Born in Uppsala, Sweden, on September 5, 1956, Roine Stolt started playing bass in the late '60s in local rock cover bands. He quickly discovered the burgeoning British progressive rock scene and had switched to electric guitar by the summer of 1974 when, at age 17, he became the lead guitarist of the professional prog rock band KAIPA. This band recorded three albums for the Decca label (reissued on CD by Musea) and is still considered to be the most important Scandinavian prog act of the '70s.
Stolt left Kaipa in 1979 to form his own group, FANTASIA, who recorded two albums and disbanded in 1983 after a second, more commercially oriented LP for Warner. Stolt then started to work as a session musician and record producer, drifting away from symphonic rock esthetics, something very obvious on his Hall and Oates-like 1985 solo album, "Behind the Walls" (his first performance as a lead singer) and The Lonely Heartbeat, released in 1989 under the name Stolt.
Witnessing the progressive rock revival of the 1990s, a movement that partly originated from Sweden with bands like Anekdoten and Anglagard, Roine Stolt was quick to come back to his ancient love. Recruiting ex-Jonas Hellborg drummer Jaime Salazar and ex-Samla Mammas Manna percussionist Hasse Bruniusson, he released The Flower King in August 1994. Stimulated by the warm response, he enlisted brother Michael Stolt (bass, vocals) and longtime friend Tomas Bodin (keyboards) and formed The Flower Kings, which would remain his principal musical project for years to come.
At the helm of the Flower Kings, Stolt experienced international fame as the band became, with U.S.A.'s Spock's Beard, the best-selling 1990s prog rock act. Albums were released at an incredible rate: six studio albums (including two two-CD sets) in the band's first six years of existence. Meanwhile, Stolt found time to record another solo album, Hydrophonia (this time an instrumental symphonic prog CD), another one 2CD album Wall Street Voodoo and was part of the prog rock supergroup project Transatlantic, who released SMPTe and Bridge Across Forever and two 2-CD lives.
Close Your Eyes
Roine Stolt Lyrics
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Now it's the time, close your eyes and you will see
Shine down your love on me, I'm yours eternally
I lay down my heart in your hands, knowing that you'll understand
This is the time of change, some things turn out so strange
Shine down your love on me, from now 'till eternity
I will always be with you, learning every day
I will always dream it's true, everything you say
Dreaming like a flower child, waiting for the call
Close your eyes, close your eyes
And you will see...
The song "Close Your Eyes" by Roine Stolt is a melodious and romantic song that speaks about love, faith, and the unknown. The lyrics urge the listener or the subject of the song to close their eyes and dream of the singer, and to see the love that is shining down on them. The song sings, "Shine down your love on me, I'm yours eternally/I lay down my heart in your hands, knowing that you'll understand." This line shows how the singer is vulnerable and how the person they are singing to is trustworthy enough to hold their love and their heart.
The song has a dreamy and ethereal feel that seems to depict a time of transition or change, where things have turned strange. The lyrics, "This is the time of change, some things turn out so strange/Shine down your love on me, from now 'till eternity" evoke a sense of uncertainty amidst the declaration of love. The song expresses a sense of faith and hope in the unknown, as it urges the listener to dream and wait for the call, to learn by heart the wonder of it all. The overall feel of the song is gentle and soothing, and the idea of holding someone's heart in your hands can be overpowering.
Overall, "Close Your Eyes" is a beautiful and heartfelt song that speaks about love, faith, and trust. It is a song that urges the listener to dream and to believe in the wonder of it all despite uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
Close your eyes, close your eyes and dream of me
Let go of the world around you and imagine me, let your subconscious be free
Now it's the time, close your eyes and you will see
The present moment is ripe for clarity, insights come from looking within
Shine down your love on me, I'm yours eternally
Express your affection towards me, as I will always belong to you
I lay down my heart in your hands, knowing that you'll understand
I entrust my most vulnerable self to you, because I believe that you comprehend me
This is the time of change, some things turn out so strange
The present is a turning point, change can bring about the bizarre and unexpected
Shine down your love on me, from now 'till eternity
Embrace me with your affection, for as long as we endure as beings
I will always be with you, learning every day
I will continually accompany you through life, and learn from our experiences
I will always dream it's true, everything you say
I will believe everything you say, regardless of whether or not it is verifiable
I will always learn by heart, the wonder of it all
I will memorize and study the marvels of our existence
Dreaming like a flower child, waiting for the call
Imagining like a youthful and carefree individual, anticipating the summons of destiny
Close your eyes, close your eyes
Inviting to enter into an introspective state, a space to allow the imagination to arise
And you will see...
Discovering what is hidden, an undeniable truth will reveal itself
Contributed by Samantha F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.