Scaretale
Nightwish Lyrics


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Once upon a time in a daymare
Dying to meet you, litlle child, enter enter this sideshow

Time for bed, the cradle still rocks
Thirteen chimes on a dead man's clock
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock

The bride will lure you, cook you, eat you
Your dear innocence boiled to feed the evil in need of fear

Burning farms and squealing pigs
A pool of snakes to swim with, oh sweet poison
Bite me, bite me

Ladies and gentlemen
Be heartlessly welcome
To Cirque De Morgue
And what a show we have for you tonight

Restless souls will put on their dancing shoes
Mindless ghouls with lots of limbs to lose
Illusionists, contortionist,
Tightrope walkers tightening the noose

La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la

Horde of spiders, closet tentacles
Laughing harpies with their tallons ripping, sher-chrisss, per-vizz

The pendulum still sways for you




Such are the darks here to show you, child in a corner
Fallen mirrors, all kingdom in cinders

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in Nightwish's song "Scaretale" tell the story of a dark circus sideshow that lures in innocent children and traps them in a nightmare. The opening lines "Once upon a time in a daymare / Dying to meet you, little child, enter enter this sideshow" set the tone for a twisted adventure. The next verse talks about the ticking of a clock, adding to the ominous feeling of the circus. The bride of the sideshow is described as a monster who lures in children, cooks and eats them, and feeds on the fear of the innocent.


The lyrics continue with descriptions of burning farms, pools of snakes, and other horrific scenes. The chorus introduces the characters of the circus, including restless souls, mindless ghouls, illusionists, contortionists, and tightrope walkers. All of them seem to be waiting for their next victim to arrive. The song ends with the image of a child in a corner, surrounded by fallen mirrors and a kingdom in ruins.


Overall, "Scaretale" is a creepy and unsettling song filled with vividly detailed images of terror.


Line by Line Meaning

Once upon a time in a daymare
In a nightmare-like setting, a story is about to unfold.


Dying to meet you, little child, enter enter this sideshow
The sinister characters of the show are eagerly awaiting the arrival of an unsuspecting child.


Time for bed, the cradle still rocks
The child is being put to bed, but the unsettling atmosphere persists.


Thirteen chimes on a dead man's clock Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock
The sound of an ominous clock ticking adds to the unease.


The bride will lure you, cook you, eat you Your dear innocence boiled to feed the evil in need of fear
The bride is a villain who plans to harm the child and use their fear to satisfy evil desires.


Burning farms and squealing pigs A pool of snakes to swim with, oh sweet poison Bite me, bite me
The dangers that await the child are vividly described through images of chaos and venomous creatures.


Ladies and gentlemen Be heartlessly welcome To Cirque De Morgue And what a show we have for you tonight
The twisted circus welcomes its audience with a callous greeting and promises them a terrifying performance.


Restless souls will put on their dancing shoes Mindless ghouls with lots of limbs to lose Illusionists, contortionist, Tightrope walkers tightening the noose
The circus is filled with undead performers who are ready to entertain at the cost of their own limbs and lives.


La, la, la, la La, la, la, la La, la, la, la
The eerie refrain adds to the unsettling atmosphere of the song.


Horde of spiders, closet tentacles Laughing harpies with their tallons ripping, sher-chrisss, per-vizz
The creatures that inhabit the circus are grotesque and nightmarish.


The pendulum still sways for you Such are the darks here to show you, child in a corner Fallen mirrors, all kingdom in cinders
The pendulum represents the inevitable harm that will come to the child, who is now trapped and surrounded by destruction.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ERNO VUORINEN, JUKKA NEVALAINEN, MARKO HIETALA, TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Pedro Martins

Ring-a-ring-a-roses
A pocket full of posies
Atishoo, atishoo
We all fall down
Once upon a time in a daymare
Dying to meet you, little child, enter enter this sideshow
Time for bed the cradle still rocks
13 chimes on a dead man's clock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock
The bride will lure you, cook you, eat you
Your dear innocence boiled to feed the evil in need of fear
Burning farms and squealing pigs
A pool of snakes to swim with, oh sweet poison bite me bite me
“Ladies and gentlemen
Be heartlessly welcome!
To Cirque De Morgue
And what a show we have for you tonight!”
Restless souls will put on their dancing shoes
Mindless ghouls with lot of limbs to lose
Illusionists, contortionist,
Tightrope-walkers tightening the noose
Horde of spiders, closet tentacles
Laughing harpies with their talons ripping, sher-chrisss, per-vizzz
The pendulum still sways for you
Such are the darks here to show you, child in a corner, fallen mirrors, all
kingdom in cinder



kgtmustang

Dont want to be a spoiler but Jukkas not coming back & the insomnia story is a cover. I know quite a bit about this band and have had much personal involvement with them. The bottom line is this: Floor Jansen is a wiccan. In 2009 she contacted the freakin illuminati and attempted to be their representative in fem metal.

So she went through this ritual and demons went into her and made her insane, so she spent almost 2 full years in an institution.

Why do I tell this? 1) its so people will know the dangers of playing with wirchcraft and demons, 2) its so people will realize that this person you see IS NOT the real Floor Jansen from after forever, and 3) its so people might actually understand the tragedy that is today this band.

Jukka sees demons and refuses to sleep when hes anywhere near them so he couldnt take that anymore and left.

Empuu also has alot of troubling dreams and is MEDICATED + seeing a therapist. Marko has taken to heavy drinking. I warned all of them. Tuomas who is apparantly under some form of other wordly influence cant even be around his mother who taught him & Tarja piano & keyboard from their early childhood. Tarja & Anette are terrified of Jansen as she threatens them to send demons to them.

I know its alot to swallow and personally it kills me because I loved this band and these people. Marco was "my evil twin" aka basically a brother/friend for Gods sake.

So there it is and know you know. I get alot of crap for revealing this stuff, but what idiots really think the illuminati/witchcraft that runs this world didnt want to get its hands into symphonic metal? Just ask Mark jansen about it, or Timo Kotepelto, or Jorn Lande, or Tom Englund.



All comments from YouTube:

Whitney Feroce

Her voice is so perfect for this song it's crazy.

Fran Rodríguez

Anette was part of one of the best Nightwish albums.

Ezio Auditore

Two

PaganArwen

Once and Imaginaerum were their two best albums. With only 2 of the original members of the band left it's not the same anymore. Century Child/ Once put them on the map internationally in 2002/2004, and Imaginaerum saved Annette from an album that was not written for her voice type/range. (Dark Passion Play)

Ivan Lizama

@PaganArwen 3:14 the wife of thoumas

Ivan Lizama

3:14 the wife of thoumas 😘

escapist from hell

I agree

5 More Replies...

Seamus Moley

I have so much love for Tarja and Floor but Anette really knocked it out it out of the park on Scaretale. It was such a good song for her voice and she really brought the theatricality to this recording. Imaginarum in general was bloody amazing, it's sad that her relationship with Nightwish ended the way it did

Andrevus Whitetail

I absolutely love Floor, but not even she can match that one, single instance of raw evil witch vibe Anette had with the line "Squeeeaaaling PIGS!"

valhalex86

Yeah, Annette was such an actress. Her live performances of imaginaerum were absolutely great

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