Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed… Read Full Bio ↴Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers. Although Nightwish have been prominent in their home country since Angels Fall First, they did not achieve wider success until the release of the albums Oceanborn (1998), Wishmaster (2000) and Century Child (2002). Their 2004 album, Once, has sold more than one million copies and was the band's breakthrough in the United States. Their biggest US hit single, "Wish I Had an Angel" (2004), received MTV airplay and was included on three US film soundtracks to promote their North American tour. The band produced three more singles and two music videos for Once, as well as a re-recording of "Sleeping Sun" for the compilation album, Highest Hopes: The Best of Nightwish (2005), before Turunen's dismissal in October 2005. Her last performance with Nightwish was during a concert recorded for the live album/DVD End of an Era. After the concert, the other members informed Turunen with an open letter that she was no longer a member of Nightwish.

In May 2007, Nightwish announced Anette Olzon as Turunen's replacement. That September, the band released their sixth album, Dark Passion Play, which has sold almost 2 million copies. The album's lead single, "Amaranth", became one of Nightwish's most successful in Europe. The supporting tour, one of the band's largest, started on October 6, 2007, and ended on September 19, 2009. The band released an EP/live album, Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places), in March 2009 as a CD/DVD, and their seventh studio album, Imaginaerum, was released globally on various days in late 2011/early 2012.

On October 1, 2012, Nightwish announced that they had parted ways with Olzon and would be finishing the tour with at that time ReVamp vocalist (ex-After Forever) Floor Jansen. In October 2013, Nightwish made Jansen and longtime session uilleann pipes player Troy Donockley permanent members of the band, and they were featured in the acclaimed album Endless Forms Most Beautiful, released on March 27, 2015. From 2014 to 2019, Nevalainen, while still a member of the band, was inactive due to severe insomnia issues; in July 2019, he announced that he would not be returning to the band, with Kai Hahto, who had acted as his replacement since 2014 (including by performing all drums on Endless Forms Most Beautiful), being promoted as the official drummer, and is featured as such at the ninth album, Human. :II: Nature., which was released internationally on April 10, 2020. After twenty years of performing with the band, it was announced that bassist Marko Hietala had parted ways with the band in January 2021. Jukka Koskinen was announced as Hietala's replacement to play bass during the tour. In August 2022, he was announced as a permanent member of the band.

Nightwish is the third-best-selling band and musical entity in Finland with certified sales of nearly 900,000 certified copies. The group is also the most successful Finnish band worldwide, selling more than 10 million records and receiving more than 60 gold and platinum awards, having released six Number 1 albums and thirteen Number 1 singles. On October 26, 2018, Nightwish was inducted into the Finnish Music Hall of Fame, becoming the honorary gallery's 11th member.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightwish

Studio albums
Angels Fall First (1997)
Oceanborn (1998)
Wishmaster (2000)
Century Child (2002)
Once (2004)
Dark Passion Play (2007)
Imaginaerum (2011)
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015)
Human. :II: Nature. (2020)

Beauty of the Beast
Nightwish Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Remember the first dance we shared?
Recall the night you melted my ugliness away?
The night you left with a kiss so kind
Only a send of beauty left behind

Ah, dear friend I remember the night
The moon and the dreams we shared
Your trembling paw in my hand

Dreaming of that northern land
Touching me with a kiss of a beast

I know my dreams are made of you
Of you and only for you
Your ocean pulls me under
Your voice tears me asunder
Love me before the last petal falls

As a world without a glance
Of the ocean's fair expanse
Such the world would be
If no love did flow in thee
But as my heart is occupied
Your love for me now has to die
Forgive me I need more than you can offer me

Didn't you read the tale
Where happily ever after was to kiss a frog?
Don't you know this tale
In which all I ever wanted
I'll never have
For who could ever learn to love a beast?

However cold the wind and rain
I'll be there to ease your pain
However cruel the mirrors of sin
Remember beauty is found within

Forever shall the wolf in me desire the sheep in you

Overall Meaning

The song "Beauty and the Beast" by Nightwish explores the complexities of love and relationships. The lyrics describe the memories of a couple's first dance and a night where the ugliness of one of them was melted away by the other's love. The singer remembers the dreams they shared together, holding hands and dreaming of a northern land. The line "Touching me with the kiss of a beast" is a reference to the popular fairy tale of a prince who was cursed and turned into a beast until he could learn to love and be loved in return.

The lyrics in the second verse reveal the depth of the singer's love for the other person, as they admit that their dreams are made only for them. They speak of being pulled under by the ocean of their love and their voice tearing them asunder. However, they also acknowledge that they cannot fulfill their desires and need something more than the other person can offer. The bridge references the original fairy tale, where the prince was turned into a frog and needed a kiss from a princess to break the curse. The song ends with the line "Forever shall the wolf in me desire the sheep in you," which speaks to the primal desires and animalistic attraction that exists in all relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

Remember the first dance we shared?
Do you still remember when we danced for the first time?

Recall the night you melted my ugliness away?
Do you remember that night when you made me feel beautiful despite my flaws?

The night you left with a kiss so kind
I recall the night you left with a gentle kiss

Only a send of beauty left behind
You left behind a trace of your beauty and grace

Ah, dear friend I remember the night
My friend, I vividly remember that night

The moon and the dreams we shared
Under the moon and the stars, we shared our dreams

Your trembling paw in my hand
I held your hand tightly, as it trembled in mine

Dreaming of that northern land
We dreamed of a place in the north, far away from here

Touching me with a kiss of a beast
You kissed me with so much passion and intensity, it was almost animalistic in nature

I know my dreams are made of you
I realize that my dreams are all about you

Of you and only for you
My dreams revolve around you, and you alone

Your ocean pulls me under
Your deep, immense love completely engulfs and overwhelms me

Your voice tears me asunder
Your words have the power to tear me apart emotionally

Love me before the last petal falls
My love, please love me before it's too late, before my time runs out

As a world without a glance
Without love or affection, the world seems meaningless

Of the ocean's fair expanse
Just like the vastness of the ocean, love should be boundless and limitless

Such the world would be
The world would be dull and empty without love

If no love did flow in thee
If your heart did not contain love, then everything would be lifeless

But as my heart is occupied
As I am preoccupied with thoughts of you

Your love for me now has to die
I understand that your love for me has to come to an end

Forgive me I need more than you can offer me
Please forgive me, but I need more than what you can give me

Didn't you read the tale
Haven't you read the story?

Where happily ever after was to kiss a frog?
The tale in which the happy ending involved a princess kissing a frog?

Don't you know this tale
Are you not familiar with the story?

In which all I ever wanted
The story in which my one desire was

I'll never have
And yet I will never attain it

For who could ever learn to love a beast?
It seems impossible for anyone to love someone as damaged and flawed as myself

However cold the wind and rain
Regardless of the unpleasant and harsh conditions

I'll be there to ease your pain
I will still be here to comfort and console you

However cruel the mirrors of sin
Even though my sins may be cruel and unforgivable

Remember beauty is found within
Never forget that true beauty lies inside, beyond what the surface shows

Forever shall the wolf in me desire the sheep in you
My inner wild and savage nature will always long for and crave your gentle and meek nature

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen, Tero Kalle Sakari Kinnunen, Jukka Antero Nevalainen, Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen, Erno Matti Juhani Vuorinen

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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