Part 2 (I'll also update the OP)-
Now, in the next few songs we start moving on to a new recurring symbolism of water which will be highlighted in green. Quotes are still in blue
honestly, Voices is probably the song I am still the most confused about on the album, but I think I get most of it and the main idea. Erotomania obviously also relies on an understanding of this song and the Silent Man. I am relatively confident in my understanding of The Silent Man, though. Anyway, check it out-
Erotomania is some of the musical depiction of the feelings and things going on in the mind of the man going through some of the changes/ decisions this album talks about. At this point, this man is beside himself on a decision. He is starting to believe that these concepts which the first three songs are explaining are contrary to what he has been taught growing up in regards to religion, and even possibly the belief in God, itself. Now he must decide which set of ideals to follow.
This song could also be seen as the musical depiction of very bad guilt and insecurity of sorts while doing a certain activity. This may make more sense after Voices.
Also just some cool things to notice that reflect the consistent and forward-moving tone of the album-
-the guitar during the very first main riff is kind of a variation on the fills at the very tail end of Innocence Faded, the song immediately before this one.
-the obvious one is that at 3:04 it's the melody to the chorus of Silent Man
-Then, notice the (much less obvious) recurring theme at 3:41 which appears again in Voices druing the fills at 2:55 (as with every other chorus) and at 5:45. Then once again at 1:52-2:14 of the Silent Man. Also this theme even nods at the chorus of Caught in a Web at 4:04 (of Erotomania)
At the beginning of Voices the “I” character is remembering some adult figures in his earlier life who seem to be very religious. One tells him “Love, just don’t stare” which is kind of confusing, but I think is saying that you can fall in love, but advising to never take it too far, trust too much, or get too caught up in it because it can never be perfect. Personally, I don’t like to settle for this, and I don’t think the “I” character wants to either. When the “Animation breathes a cloudless mind” approach is taken, one does not have to settle for less than perfect. However, this old man remained caught beneath the wheel for his whole life; he sipped the poison, eventually died because he didn’t really have any desire to go on, and now his widow is the one who is left.
Now the widow is introduced saying "So speak, I'm right here," but as indicated by "not a word not a word" the "I" character does not want to talk. He is feeling (as described later) "withdrawn and introverted", and we are about to find out why. First, though, let's notice the way the "I" character sees his two paths in life. He can either take the "Spider in the window" approach, or the "Angel in the pool" approach. The first way, a person will spin a web of lies his entire life, and with the other he will FACE HIS PROBLEMS WHEN THEY ARISE AND MAKE HIS LIFE GLORIOUS!
So now why is he so introverted? It's because he is starting to disagree fundamentally with the philosophy behind these religious people, but he's either too weak or too young to rebel. It's his own life that is being halted by their selfless and conformist ways, but he is in the incredibly frustrating and depressing state of being unable to fight for his own happiness. So he starts hearing voices in his head begging him to PLEASE take hold of your life!!- "feeling threatened we reflect your hopes and fears" he is subconsciously being moved by desire and fear (which of course will later be addressed in LSOAD), and his happiness is at stake (threatened). The "Others steal your thoughts" part is saying that if the "I" character doesn't take hold of his life, someone else will eventually think of and capitalize on the ideas he has; that he will begin to see new inventions/products (which could be of any industry or type) become successful in the world that he thought of first, but never acted on. The second verse says "Now they read my mind on the radio".
He is also dealing with the same concept when it comes to love. He starts to see that the philosophy of the people he is surrounded by is based on selflessness and the idea that people can NOT be perfect because they are fundamentally flawed (something I completely reject. Humans have the power to be the most perfect thing in the universe). He then sees that these people think the only way around this eternal misery is through God. We will see in The Silent Man that this is thankfully NOT the true purpose of God in the "I" character's and my own view. But we aren't there quite yet- while being surrounded by these people, one could even go as far as to say "Sex is death, death is sex" because of it's extreme amount of selfish pleasure, and creation of humanity. Now maybe the title and emotion of Erotomania has some new meaning?
The voices continue to tell him to rebel "Good behavior brings a savior to his knees." And you'll never guess where we end up in the next scene...
"Kneeling on the floor... like the spider in the window, I wish that I could speak." Yes, that's right, he still hasn't acted on what he knows is right, and thus he is still caught in the web these people spin their whole lives, remaining misled. And he is still withdrawn and introverted, and now seeing his "diary on the newsstand", proving the voices' point.
I think by the end of the song, the character might finally follow through (*cough* giving up on misery and leaving their distrust behind *cough*) and risk quote on quote "salvation" in order to escape from isolation, but it's very hard to tell.
In The Silent Man, we see that our main character has indeed found God, and not through a self-hating philosophy. (I'd like to point out that the religion in Voices was clearly Christianity, but of course you can still be Christian and not have the same beliefs as the antagonists in that song. You may be Christian and actually believe more like the protagonist in The Silent Man is going to describe, and think that the antagonists were not true Christians. This is not meant to offend or label all Christians as thinking a certain way)
The Silent Man is God. You can tell because, first of all the name is capitalized every time, and is even capitalized when referred to as "He." Second, because of the lyrics.
So what do you think about this question that is served about "Is silence like a fever, a voice never heard, or a message with no receiver?" I think that this first stanza regarding silence isn't even referring to the Silent Man, God quite yet. I think we are actually talking about the silence that the "I" character had when he was so withdrawn and introverted. And if you ask yourself why he was so silent, it's actually because he didn't think he could trust those who were talking to him. It's possible that Dream Theater is making a connection that similarly, God is entirely silent, but only when you are a good person and make the effort to search for the truth, he will be there for you. The "I" character does not want to be asked this question in church, though, because he does not want to let everyone know his answer. Again, he does not trust them with this.
The next question is whether man is just a victim of woman and his father. I think we have covered that this does not need to be the case; man has the power to be heroic! Also, what are the consequences of not bothering to even think about this "If he elects not to bother..."? Well, I think that would mean a shallow life because one will be very easily sucked right into the web and then never do any good for himself nor the rest of the world.
The chorus then clearly describes what the "I" character has found. It is basically that God is there to help you through rough times and guide you when you don't know where to go. We will then begin to see most importantly, that a person must work for themselves. God does NOT ask you to sit back so he can do the work for you. "When there is reason, Tonight I'm Awake, When there's no answer, Arrive the Silent Man."
The bridge is the most interesting and powerful part to me. "I could sail by on the Winds of Silence, and maybe they won't notice, But this time I think It'd be better if I swim" He is saying that he could just flow through life and let God push him around where he wants, and then the other people who surround him won't mind, but he would rather TAKE HOLD OF HIS LIFE and STEER IT WHERE HE, HIMSELF WANTS IT TO GO!! (Now we see why the angel in Voices was in the pool, yes?) He is inspired by the things that make him happy, including LOVE and whatever other passions he has, and with this at stake, he is prepared to TAKE ON THE OCEAN! To hell with what the self-haters want him to be! Rather than flowing with the stream, he has animation and fascination and he wants to swim through life with his own to arms!
hell yes.
Topic: Sixdgmaticor's Awake interperataion/explanation (Read 6957 times)
