"The Count of Tuscany", Track 6 on "Black Clouds and Silver Linings"
I am posting a link to a song/piece by my favorite band, Dream Theater, hopefully every day until we have successfully enjoyed every original song that they have recorded in-studio. There are many good reasons to do this, but you can probably guess most of the ones that I'm thinking.
No adieu.
We're just gonna do it.
I'm going to try to help you know what to expect a little bit without influencing the way that you experience the song. At least in the initial write-up, I won't tell you what I think the best or my favorite parts are. I want you to have the chance to enjoy the music on your own without any spoilers, just as I did.
I will also tell you that some of the things that Dream Theater does may be quite different than much of the music that you have listened to before. Sometimes it may be so new that it makes you a bit uneasy or just doesn't connect to you at all. If that happens, I encourage you to listen to it a few times, perhaps in different ways... once in the background while you do dishes, once with your eyes closed and your full attention, once hanging upside down like a bat. You get the idea.
I believe that, if you go on this journey with me, you will find more than a few songs that you enjoy. My mom saw Dream Theater live in K.C. and really enjoyed them, and she usually listens to NPR which I don't think gets to rock and roll that much. Dream Theater truly has something for everyone. Not everything they do may be your thing, but some of it may change your life for the better the way that it did mine.
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"The Count of Tuscany"
Tempo - varied. Starts out at a walk and mixes it up
Length - 19:18
Intro - semi-ethereal guitar, layered guitar
Texture - polyphonic, as per the usual m.o.. but there is joint singing on the chorus.
Features - soulful guitar, race-along pace, pink-Floyd-esque ambiancing
Lyrics:
Several years ago
In a foreign town
Far away from home
I met the Count of Tuscany
A young eccentric man
Bred from royal blood
Took me for a ride
Across the open countryside
Get into my car
Let's go for drive
I love the way I feel uptight
Just step inside
Maybe you'll recall
I kind of felt curious
A character inspired by my brother's life
Winding through the hills
Seeing far behind
On and on we drove
Down narrow streets and dusty roads
And last we came upon
A picturesque estate
On sprawling emerald hills
An ancient world of times gone by
Now let me introduce
My brother
A bitter gentleman - historian
Sucking on his pipe
Distinguished accent
Making me uptight - no accident
I
Want to stay alive
Everything about this place just doesn't feel right
I
I don't wanna die
Suddenly I'm frightened for my life
I
Want to say goodbye
This could be the last time you see me alive
I
I may not survive
Knew it from the moment we arrived
Would you like to see
Our secret holy place?
I come here late at night
To pray to him by candle light
Then viewing through the past
I saw which is believed
Still dressed in royal clothes
A saint behind the altar
History recalls
During times of war
Legend has been traced
Stuck inside these castle walls
Soldiers came to hide
With barrels filled with wine
Never to escape
These tombs of old that's where they died
Down the cellar stairs
I disappear
Like the angel's share
The end is near
Come and have a taste
A rare vintage
All the finest wines
Improve with age
I
Want to stay alive
Everything about this place just doesn't feel right
I
I don't wanna die
Suddenly I'm frightened for my life
I
Want to say goodbye
This could be the last time you see me alive
I
I may not survive
Knew it from the moment we arrived
Could this be the end?
Is this the way I die?
Sitting here alone
No one by my side
I don't understand
I don't feel that I deserve this
What did I do wrong?
I just don't understand
Give me one more chance
Let me please explain
It's all been circumstance
I'll tell you once again
It took me for a ride
Promising a vast adventure
Next thing that I know
I'm frightened for my life
Now wait a minute then
That's not how it is
You must be confused
That isn't who I am
Please don't be afraid
I would never try to hurt you
This is how we live
Strange although it seems
Please try to forgive
The chapel and the Sade
The soldiers in the wine
The fables and the tales
All handed down through time
Of course you're free to go
Go and tell the world my story
Tell about my brother
Tell them about me
The Count of Tuscany
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Dream Theater formed at Berklee in 1985. The original 3 members were John Petrucci (guitar) and John Myung (bass), friends from Long Island, and Mike Portnoy (percussion) whom the Johns heard in a practice room and said, "we gotta get that guy". (Something along those lines).
"Black Clouds and Silver Linings" (2009) lineup:
LaBrie – lead vocals
Petrucci – guitar, vocals
Jordan Rudess- keyboards, continuum, iPad app, lap steel guitar
Myung – bass
Portnoy - percussion, vocals
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SPOILERS AND SUBJECTIVITY BELOW: YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ THIS AFTER LISTENING
Words to describe this song: thorough, complete, beautiful, attack
Stream-of-consciousness reflection as I listen to "The Count of Tuscany":
Sometimes people pan post-Kevin-Moore Dream Theater lyrics as not being subtle enough or whatever. I don't frankly care that much. I grew up listening to 90s country which is almost never subtle... Just tells it like it is. The thing is, what some claim that they lack in lyrical erudition, they are AMAZING at composing a musical journey. This song has everything. Aside from prog or metal or rocl, it's just plain good music.
Final thoughts: until Illumination Theory came out, a friend of mine said that he wanted "The Count of Tuscany" played at his funeral. At last update, we were in limbo. ;)
Thank you for reading, and enjoy!
Yours in harmony,
Michael
~In loving memory of Tim~
I reread these words to myself, and it hurts. I wish so painfully that I could talk to him about this blog series. I wish that I had started this project sooner... And, of course, the irony is, without the strength of my longing and regret for his presence and the sound of his voice, for his giddy school-boy love for this music, would I be able to stay on task? I don't know, and I may never know. I'm trying to honor his memory, but wish that I could share each post with him, or with his help. He, himself, wrote a book, after all.
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