Bandit Manatee solves the Dream Theater lyrics

[Bandit Manatee]

I hope you enjoy this adventure with me as I travel into the realm of world renowned rock band DT's lryics.  I have created this topic as most of DT's lyrics are layered with a veneer of mystery and beauty.  I hope to attempt to decode each one, going one at a time.  I will first post a synopsis of each song followed by a list of fun facts.



Wait for Sleep

Synopsis:  This song is about the girl who appears on the I&W album cover.  She is having a hard time falling asleep due to the problems in her life.  We know that she is young from the line "She has too much pride to pull the sheets above her head," kids often do this but the girl is growing older and abandoning her old ways.  She is approaching puberty and fearing the prospect of going through menstruation.  As evidenced by the line "Standing by the window Eyes upon the moon."  The moon has an influence on the female menstrual cycle.  As she watches the moon she is wishing that the memory will leave her head.  The memory of learning about menstruation from health class.  I believe she is an artist suffering from writers block as she asks god to give her "breathe from the wind and give life from a cold metal frame."  I believe she is making a sculpture of some sort, possibly in art class.   This song has a connection to Wither, another song about writers block, but this song was written long before wither (yes I know this is improbable but we will learn more in the coming months).  This song is the key to understanding the entire images and words album, because it encapsulates the theme of the album.  Images and Words are just that Images and words until we can learn to make them real by learning to live, and making those words real.  At the same time Images and words can have a profound impact on holding us back from who we can be.  They are the devil on our backs so to speak.

A bombshell is dropped in the last few lines, as we learn the narrator of the song is engaged in a intimate relationship with the girl.  "Or here, laying in bed Palm of her hand to my head Now and forever curled in my heart."  It appears that the narrator is engaged in a scandalous act with this child, and is probably just another source of stress in her life.  A twist ending to an already haunting tune.  It repeats a theme found in many DT songs that we are often caught up in never ending negative relationships with others (shades of Caught in a web and Octavarium come to mind).

However, even more astute DT scholars will remember that the song In The Name of God is about Branch Davidians leader David Koresh who was alleged to be having sex with young girls.  Is Koresh the narrator of "Wait for Sleep?"  And how would this be possible seeing as I&W was recorded a full decade before TOT and before Koresh was household name?  Well, now you see why I started these series of posts!  DT's music is layered with connections and themes, and I believe there is one controversial explanation of how this is possible, and that explanation is Time Travel.

So tune in next week as I choose another DT song to explore in a detailed and scholarly context.


Fun Facts:  "Wait for Sleep" is a beautiful song but many fans wish it was longer

Many believe that "Wait for Sleep" is a direct prequel to learning to live.

[WildeSilas]

So when I listen to Wait For Sleep, a beautiful song that I have a deep emotional connection to, I'm meant to think of menstruation and child molestation. Great.

[Ben_Jamin]

Haha...sorry but that was pretty funny. Maybe the narrator is the parent, who is watching her child die.

[robwebster]

I like that the fun fact is that it's a little short.

NEXT WEEK: Learning to Live has two "L"s in its title, both of which are at the beginning of their respective words.