| Disc 1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
| 5:09 | 
|
|||
|
It is the 22nd century. I am the last of the Mars Colonists. The air supply has almost run out on this desolate Mars colony, and the food supplies from Earth have stopped arriving since the final war of 2084. I am walking through the tunnel towards our recreation machine called the Dream Sequencer. I hope it will sweeten my final days...
(Dream sequencer system online) Good morning, colonist. You have selected the Universal Migrator program. Please lie down in the energy tank and place the electrodes on your temples. Think of your designation number and drink the fluid from the vessel at the left terminal. (Program loaded, commencing U.M. preincarnation protocol) Now focus on the music as I take you back to your childhood......and beyond..... |
||||||
| 2. |
| 7:49 |
|
|||
|
It is the end of the 21st Century. I have returned to my own childhood. I remember it all as the Dream Sequencer images mix with my own recollections. This is the day my sister and I realised that we would never see the planet Earth.
Daddy where are you now Forgot about your vow You promised you'd return and take me to Earth Did you have to fight that war What was it all for? The honor of one's name, what is it worth? MAN: I'm all alone WOMAN: We're all alone MAN: My future's unknown WOMAN: Our future's unknown MAN: I reach out to the stars BOTH: Out here in my house on Mars Mother did you hear me cry? You never told me why You put me in this world of rock and dust No friends for playing games No foes who scorn my name Computerized machines of steel and rust MAN: This is my home WOMAN: This is our home MAN: This desolate dome WOMAN: This desolate dome MAN: I call out to the stars BOTH: I'm alone in my house on Mars I'll never smell the ocean breeze I'll never climb the highest trees I'll never feel the burning sun I'll never meet my chosen one In my house. Daddy, I forgive you now You could not keep your vow You will never return, I'll never see Earth MAN: My time has come WOMAN: Our time has come MAN: I'm emotionally numb WOMAN: Emotionally numb MAN: I'm headed for the stars BOTH: I'm leaving my house on Mars. No friends in my house on Mars. No foes in my house on Mars. I was born in my house on Mars. I will die in my house on Mars. |
||||||
| 3. |
| 7:42 |
|
|||
|
It is the 21st century. The Final Experiment has failed. The final devastating war that was foretold by the blind minstrel Ayreon has indeed come to pass. The war has destroyed all life on Earth, making it completely uninhabitable. I hover above my own dead body...
Silence fills the air Echoes fade away... Sadness and despair On that cruel and fateful day... My body lies motionless Upon the kitchen floor... The Earth has died, the world's at rest 2084... Many centuries ago In a dark, enchanted land... Our fate had been foretold By a poor, misguided man... We carried on down the road we chose, The path of Nevermore The journey ends, the book is closed 2084... And now I have to leave, my work on Earth is done I'm heading for the planet known as Mars To the last of its race, the final newborn son Before I start my voyage to the stars And now I have to leave, my work on Earth is done I'm heading for the planet known as Mars To the last of its race, the final newborn son Before I start my voyage to the stars My body lies motionless Upon the kitchen floor... The Earth has died, the world's at rest 2084... |
||||||
| 4. |
| 8:46 |
|
|||
|
It is the 20th century. I am a little boy peacefully asleep. My father comes to wake me so that I can witness an historic event in the finite story of mankind...
15, 14, 13, 12, 11 (Procedure), 10, 9, (Engines on) 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go. Trajectory's good, thrust is good. We're on our way Houston! Over the backside of the moon... On an early summer morning, July '69 As I dream of the planets I hear a voice softly whisper: "Son, it is time It's happening soon" It's a quarter to four now and he carries me down To our place by the telly I see lights on in houses all over town For the man on the Moon One small step for man But a giant leap for mankind The mighty Apollo prevailed The Eagle has landed I go back to my warm bed, back to my dreams But not the one of the planets I decided this morning I don't want to be The man on the Moon One small step for man But a giant leap for mankind The mighty Apollo prevailed The Eagle has landed As I lie here in this cold tank, living a dream I'm the last on the planets I decided this morning I don't want to be The man on Mars One small step for man But a giant leap for mankind The mighty Apollo prevailed... One small step for man But a giant leap for mankind The mighty Apollo prevailed This is gonna be a rock and roll ride... |
||||||
| 5. |
| 7:58 | 
|
|||
| 6. |
| 7:09 |
|
|||
|
It is the 16th century. I am Queen Elizabeth sending out the brave Sir Francis Drake to defend the English realm against the invading armada.
Times are dark now, our empire's gone astray. Forces from down south, armada on the way. So we call our greatest men to run the barricade! Shine your light where shadows fall and wash the night away! Sail on for your queen! Sail into history! You will never be the same... Sail on for country, Into our memory! Time will remember your name - Dragon on the sea! Fires burn now, in once our tranquil bays. Tall ships that rain down thunderbolts and flames. Go and raise your pirate flag, cast the lines away! Take your fleet where darkness falls and turn the night to day! Sail on for your queen! Sail into history! Time will remember your name - Dragon on the sea! The sun never sets on the Empire One. But wise men say never say never say never (say never). It slips through our hands just like sand in sun. We thought it would go on forever forever forever (forever). Sail on for your queen! Sail into history! You will never be the same... Sail on for country, Into our memory! Time will remember your name - Dragon on the sea! Dragon ships they keep on sailing, on to Nova Albion. While the waking world is sleeping, dragon ships are sailing on. Dragon ships they keep on sailing, on to Nova Albion. While the waking world is sleeping, dragon ships are sailing on. Dragon ships they keep on sailing, on to Nova Albion. While the waking world is sleeping, dragon ships are sailing on. Dragon ships they keep on sailing, (on to Nova Albion...) |
||||||
| 7. |
| 4:11 |
|
|||
|
It is the 8th century. I am a Mayan girl heading for the Jaguar Temple in Tikal on the central American continent
Shine down on me, Sun of the Underworld! Set me free, chase away the night! Proud Jaguar, king of the Mayan Gods, Shining star, light up the sky! And guide me to the Temple of the Cat! Heart-of-Sky, Maker and Hurricane, Mighty eye, harvester of life, We were born solely to speak your name! Bring the dawn, we'll praise the sky! Here inside the Temple of the Cat! Upon his throne the High priest addressed the crowd. Now carved in stone, his holy name. Beads of jade adorn his cotton shroud. His silvery blade on a golden chain. He lies here in the Temple of the Cat - dead! He will rise again from the Temple of the Cat! |
||||||
| 8. |
| 3:59 |
|
|||
|
"It is the 6th century. This is where it all began. My tired body has passed away, but my
once-tortured spirit is finally free now. My name is ... Ayreon." [Arjen Lucassen] I've crossed the edge where time disappears My life has been taken by the charm of the seer My conscience is clear, I committed no sin My spirit roams free now, carried by the wind My mission has failed, the spell has been cast I wasn't the first one and I won't be the last This can't be the end, so let it begin My message will reach you, carried by the wind Out here on Mars I now realize Mankind has vanished, tears fill my eyes There must be a world I can live in My spirit will find it, carried by the wind |
||||||
| 9. |
| 6:36 |
|
|||
|
It is 2800 B.C. I quietly witness the astounding secret behind the creation of a
mysterious monument in Wiltshire, England. The moon sheds no light on Salisbury plain The day turns to night and the bonfires cease burning The druids gather round and the chants fill the air Their echoes resound and the living world stops turning The magic words are spoken As we leave the plain in silence Now the circle stands alone And the druids turn to stone The dawn shines its light on Salisbury plain The day floods the night with gilded rays of sunshine The magic words were spoken As we left the plain in silence Then the circle stood alone And the druids turned to stone The rising sun is dancing on the edges of the stones Casting shadows, creeping down the Avenue Into the heart of the sarsen trilithons I marvel at this mystery, beholder of the stars A holy temple, a sacred burial ground Guarding well its secrets from us all The moon sheds no light on Salisbury plain The day turns to night and the bonfires cease burning The magic words are spoken As we leave the plain in silence Now the circle stands alone And the druids turn to stone |
||||||
| 10. |
| 7:20 |
|
|||
|
It is 50000 B.C. The world is almost empty; nature is still untouched by man. Off in the distance, a clan of ape-like creatures gather near a cliff side.
But I am the first to stand. I must be... In fields of green, vast as the oceans Is this a dream, is it evermore? A million years, Vast as an ocean I stand alone here on the silent shore I'm after prey in the fields Shelter in a cave from the cold and lonely nights And now it all seems so real warming at the fireside beneath the pale moonlight This is the dawn of time I am the first to stand Looking through the eyes of the primal man This is the dawn of time Witnessing the birth I am the first man on earth The skies of blue reach to the heavens They go on and on forevermore No avenues, no city sidewalks Planet Mars is but ancient lore This place has all that I need No computers glowing screens, no industrial machines Somehow it all seems surreal Memories of days gone by, a slowly fading scene This is the dawn of time I am the first to stand Looking through the eyes of the primal man This is the dawn of time Witnessing the birth I am the first man on earth No one here to blame me No one here to hurt So much space here to occupy my mind I can breathe the breath of virgin land The firefly at nighttime The sounds of nothing known And I belong here like I never have before The wandering child returning home When twilight falls, red is the sunset Planets appear across the colored sky No prison walls, no war, no bloodshed Hard to believe this new world will die I wish that I could stay for a while In the dream world that the sequencer creates And though it all seems so real Now I fear the time is gone, I feel its heavy weight This is the dawn of time I am the first to stand Looking through the eyes of the primal man This is the dawn of time Witnessing the birth I am the first man on earth Hold on to this moment in time (Hold on) Savor a life how it used to be (Savior this moment... how it used to be) Hold on to the world in its prime (In its prime) Breathe in the air, feel the energy (Feel the energy) |
||||||
| 11. |
| 3:36 |
|
|||
|
