWARD REEKERS:
He knew there'd be no way back
Once he had vanished in the blackness of infinity

EDWARD REEKERS: And so he gathered all his strength not to descend
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Into the valley of death...
ROBERT SOETERBOEK: Into the valley of death...

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
I opened up my weary eyes
The haze slowly lifted
The mighty roar of battlecries
Stopped ringing in my ears

I gazed upon a friendly face
He carried me to safety
I told him of this frightening place
And of my journey back from the other side

EDWARD REEKERS:
And then he rode into the night
Towards that eerie distant light that seemed to charm him

EDWARD REEKERS: Until he came to a road that disappeared
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Beyond the last horizon

EDWARD REEKERS:
He knew there'd be no way back
Once he had vanished in the blackness of infinity

EDWARD REEKERS: And so he gathered all his strength not to descend
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Into the valley of death...
ROBERT SOETERBOEK: Into the valley of death...

------------

EDWARD REEKERS:
And then he rode into the night
Towards that eerie distant light that seemed to charm him

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
A force so seductive
And yet so destructive and cruel

EDWARD REEKERS: Until he came to a road that disappeared
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Beyond the last horizon

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
I followed that road to the edge of eternity

EDWARD REEKERS:
He knew there'd be no way back
Once he had vanished in the blackness of infinity

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
I fought for my life
For I had to survive the ordeal

EDWARD REEKERS: And so he gathered all his strength not to descend
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Into the valley of death...
ROBERT SOETERBOEK: Into the valley of death...

EDWARD REEKERS:
A black shadow is crawling, like a deadly spider.
We're all waiting in silence for the lonely rider.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
For he will lead the way...
For he will save the town...
We have to leave today...
Before the moon is down...

EDWARD REEKERS:
I'm haunted by dreams of a holy mission!
I follow the signs of my magic vision!

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
We have to dig a hole (We have to dig a hole)
And he will be our eyes (And he will be our eyes)
We have to reach our goal (We have to reach our goal)
Before the sun will rise!

OKKIE HUYSDENS: Journey to the farside of the world!
EDWARD REEKERS: No one will catch me when I fall...
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Follow the trail of fire...
EDWARD REEKERS: No one will hear me when I call!
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Journey to the farside of the world!
EDWARD REEKERS: A distant place, a future time...
OKKIE HUYSDENS: We'll climb the tallest spire...
EDWARD REEKERS: I will raise the cross, and the bells will chime!

EDWARD REEKERS:
We'll pass over the river to the silver tower!
Run, before the clock strikes the final hour!

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
He saw it in a dream (He saw it in a dream)
He knew he had to die (He knew he had to die)
We never heard him scream (We never heard him scream)
We never heard him cry

OKKIE HUYSDENS: Journey to the farside of the world!
EDWARD REEKERS: Make them believe the dream is true...
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Follow the trail of fire...
EDWARD REEKERS: The moon came down, my time is through!
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Journey to the farside of the world!
EDWARD REEKERS: This is the way it was meant to be...
OKKIE HUYSDENS: We'll climb the tallest spire...
EDWARD REEKERS: The shadow is gone, the town is free!

OKKIE HUYSDENS: Journey to the farside of the world!
EDWARD REEKERS: The moon! The moon came down!
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Follow the trail of fire...
EDWARD REEKERS: It was meant to be!
OKKIE HUYSDENS: Journey to the farside of the world!
EDWARD REEKERS: Journey's free!
OKKIE HUYSDENS: We'll climb the tallest spire...

Roger copy!
Altitude 4200, and you are go for landing, over!
Visibility, as we said before, is... not too great.
Come in!
Planet Earth... Planet Earth... Planet Earth... Planet Earth...

EDWARD REEKERS:
I overheard the elders,
Telling each other stories
About the days when they were young,
Back on planet earth

I wish to learn the secrets
Of those who lived before me...
So I program my computer,
For a flight to planet earth

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Blue skies over the oceans
Sail on the wind to the valley below..
Rise high over the hills
To where the wildflowers grow

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
And I ride, ride, ride,
The waves of time!
Fly, fly, fly beyond the sky!

EDWARD REEKERS:
We've abandoned all emotions,
Whether good or bad,
Up here in this station,
Far from planet earth!

I can't tell if I'm happy,
I don't know if I'm sad
But I do know I'd have been at home,
Back on planet earth.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Black clouds over the debris,
Storm is raging over the land...
No life left on this planet,
Now you will understand!

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
And I ride, ride, ride,
The waves of time!
Fly, fly, fly beyond the sky!

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Blue skies over the oceans
Sail on the wind to the valley below...
Rise high over the hills,
To where the wildflowers grow

Black clouds over the debris,
Storm is raging...

(Echoing words)

EDWARD REEKERS:
In a dusty room on a stormy night,
Away from all the crowds,
I rise above the clouds.

Into a world once so bright,
Where now the shadows fall,
And a thousand voices call:

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Dream on, forevermore,
Our future's in your hands,
Close your eyes,
Close your eyes,
And fantasize.

EDWARD REEKERS:
Only one boy whose heart is pure,
Can save them from the curse,
That's upon this universe.

He's on a quest for the secret cure,
Across the burning sand,
To the edge of the fairy-land.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Dream on, forevermore,
Our future's in your hands,
Close your eyes,
Close your eyes,
And fantasize.

EDWARD REEKERS:
This world was built on human dreams,
On hopes instead of fears,
Now it slowly disappears.

Scream as loud as you can scream,
For the empress needs a name,
Or nothing will remain.

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
Dream on, forevermore,
Our future's in your hands,
Close your eyes,
Close your eyes,
And fantasize.

Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, and live forevermore.

Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, and live forevermore.

Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, and live forevermore.

Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, and live forevermore.

Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, forevermore.
Dream on, and live forevermore.

Dream on.
Dream on.
Dream on, and live...

(Dramatic chanting, then baby cooing)

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
More than a million years ago,
It came to earth out of the sky.
From whence it came is yet unknown,
And still we don't know why.

EDWARD REEKERS:
Way beyond infinity,
Where time is lost,
And life has ceased to be

OKKIE HUYSDENS: And life has ceased to be.

EDWARD REEKERS:
There's a cosmic entity,
A bringer of life,
For all eternity.

Is this how it all began?
The dawn of man.

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
More than a million miles from earth,
Somewhere in outer space.
Behold a planetary birth,
Making way for a brand new race.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
Way beyond infinity.

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
Where time is lost,
And life has ceased to be,
And life has ceased to be.

ROBERT SOETERBOEK:
There's a cosmic entity.

OKKIE HUYSDENS:
A bringer of life,
For all eternity.

EDWARD REEKERS:
Is this how it all began?
The dawn of man.

Is this how it all began?

--------

(Baby laughing and cooing)