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
I love the way I feel uptight
Just step inside

Maybe you'll recall
I kind of felt curious
A character inspired by my brother's life

Winding through the hills
Seeing far behind
On and on we drove
Down narrow streets and dusty roads

And last we came upon
A picturesque estate
On sprawling emerald hills
An ancient world of times gone by

Now let me introduce
My brother
A bitter gentleman, historian
Sucking on his pipe
Distinguished accent
Making me uptight, no accident

I
Want to stay alive
Everything about this place just doesn't feel right

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

I
Want to say goodbye
This could be the last time you see me alive

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

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

Then viewing through the past
I saw what is believed
Still dressed in royal clothes
A saint behind the altar

History recalls
During times of war
Legend has been traced
Stuck inside these castle walls

When soldiers came to hide
With barrels filled with wine
Never to escape
These tombs of old, that's where they died

Down the cellar stairs
I disappear
Like the angel's share
The end is near

Come and have a taste
A rare vintage
All the finest wines
Improve with age

I
Want to stay alive
Everything about this place just doesn't feel right

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

I
Want to say goodbye
This could be the last time you see me alive

I
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

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

It took me for a ride
Promising a vast adventure
Next thing that I know
I'm frightened for my life

Now wait a minute then
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 about my brother
Tell them about me
The Count of Tuscany


Lyrics submitted by The Letter M

The Count of Tuscany Lyrics as written by John Ro Myung John Petrucci

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

The Count of Tuscany song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

34 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    It's a true story that happened to John Petrucci when he was travelling. He met the "count", who took him for a car ride, introduced him to his brother and showed him a chapel. The count told him stories and legends. However, John was very frightened and thought he would die. But the count realises he is scared and tells him not to be, saying he got the wrong impression of him.

    "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"

    Then he says he's free to leave and tell everyone about his experience.

    That's what i gathered anyway. =]

    mcMadCunton May 22, 2009   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    This is a far stretch, and I'm almost certain they didn't intend it to be so, but I see the ending as a metaphor for someone going through the stages of dying, with a few imperfections.

    "

    "

    "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"

    At first they're afraid, in denial, and slightly angry. They're presented with the idea that they're dying in the first stanza, and then they show denial by saying that they don't understand, and anger with the fact that they feel like they don't deserve to die.

    "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"

    Then they're clearly bargaining. Being frightened for their life could be spun as to saying they're feeling depressed. But other than this far stretch, depression is missing from the stages, though it could be seen somewhat in the first two stanzas, or just in the somewhat depressing tone of the lyrics in the first 4 stanzas.

    "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 and 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 about my brother Tell them about me

    The Count of Tuscany"

    Then the very end is clearly acceptance, but you have to read it as if it's all being said by the same person, rather than the second half of the ending be the Count talking to Petrucci. You can also see the fact that they're satisfied with their life when they say that's just how they live and reminiscing about aspects of the past and encouraging people to tell his story, signifying that he is happily and ungregrettably allowing it to end. Obviously, it's a really far stretch, but you could sorta get that out of the song. It sure matches the music a lot better when you imagine that it's about someone coming to terms with their impending death.

    nomad806on December 10, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    As the lyrics do state "Several years ago..."

    JP was an adult when this happened. But he was scared for good reason. Pay particular attention to the lines:

    Maybe you'll recall A cannibal curator A character inspired By my brother's life.

    The Count of Tuscany is taking him to the man that the character HANNIBAL LECTER was based off of. Yea, you know, the elegant psycopath from "The Silence of the Lambs"? (In the second film "Hannibal" he becomes the new curator of the Capponi Library under the name "Dr. Fell")

    The reason JP was frightened was because he thought he was going to be KILLED, SLAUGHTERED, AND EATEN. I'd say that's a good enough reason as any to be afraid as a grown man!

    iVoyageron May 29, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    These are the actual lyrics, taken from the booklet in the album.

    Several years ago In a foreign town Fa 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 country side

    Get into my car Let's go for a drive Along the way I'll be your guide Just step inside

    Maybe you recall A cannibal curator A character inspired by my brother's life

    Winding through the hills The city far behind On and on we drove 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 A bearded gentleman Historian Sucking on his pipe Distinguished accent Making me uptight No accident

    I want to stay alive Everything about this place Just doesn't feel right I I don't want to die Suddenly I'm frightened for my life

    I want to say goodbye This could be the last time You see me alive I I may not survive Knew it From the moment we arrived

    Would you like to see Our 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 alter

    History recalls During times of war Legend has been traced Back inside these castle walls

    Where soldiers came to hide In barrels filled with wine Never to escape These tombs of oak Are where they died

    Come and have a taste A rare vintage All the finest wines Improve with age

    I want to stay alive Everything about this place Just doesn't feel right I I don't want to die Suddenly I'm frightened for my life

    I want to say goodbye This could be the last time You see me alive I 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

    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 and 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 about my brother Tell them about me

    The Count of Tuscany

    wilso_drummeron June 26, 2009   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    This epic is obviously about JP getting scared by a count. Also its DP's last song of their 'so-called' last album. The ending is so epic and I think I may be overreading this but in a way it sort of relates to the end of the band. "Of course you're free to go/Go and tell the world my story" this is of course the count saying JP can go but it could be about the band saying go tell your friends about us. Tell them how amazing we are. "The fables and the tales/All handed down through time" This is about all the stories the count told but it could also be about most of the band's songs, since most of them are tales about people.

    i dont know, i might be over analyzing but since this IS their last epic (or so they say..) that could be true.

    Cyberbullyon July 04, 2009   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    Here's my interpretation of the song as an homage to Edgar Allan Poe (at least in inspiration). I'm not sure if this is what the above poster's talking about, but I think it makes sense.

    The intro to the song:

    Seven 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

    Reminds me quite a bit of the intro to "The Fall of the House of Usher". A little later the comparison continues but is inverted:

    At last we came upon
    A picturesque estate
    On sprawling emerald fields
    An ancient world
    Of times gone by

    Whereas the Usher estate was dead, with rotted trees and such, the Count's estate is "Picturesque" and specifically "sprawling emerald". This selection is curious, because emphasized at the end of the House of Usher is the description of the land surrounding the house as a "deep and dank tarn" (A tarn being a large, mostly stagnant-water lake), so here we have contrast between an open field and a closed body of water, the former free and alive and the latter restricted and dead. The "I" choruses later on echo the sentiment of the protagonist in Usher, emphasizing a sense of the place just not feeling right and being afraid for his life while his guide (Usher in the Poe story, the Count here) is unmoved.

    Then we seem to get a switch to another of Poe's stories, "The Cask of Amontillado". The skeleton of the saint seems to be another inversion of the story -- instead of the Poe story, where we have a drunkard (Fortunato) chained up behind a brick wall at the end as a punishment(The protagonist of this story, Montresor, was also a mason, which might be a cross-reference from here to A Rite of Passage), we have a saint behind a glass wall for the purposes of prayer. The same allusion runs with the wine stanzas below in a little mix with the plot of "The Masque of the Red Death" (Which could explain the booklet artwork, at least in the Special Edition, of the red picture of the man in the hood accompanying the lyrics to this song). These stanzas below:

    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
    
    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

    Mirror Fortunato's situation after being chained up and imprisoned in Montresor's dungeon, but in another inversion, the Count lets him go instead of keeping our protagonist locked up.

    And from here we get to the ocean sounds at the end of the story. They seem to me to be a reflection of a poem of Poe's called "Annabel Lee", which is set in a seaside location and happened to be the last of Poe's poems before his death, as the sounds are the last on the album.

    Thematically, Petrucci could be using the inversions to reject Poe's dark and tragic view of life, illuminating a "people are better than they seem" theme in contrast to Poe's "people are worse than they seem" themes running through his work.

    I could be (and I probably am) overreading this, but if I'm right, the raven on the album cover would make a whole bunch more sense, wouldn't it? (And of course I'm not saying that it isn't, as Petrucci said, based on an encounter he personally had, but the details he chooses to write about suggests that he knows his Poe).

    In addition, the booklet has a total of 116 written lines for this song. Taking those and adding in the spoken line by Portnoy ("Let me please explain", echoing James) and adding in all the "Whoas" after the last line of the song counted from the "Whoa" and not the "-oa"s after each one (There are 8), the song comes out to 125 total lines, the exact length of Poe's "The Raven".

    Merquiseon July 02, 2009   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    Aside from nomad and the person who posted about the interview statement, I think everyone is taking the wrong track with this song. Even if it was loosely based upon an actual incident that occurred to him, as according to the interview, it's not impossible that he added in some further meaning when turning it into a song. If there is any, then, along the lines of nomad, what occurred to me almost immediately upon listening to it is that it (the count) is a parable for life. A person goes through life scared and afraid, thinking that life is out to get him, trying to 'take him for a ride', but in the end, life isn't trying to hurt you, its just happenstance. He may have drawn on personal experience and history for creating stories to illustrate this, but thats what seems to be the overall meaning to me.

    And yeah, that last six minutes is awesome, I keep coming back to it.

    JohnnyLemonon November 30, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Amazing, even if the lyrics are funny.

    2006200720082009on May 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think there might be some veiled reference to "the count of monte cristo" by A. Dumas... naturally, that's just my opinion...

    sirxanderon May 22, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    As the album's longest track, Wilson calls "The Count of Tuscany" "the monster", comparing it to "A Change of Seasons" and cited Pink Floyd as a possible influence.[9] Petrucci wrote the lyrics about a count that frightened him while he visited Tuscany.

    That's from wiki... i think its funny that a man as big as JP could be scared. And he was dumb enough to get in the car with a count?

    I think the count is probably someone he knows. But, either way, it is so badass that he had an experience that could lead to something this epic.

    guardiandevil305on May 24, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.