(Hello, mirror, so glad to see you, my friend; it's been a while)

Staring at the empty page before me
All the years of wreckage run through my head
Patterns of my live have thawed and torn me
Revealing hurtful shame and deep lament
Overwhelming sorrow now absorbs me
As the pen begins to trace my darkest past
Signs throughout my life that should have warned me
Of all the wrongs I've done for which I must repent

I once thought it better to regret
Things that I have done, then haven't

Sometimes you've got to be wrong
Learn the hard way
Sometimes you've got to be strong
When you think it's too late

Staring at the finished page before me
All the damage now so clear and evident
Thinking 'bout the dreaded task in store for me
A bitter fear at the thought of my amends
Hoping that the step will help restore me
To face my past and ask for forgiveness
Cleaning up my dirty side of this un-swept street
Could this be the beginning of the end?

I once thought it better to regret
Things that I have done, then haven't

Sometimes you've got to be wrong
Learn the hard way
Just when you're through hanging on
You're saved

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development
We will be amazed before we are halfway through.
We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
We will comprehend the word serenity, and we will know peace
No matter how far down the scale we have gone.
We will see how our experience can benefit others.
That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.
We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
Self-seeking will slip away.
Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave us.
We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not.
They have been fulfilled amongst others
Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
We will always be true to our principles.

You're only as sick as your secrets
But the truth shall set you free.
The truth is the truth.
That's all you can do is live with it.



Lyrics submitted by Aniland

Track duration: 10:43

"Repentance" as written by John/portnoy Petrucci

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Repentance song meanings
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37 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Here's the spoken parts that I was able to pick out. This definitely isn't all of it, but it's what I could hear.

    "Until that moment, I never felt like I had failed at anything, and I felt like I failed her, I failed myself, and I failed my children. It's still really hard."

    "I want to thank you for helping me to see my own selfishness, and to tell you how regretful I am."

    "I'm sorry I didn't visit you in the hospital."

    "I'm here to confess to you that what I did was wrong."

    "I'm sorry I didn't come to the funeral. I don't know if I was selfish, I was just too scared to face it."

    "One of my best friends is the godfather of my daughter. He asked me to play or sing something at his wedding and I turned it down. I felt very sorry, he's a very close friend of mine."

    "I want to apologize to anyone that I may have upset or offended. I'm sorry for what I did back then. I was a different person. I wish it wouldn't have happened, but it did."
    Flag Bryzon March 05, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:all u scumbags up there who think this song has 0rating read the lyrics again the song has a deep meaning a is one of the best song of D.T name any band or artist coming up with such an idea ???
    theres none or maybe very few
    this is a gr8 song n its not only me who love this if anyone who doesn't like this song dosent know D.T/doesn't know music or is a scumbag (cant use abusive language or else i would have done it)
    Flag stanley9618on December 07, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is my least favorite from the AA Saga, but you have to admit it's good. I think it's about asking God for forgiveness after his Alcohol Addiction.
    Flag TOOLrule3on July 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:a masterpiece!

    that outro from the guest vocals on give me goosebumps every time i hear it
    Flag drummerdude0413on June 10, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:hearing this on the chaos in motion DVD with akerfeldt singing sent shivers down my spine! hoped to see it happen at this years progressive nation, but sadly it didn't happen :(
    Flag dtfanon December 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:how about people just think of this song as the soft bridge near the end of the AA Saga - cos thats pretty much what it is lol
    Flag angelusredgroveon June 27, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think that I hear the phrase "the unforgivable sin" somewhere in the quotations in the middle of the song, although it's not listed above.
    Flag Thunderbolton February 07, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i love this song...it's not as i expected...but still i see the dream theater elements in it ! thank you Mike Portnoy for the lyrics
    Flag rimastratocasteron July 06, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:good song
    i agree that it is a letdown for the heavyness of the other AA songs, but it fits the steps that it's supposed to reflect

    note: the ad the top of my page shows a kid and it says "talk to them before they start drinking." lol
    Flag homy9015on January 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I like this song alot. I can totally relate to this in a lot of ways. I pretty much spent the last four years of my life as a complete drug addicted drunk. The funny thing was, was that before I ever did drugs I bought a bag of coke and brought it to my mother trying to explain to her that I couldn't take my problems any more and they weren't giving me a way out. All she did was yell. All she does is yell. When I was in college she would call me hammared, it was really sad. I definately couldn't take it. I surrounded myself with untrustworthy friends and people because I didn't want to bring the good/nice people down. I always felt sorry and tried to protect people from me. I started changing my life but I was stuck in a bad enviornment and there were too many problems that I couldn't handle. I'm not a control freak but if someone is burdening me with their problems and they don't listen to my advice but keep it up I can't take it. I tried reaching out for help but I had no friends to turn to. I tried reaching out to an exboyfriend who popped up but he couldn't even give me a straight answer... I always thought people were nicer... I guess I was really wrong. I always thought that if you couldn't help someone, you would find someone who could... I was wrong. That is what this song means to me.
    Flag perhapspsychologyon January 12, 2008   Link

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