When The Crowds Are Gone

Yeah, I've threatened to post songs...here's the first one. One of my favorites of all time, Savatage's When The Crowds Are Gone.

I don't know where the years have gone
Memories can only last so long
Like faded photographs, forgotten songs
And the things I never knew
When the skin is thin, the heart shows through
Please believe me what I tell you is true

Where's the lights, turn 'em on again
One more night to believe and then
Another note for my requiem
A memory to carry on
The story's over
When The Crowds Are Gone

All my friends have been crucified
Made life a long suicide true
Guess we never figured out the rules
But I'm still alive, my fingers feel
Gonna play on till the final reel's through
And read the credits from a different view

Where's the lights, turn 'em on again
One more night to believe and then
Another note for my requiem
A memory to carry on
The story's over
When The Crowds Are Gone

When The Crowds Are Gone

When The Crowds Are Gone
And I'm all alone
Playing the saddest song
Now that the lights are gone
Turn them on again
One more time for me my friend
Turn 'em on again

I never wanted to know
Never wanted to see
I wasted my time
Till time wasted me
Never wanted to go
Always wanted to stay
'Cause the persons I am
Are the parts that I play
So I plot and I plan
Hope and I scheme
To the lure of a night
Filled with unfinished dreams
I'm holding on tight
To a world gone astray
As they charge me for years
I can no longer pay

Turn 'em on again (repeat)

I never wanted to know
Never wanted to see
I wasted my time
Till time wasted me
I Never wanted to go
Always wanted to stay
'Cause the persons I am
Are the parts that I play
The parts I play

And the lights
Turn them off my friend
And the ghosts
We'll just let them in
Cause in the dark
It's easier to see
---------------------------------------------
The Savatage website says it's about a master composer who...wastes...his life trying to publish his masterpiece, only to have it played for the first time at his funeral.

I see in it more a musician (or maybe just a person) looking back on his life (maybe at his last show, I see it at his deathbed), seeing the things he's sacrificed for his music, his interest, his obsession. He's obviously begging, hoping, for one more moment, fighting the inevitable. In the end, he accepts his fate.

You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8WWiJ6TU4s
I'm pretty certain it's standard 80s fare. Like the song, it gets far better around "I never wanted..." It's quite enjoyable watching Jon and Criss Oliva with their seperate parts, one beating a piano to death with his guitar, the other finishing the song on his knees, screaming about the parts that we play.

I never wanted to know
Never wanted to see
I wasted my time
Till time wasted me