Mikael Åkerfeldt [Opeth]

Falling inside again
This nightmare always the same
Still never enough
Halting at the brink of discovery
Moving into the darkness
Leaking inside to cover up
Dragging me down and under
Entangled and undone at once
Old memories
I'm not in need but wish to know
What are the tragedies
The history behind the walls
Pacing further down
Familiar children's laughter
Dissonant and out of time
And their eyes are dead
Watching myself in a pool of water
Wearing the mask of a ghost
Smeared all across my skin
Rotten earth and insects
Endless night
Always preserving the calm
Movement behind
Bleeding animals in a field of fire
There is no absolution
Death is but a fairytale
They are mere visions
They are afraid of me
Clear insight
A smoke is rising nearby
Dust covering my coat
Blend together to spell my name
Pale, covered me with sweat
There are no words left
Sole provider of death
Distorted faith in myself
Human harvest burning
Blackest pages turning
Twisted perception come true
Captured in dreams connected
Staring right back
Spiritual decay - Still seeking
Frozen in time
Mourn this departure - All watching
Calling me back
Closure to bleak matters - I'm leaving
End of a search
Coming of morning
Calling me back
Closure to bleak matters - I'm leaving
End of a search
Coming of morning - Returning

Blank face in the windowpane
Made clear in seconds of light
Disappears and returns again
Counting hours, searching the night

Might be waiting for someone
Might be there for us to see
Might be in need of talking
Might be staring directly at me

Inside plays a lullaby
Slurred voice over children cries
On the inside

Haunting loneliness in the eye
Skin covering a secret scar
His hand is waving a goodbye
There's no response or action returned

There is deep prejudice in me
Outshines all reason inside
Given dreams all ridden with pain
And projected unto the last

Found you there in the blink of an eye
(I) miss you
Turned away into a thousand dreams
Found out what they mean

Lost you there in a moment of truth
(I) trust you
Gave away the one and only heart
(A) gift to tear apart

Stain me, save me
Take me to my home
Hold me, show me
Take me to my home

Weaker now, drawing fluid from me
(You) kill me
I'm not afraid of what you have just done
(But of) what you've just become

There's nobody here, there's nobody near
I try not to care, dead eyes always stare
Let these matters be, don't trust what you see
Take hold of your time, step into the line

There's innocence torn from its maker
Stillborn the trust in you
This failure has made the creator
So would you tell him what to do (would you)

Leave your mark upon the head of someone
Who'll cry for his state, we know it's too late
I turn round to see what was meant to be
Faint movement release to rid the disease

There's innocence torn from its maker
Stillborn the trust in you
(I have lost all trust I had in you)
This failure has made the creator
So would you tell him what to do
(I have lost all trust I had in you)

Liquid is in your throat
For hopeless delight
After all you fell in love with death
Life has aborted
All you've had and all you became
The night is calling, you pray forth
A barren waste is your land
Crops they were sown to die
This skin is a mirror
The eyes hover with ignorance
Hell throb from your lips
Sucked in and safe from the world of sleep
All years caring for a liar
The barren drift road is winding higher
You're a moth too close to the fire
You are stuck in a beautiful future
Changing and waiting and seeking the truth of it all
Fleeting in sorrow
Pushing your spirit away
Seeking the weakness of dislike
Whispered from the heart
To be, we're all in the mourning
To despair
[?]
Cries out: ""The restless will also... die.""
Resurrection covered with death
Drawing the life under one
A fact tied to the earth
The soul's a victim, a follower
Oh, mother!
[Incoherent growling]
For us to see
The blink of an eye
And the pride of a mother
Drawn close in a mother's son
And the love from a father
Was used by a father's son
Over warrior's token
Misspoken lives on
The language unimportant
So fair and so just
All the land is taken

I have often told you stories
about the way I lived the life
of a drifter waiting for the day
when I`d take your hand
and sing you songs
Then maybe you would say
Come lay with me love me
and I would surely stay

But I feel I`m growing older
And the songs that I have sung
Echo in the distance
Like the sound of a windmill goin` `round
I guess I`ll always be
a soldier of fortune

Many times I`ve been a traveller
I looked for something new
in days of old
When nights were cold
I wandered without you
But those days I thought my eyes
had seen you standing near
Though blindness is confusing
It shows that you`re not here

Now I feel I`m growing older
And the songs that I have sung
Echo in the distance
Like the sound of a windmill goin` `round
I guess I`ll always be
a soldier of fortune
Yes, I can hear the sound
of a windmill goin` ` round
I guess I`ll always be
a soldier of fortune

I, lost all I had (one April day)
I, turned to my friends (nothing to see)
I, wrote down a name (and read it twice)
I, wallow in shame

I, said that I love (eternal skis)
I, cling to my past (like childish dreams)
I, promised to stay (and dwell my grief)
I, went far away

I see red spilled 'neath my feet
Lead me through wastelands of deceit
Rest your head now, don't you cry
Don't ever ask the reason why

Kept inside our idle race
Grow seven idols, false embrace
Rest your head now don't you cry
Don't ever ask the reason why

There is a voice calling for me
There is a light coming down on me
There is a doubt that is clearing
There is a day that is dawning
There is a wound that is healing
There is a season waiting for me
There is a road that is turning
There is a fire still burning
A sickness in me
Constant pace towards the end
The need is stronger
This time the need is deeper
There is a peace I am searching
There is a freedom I'm depending on
There is a pain that's never ending
There is a rain falling only on me
There is a dream I am living
There is a life I am dreaming of
There is a death I'm awaiting
There is a home I am deserting
i hold my breath and wait
only moments remain
movement for departed hope
effect for absent friend
sever the faith from my body
leave me begging for more
take what i have and deliver me
into everlasting sleep
soothing trance
colours fade
and disappear
ethereal light
showing me what i can do without
in a motionless scense
there is only me
i take what i can
controlling you to get ahead
fading away
and leaving
long for sleep
closer now
lead the way into death
every wretched dream
i have left behind
every waking hour
i lie in wait
sucked inside by will
gone into the flood
all my questions unfurled
as i was put to the test
once i'm below there's no turning back
plunging into the deepest void
departed shell left drained behind
pacing roads unknown
searching for a new home
desert in my eye
barren lands inside

I can't see the meaning of this life I'm leading
I try to forget you as you forgot me
This time there is nothing left for you to take, this
is goodbye

Summer is miles and miles away
And no one would ask me to stay

And I should contemplate this change
To ease the pain
And I should step out of the rain
turn away

Close to ending it all, I am drifting through the
stages
Of the rapture born within this loss
Thoughts of death inside, tear me apart from the core
of my soul

At times the dark's fading slowly
But it never sustains
Would someone watch over me
In my time of need

In the corner beside my window
There hangs a lonely photograph
There is no reason
I'd never notice
A memory that could hold me back

There is a wound that's always bleeding
There is a road I'm always walking
And I know you'll never return to this place

Gone through days without talking
There is a comfort in silence
So used to losing all ambition
Struggling to maintain what's left

Once undone, there is only smoke
Burning in my eyes to blind
To cover up what really happened
Force the darkness unto me

Two years
In your heart
One moment of doubt

Two lives
Torn apart
One second from now

Held him
In your arms
Your fever subside
Always safe from harm
Kept demons inside

Still you always start runnin'
Touch the light
From the moon
Some way mother cried
Left us space here

Will their children cry
When their mother dies
And in the autumn of their lives
Will they feel the same?

[reversed lyrics 2:03-2:22]

The longing for me
Comin' down like hail
Why did you leave me?

Come here inside
And tell me how
How in my final days
You found around

Your concern
The signal for us to end our lives
To wipe beneath the watches
And you wait forever

The night comes high
Your weakness
Storing trace on your eyes
So I left you alone
We all left you alone

[reversed lyrics 7:21-7:24]

Lock the children away from harm
They'll lock all your reason why
Seeking (?) with a dagger
Skin is blocked by the years of trial

You felt abandoned in the fog of flesh
Sitting in place from the dead
Awaiting the face of the moon to ascend
You follow the siren in your head

In your head

Long days
Slow waste
Sew lies
Sow hate

So many years to clean the slate
Endless despair within its wake
His touch soiling what used to be clean
His gaze burning on the edge of our dreams

No more
Cold pace
Slow days (?)

And again he rides in
It's September and he covets the gullible
Skeletal wish, hunter
A thousand lies
Cast from the throne of secrecy

Hear him spewing forth a meaning to miserables lies
See the twisted hand of doubt seal the affair
The insect trust, believer
Your body a vehicle to

Pearls before swine they are nothing but blind
Submit to nothing and swallow my spit of scorn
Invisible king, dying
Procession of woe, struck down by sorrow

A burden so great
Weighs heavy on old and withered beliefs
The swift solution crumbles
Beneath the mock notes of a masterpiece
Death in his eyes, waiting
Spiraling judgement, provoked in the rains

This futile test drowned in the levee of deception

In the year of his sovereign
Rid us of your judgement
Heir apparent

Stay with me a while
Rise above the vile
Name my final rest
Poured into my chest

Into the orchard I walk peering way past the gate
Wilted scenes for us who couldn't wait
Drained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows ahead
Halo of death, all I see is departure
Mourner's lament but it's me who's the martyr

Pledge yourself to me
Never leave me be
Sweat breaks on my brow
Given time ends now

Into the orchard I walk peering way past the gate
Wilted scenes for us who couldn't wait


Drained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows ahead
Halo of death, all I see is departure
Mourner's lament but it's me who's the martyr

Spirit painted sin
Embers 'neath my skin
Veiled in pale embrace
Reached and touched my face

Into the orchard I walk peering way past the gate
Wilted scenes for us who couldn't wait
Drained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows ahead
Halo of death, all I see is departure
Mourner's lament but it's me who's the martyr

모ㅋ름ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

By the turnstile beckons a damsel fair
The face of Melinda neath blackened hair
No joy would flicker in her eyes
Brooding sadness came to a rise
...

Words would falter to atone
Failure had passed the stepping stone
She had sworn her vows to another
This is when no-one will bother

And conceded pain in crumbling mirth
A harlot of God upon the earth
Found where she sacrificed her ways
That hollow love in her face
...

Still I plotted to have her back
The contentment that would fill the crack
My soul released a fluttering sigh
This day fell, the darkness nigh
...

I took her by the hand to say
All faith forever has been washed away
I returned for you in great dismay
Come with me, far away to stay

Endlessly gazing in nocturnal prime
She spoke of her vices and broke the rhyme
But baffled herself with the final line
My promise is made but my heart is thine

Floating on mist
crept up the caverns of my brain
receving no warning
from nothing to a life code
walk with me, you'll never leave
wait to see your spirit free
tell me how your heart's in need
as i drown you in the sea
unwinding snares of distrust
your wrist in my face grip
look me in the eye, i'm clear
this is your time
face down beneath the waterline
gazing into the deep
from love to death
in a time span of seconds
oblivious to regret
pushed into belief
in liquid cellophane
gasping for air
mercy in my eyes
is the shade of the night
the piercing sounds you make
soaring higher, higher now
and once left in my wake
your memory is nothing but the scars on me
all over now
forgotten why i needed this
standing down
disappear into the obscure
resting days
waiting for new disease
biding time
looked inside insanity
it always burns within
the downward spiral never ends
when driven into sin
your salvation's found in a sinner's deed
the devil guides the day
tells me what to say
pours himself inside
and snuffs the final light

deliverance
thrown back at me

deliverance
laughing at me

Out on the road there are fireflies circling
Deep in the woods, where the lost souls hide
Over the hill there are men returning
Trying to find some peace of mind

Sleep my child

Under the fog there are shadows moving
Don't be afraid, hold my hand
Into the dark there are eyelids closing
Buried alive in the shifting sands

Sleep my child

Speak to me now and the world will crumble
Open a door and the moon will fall
All of your life, all your memories
Go to your dreams, forget it all

Sleep my child

She told me why
She told me lies
I always take care of this
I told her how
I've always stayed
Always waited for nothing

When I get out of here
Will I leave you behind?
I found that the years passed despite

When I get out of here
Will I leave you behind?
I found that the years passed despite

And I can see you
Running through the fields of sorrow
Yes I can see you
Running through the fields of sorrow

When you get out of here
When you leave me behind
You find that the years passed us by

When you get out of here
When you leave me behind
You find that those years passed us by

And I can see you
Running through the fields of sorrow
Yes I can see you
Running through the fields of sorrow

Heal myself-a feather on my heart
Look inside-there never was a start
Peel myself-dispose of severed skin
All subsides-around me and within

There's nothing painful in this
There's no upheaval
Redemption for my pathos
All sins undone

Awaiting word on what's to come
In helpless prayers a hope lives on
As I've come clean I've forgotten what I promised
In the rays of the sun I am longing for the darkness

Let me taste
Let me feel
I need to know what you keep inside
No need to speak
Just let it be
Carry out this wish for me let nothing interfere
Rise to submission
I'm still beneath in the soil
Discard your clothes
Let loose you hair
We're intertwined forever and have always been
Say the word
And I'll depart
Upon your lips dwells nothing but the meaning of my cause
And so comes the dark
Vibrant as ever before
Flowers already withered
In this endless winter of souls
Outside in the park
The days move along
And nothing ever changes
They have nothing on us
And we've always knew
That nothing ever changes
Rise to submission
I'm still beneath in the soil
This is ours alone
Feeding of the warmth
Lured out from inside
Depending on the life blood
Silently
Whispering
Move in me and set me free

"Htaed otni yaw eht dael
Won resolc
Peels rof gnol
Gnivael dna
Yawa gnidaf

Tuohtiw Od Nac I Tahw
Em Gniwohs
Thgil Laerehte
Raeppasid Dna
Edaf Sruoloc
Ecnart Gnihtoos"

I once upon a time
Carried a burden inside
Some will ask goodbye
A broken line but underlined
There's an ocean of sorrow in you

Sorrow in me

Saw movement in their eyes
Said I no longer knew the way
Given up the ghost
A passing minds and its a fear
And the wait for redemption ahead

Waiting to fade

Fading again

If death should take me now
Count my mistakes and let me through
Whisper in my ear
Taken more than we've received
And the ocean of sorrow is you

Beating
Heart still beating for the cause
Feeding
Soul still feeding on the loss
Aching
Limbs are aching from the rush
Fading
You are fading from my sight

Break of morning, coldness lingers on
Shroud me into nightmares of the sun

Moving
I am moving closer to your side
Luring
You are luring me into the night
Crying
Who is crying for you here
Dying
I am dying fast inside your tears

Plunging towards bereavement faster yet
Clearing thoughts, my mind is set

Devious movements in your eyes
Moved me from relief
Breath comes out white clouds with your lies
And filters through me

You're close to the final word
You're staring right past me in dismay
A liquid seeps from your chest
And drains me away

Mist ripples round your thin white neck
And draws me a line
Cold fingers mark this dying wreck
This moment is mine

Help me cure you
Atone for all you've done
Help me leave you
As all the days are done

Night falls again
Taking what's left of me

Slight twist, shivering corpse
Ornated with water, fills the cracks
Clasped in my limbs by tradition
This is all you need

Confessor
Of the tragedies in man
Lurking in the core of us all
The last dying call for the everlost
Brief encounters, bleeding pain

Lepers coiled 'neath the trees
Dying men in bewildered soliloquys
Perversions bloom round the bend
Seekers, lost in their quest
Ghost of friends frolic under the waning moon

It is the year of death
Wielding his instruments
Stealth sovereign reaper
Touching us with ease

Infecting the roots in an instant
Burning crop of disease
I am just a spectator
An advocate documenting the loss
Fluttering with conceit
This doesn't concern me yet
Still far from the knell
Taunting their bereavement

Mob round the dead
Point fingers at the details
Probing vomits for more
Caught in unbridled suspense

We have all lost it now
Catching the flakes of dismay
Born the travesty of man
Regular pulse midst pandemonium
You're plucked to the mass
Parched with thirst for the wicked

Sick liaisons raised this monumental mark
The sun sets forever over Blackwater park