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.
No one truly has the answers
Every day I struggle through it once more
Keep things bottled up, never speaking my mind
Misinterpreted, I'm doing just fine
Every day I put a brave face on
Serves me well
Feeling helpless, facing it alone
Hard to tell that I can change who I am
How I feel
There's no end
I have done what you asked of me
Leaves me nothing to live for
Coming undone
Way too high a price I should pay
You keep your pride
While I die inside every day
No, I can't lie anymore
Won't pretend I've done all I can
You can't imagine the hell I'm going through
Not asking you to save me
I'm too far from heaven
Nothing you can do to change me
but accept me as I am
Every day I struggle through it once more
Keep things bottled up, never speaking my mind
Misinterpreted, I'm doing just fine
Every day I put a brave face on
Serves me well
Feeling helpless, facing it alone
Hard to tell that I can change who I am
How I feel
There's no end
I have done what you asked of me
Leaves me nothing to live for
Coming undone
Way too high a price I should pay
You keep your pride
While I die inside every day
No, I can't lie anymore
Won't pretend I've done all I can
You can't imagine the hell I'm going through
Not asking you to save me
I'm too far from heaven
Nothing you can do to change me
but accept me as I am
Lyrics submitted by The Letter M, edited by Octavarium64
Far From Heaven Lyrics as written by John Petrucci John Myung
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
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"Some and now none of you"
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This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
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Beautiful song. There's a lot of emotion and feeling in it. I think this song could possibly have to do with someone who doesn't live up to the standards of someone they care about. No matter what they do, they feel like they'll never be good enough for said person. It seems like even if the person does what is expected of them, it still isn't enough. "Way too high a price I should pay" could be referring to the happiness that the person is giving up in order to try to please the other person. It could refer to a relationship, or a scenario where one person, the "inferior" one, loves the other person, but they do not reciprocate because they're not seen as good enough. Towards the end of the song, the person begins to realise that they can't be anyone except themselves, and if that's not good enough for the other person, it's time to move on. "Nothing you can do to change me, but accept me as I am" is a clear indication that the person has come to a realisation for the better. But that's just my take on things.
This realisation at the end leads into Breaking All Illusions, which is all about taking a step back, re-evaluating yourself, and going into life with a fresh perspective, accepting yourself for who you are. These two songs combined are possibly the most uplifting story DT has told in many years.
A quote from this interview with James: atlasjams.com/2011/12/exclusive-a-dramatic-turn-of-phrase-dream-theater%E2%80%99s-james-labrie-in-his-own-words/4324/
I thought lyrically you were coming down on parents for stifling the creativity of their kids by not giving them enough room to breathe, so to speak. -You frickin’ nailed it! People are trying to live vicariously through their children and putting on unspeakable pressure for them to become something without listening to what it is their children are feeling!
Could be, but could be someone who is viewing things from an incorrect perspective due to one or another factor. Is encouragement to hold on smothering? Is support when someone is down (and we've all been there)pressure? I suppose it can be misinterpreted, which is unfortunate. We are not islands, and if we say we are than we're lying to ourselves. Very creative song. I need to spend more time listening to good music like this and less time talking :) I got it.
It's a really good band; I obviously took too long to discover it.
So that is what it's really about, but like most really good lyrics, it can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. It's got some universality to it.
Someone who is clearly unhappy/has something wrong with them, sounds like this other friend isn't being as sympathetic as they could be.
Perhaps the song is about an individual questioning their gender or sexual orientation?
"Put a brave face on... facing it alone... hard to tell that I can change who I am (how I feel)?" This sounds like a cry for help from somebody who wants to be accepted for who they want to be (or feel they should be)...
Accept me as I am... Pretty powerful lyrics...
Suggestions?
I'm glad you said this! Sexual orientation came to mind immediately for me too, but I didn't want anyone to think I'm insinuating anything about anyone (disclaimer later). The lyrics are vague enough to be about many things, but they do fit the coming out experience.<br /> <br /> "No one truly has the answers" is a response to religious judgments, and there are other mentions of heaven/hell. It talks about trying to change, and "I've done what you've asked of me/ leaves me nothing to live for" could be about trying to hide/deny/have straight relationships, and the character is unraveling. <br /> <br /> DISCLAIMER: Dream Theater have written lots of songs that aren't about their own personal experiences, where they put themselves in someone else's shoes.
It is obviously a sad song about Mike Portnoy.
I kinda thought about a guy in love. "Every day I put a brave face on" really fits itno the whole picture of a guy, maybe a teenager, much like myself, whose love rejected him and doesn't want people close to him to know he's in pain."You keep your pride while I die inside every day" the girl doesn't seem to notice him, while he suffers constantly. Kinda fits doesn't it?
It certainly wasn't related, I'm sure but, someone once played this in a tribute to Tilikum. And I found that profoundly eerie.
I think it's about a long term pupil - religon leader or teacher relationship. The teacher teached the pupil many way of life with theory, theory and theory that "no one truly has the answers" if it is the only righteous way. That way of life is too complicated to be done. Too much rules. Too high standard that make the pupil depressed, "feeling helpless" and "die inside everyday". If heaven only belongs to person who fullfill that standard so the pupil is "too far from heaven" Then the pupil give up that way of life and wanting the One who can "accept me as i am"
Well, i don't want to say anything for sure but there's a movie called far from heaven about gay people, and the song for sure fits on the spot "keep things bottled up, never speaking my mind" mean staying in the closet, "i can't change who i am, how i feel" in the movie the mc tries to change, goes to a conversion therapy but it fails and he falls into a pseudo "depression" and alcool "i have done what you asked of me, leaves me nothing to live for" later in the movie he finally decide to divorce her to get together with a guy he fell in love with corresponding to "can't lie anymore and won't pretend"
imdb.com/title/tt0297884/
Well I did originally feel that the song was addressed to someone's spouse...