The Word Alive was founded in 2008 by Craig Mabbitt (lead vocals) with Zack Hansen (lead guitar) and Tony Pizzuti (rhythm guitar) who were former members of the bands Calling of Syrens and Clouds Take Shape. As a side-project of Mabbitt during his part in Escape the Fate, the remaining required members he recruited to start The Word Alive were chosen to be Nick Urlacher (bass), Dusty Riach (keyboard) and Tony Aguilera (drums). The group recorded songs with the intention of releasing them as a self-titled EP, despite that it never surfaced. Later on, the band forced Mabbitt to leave due to their dissatisfaction with Escape the Fate's schedules, which required Mabbitt to work as a full-time member.
The day after, Mabbitt posted a blog to his fans via his Myspace account explaining that leaving the band was not his decision and that "[The Word Alive] pretty much replaced me while I was on the road due to the fact that they wanted to tour and couldn't until I was available, I started that band with those guys and I'm very hurt at how they replaced me while I was touring...it's bullshit." On December 3, the band officially announced that Tyler "Telle" Smith, who was formerly one of the vocalists for In Fear and Faith and bassist for Greeley Estates, joined The Word Alive as their new frontman.
Feeling somewhat stagnant in their progression beforehand, the addition of Smith catapulted the band’s ambitions to the forefront. With this initiation, their goals and aspirations were much more a reality, and they set to work on what would become their record label debut, Empire.
During March 2009, the band were taken in with a contract by a new label, later on during the 26th of that month the group officially confirmed that the label they were then signed to was Fearless Records. Smith stated "We hope to just keep touring, touring, touring... we couldn't be happier or more appreciative to be on tour right now, I think despite having some of the worst luck in the early beginnings of being a touring band yet never missing a show, we always have a positive attitude and that will make us a stronger band." The band set out to create an EP to be released through the label wherein it was titled Empire and was recorded with producer Andrew Wade in Ocala, Florida. It was released on July 21, 2009 where it reached #15 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart.
During February the band reached an agreement to leave founding drummer, Tony Aguilera out of the group. Both parties (Aguilera and the rest of the band) shared their concerns and reasoning for the matter publicly. It was overall described that the band wanted to pursue a different percussionist of alternate talent than the founding member. Aguilera was replaced with Justin Salinas, whom previously was a part of the bands Scars of Tomorrow and Catherine as well as serving as a past live drummer for MyChildren MyBride.
In April 2010, The Word Alive entered the studio in Ocala, Florida with Andrew Wade to record their debut full-length album, Deceiver. By June, Deceiver was fully mastered and engineered. On June 23, 2010 the band premiered their first single from the album, “Epiphany” as streaming media online.The following day, Fearless Records released their 2010 Summer Sampler which also featured the track "Epiphany". A week later, the album's album art and track listing was released. Guitarist Zack Hansen explained upon this premiere that "We all felt like that was going to be the best choice considering how comfortable the recording process is with Andrew. The tracking was a lot of fun and everyone had a good time. We got the opportunity to stay in a house while we recorded and surprisingly we didn't party as much as I thought we would haha." Hansen later followed along explaining that his favorite track on the record is “The Hounds of Anubis”, which was written by him and Pizzuti and stated that he "wrote this song with an 'Egyptian feel' to it and I think we got our point across." Smith described that its lyrics describe the times of when The Word Alive overcame their hardships that they face with the help and support from their fans. "The Hounds of Anubis" was released as the album's second single on July 26, 2010. It premiered on the official Revolver website.
By November of 2011, the band made plans to return to the studio on February 7, 2012 with Joey Sturgis to begin recording their next album, with an expected recording session lasting from that time until mid-March. However by February (and before the date of entering the studio), the announcement of two members leaving occurred; keyboardist, Dusty Riach and drummer, Justin Salinas were simultaneously confirmed to no longer be a part of the band. Salinas stated his reason was because he grew tired of touring, although Riach's reason was preferred to be kept silent.
In regards to the band's second studio album, it was reported that 17 songs were recorded in its process. 13 of those will be on the standard edition of the album, while the another three will be included on the deluxe edition. The name of the album will be Life Cycles and both editions will be released the same day.On March 23rd of the year, the group issued a statement that 18-year old Arizona resident Luke Holland has joined as the new drummer, however, Holland was not included for the recording sessions of Life Cycles. The drumming for the record was done by a friend of the band named Matt Horn wherein Holland joined after these sessions were already completed.
On March 18, 2014, the band released a new single entitled "Play the Victim." Along with the song, they also announced their third full-length album Real. would be released on June 10. The album would be the first to feature Luke Holland on drums.
The band released their fourth album, Dark Matter, on March 18, 2016. The band also revealed the tracklist and a headlining North American tour with support from Fit for a King and Out Came the Wolves. The album's lead single, "Trapped", was released January 8.
In November 2016, Luke Holland announced he would be leaving the band at the end of 2016 after finishing their last tour of the year to pursue other musical endeavors. In February 2017, the band announced that Matt Horn would be taking Holland's place as drummer. Shortly after, a new single "Misery" was released.
On August 7, 2017, The Word Alive and Daniel Shapiro mutually announced they were parting ways due to a "new musical adventure" of Shapiro's. The next day, The Word Alive announced that they would be joining I Prevail on their Rage on the Stage Tour along with We Came as Romans & Escape the Fate.
Dreamer
The Word Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Afraid it's too late
Was I wrong?
Was there hope all along?
Can't remember when I felt alive
Illusions turn cold
Lost myself but worse than anything
I remember thinking of impossible things
Of never backing down to impossibility
Dreamer
Where have you gone
Dreamer
Will you beware
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
There nothing left but emptiness,
when you realize what you could have been
Kept searching for the right moment
When you just have to live in it
You just have to live in it
Dreamer
Where have you gone
Dreamer
Will you beware
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
The Word Alive's song Dreamer is a song that tackles the topic of losing oneself and the journey of self-discovery. The lead singer expresses his confusion and uncertainty about his identity, wondering if it's too late for him to find himself. He questions his past decisions, trying to find an answer if he missed something along the way, if he gave up hope too easily, and if he could have fought harder for his dreams.
The second verse shows the hopelessness and frustration that come with feeling lost. The singer seems to have given up and feels like his illusions have turned cold, leading him to believe he has lost himself even more than before. However, suddenly, he wakes up on his own, and he starts to remember his past self. He recalls his optimistic nature and his persistent attitude towards the impossible.
The chorus is a call to the singer's dreamer self, whoever he used to be. He desperately misses who he was and what he stood for, and he is urging the dreamer to come home. This song's message is that self-discovery may be a tough journey, but it is essential to reclaim one's true self and to not lose hope and to keep chasing dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
I've forgotten who I am
I have lost touch with my true identity
Afraid it's too late
I'm scared that I have missed my chance to be who I was meant to be
Was I wrong?
Could I have made mistakes on my journey to self-discovery?
Was there hope all along?
Is it possible that there was a path to finding myself that I overlooked?
Can't remember when I felt alive
It has been a long time since I was truly happy and fulfilled
Illusions turn cold
The things that used to inspire me no longer have the same effect on me
Lost myself but worse than anything
Losing myself is bad enough, but the worst part is not knowing how to find myself again
I woke up on my own
I had to face my problems and find my own way back to happiness
I remember thinking of impossible things
At one point, I had big dreams and aspirations that seemed impossible to achieve
Of never backing down to impossibility
I was determined to pursue my dreams no matter how difficult they seemed
Dreamer
Where have you gone
Dreamer
Will you beware
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
The singer is addressing their inner dreamer, questioning where it has gone and pleading for it to return
There nothing left but emptiness,
The artist has lost all sense of purpose and fulfillment in life
when you realize what you could have been
The regret of not living up to one's full potential sets in
Kept searching for the right moment
The singer was waiting for the perfect opportunity to pursue their dreams
When you just have to live in it
The realization that life doesn't wait for anyone and one must take action now to achieve their goals
Dreamer
Where have you gone
Dreamer
Will you beware
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
The artist is calling out to their inner dreamer once again, pleading for its return
Lyrics © DistroKid, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Tony Pizzuti, Tyler Smith, Zack Hansen, Daniel Shapiro, Luke Holland
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lindsay
I've forgotten who I am
Afraid it's too late
Was I wrong?
Was there hope all along?
Can't remember when I felt alive
Illusions took hold
Lost myself but worse than anything
I woke up on my own
I remember thinking of impossible things
Of never backing down to impossibilities
Dreamer
Where have you gone?
Dreamer
Will you live on?
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
There's nothing left but emptiness
When you realise what you could have been
Kept searching for the right moment
When you just have to live in it
You just have to live in it
Dreamer
Where have you gone?
Dreamer
Will you live on?
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
yungderek
I've forgotten who I am
Afraid it's too late
Was I wrong?
Was there hope all along?
Can't remember when I felt alive
Illusions turn cold
Lost myself but worse than anything
I woke up on my own
I remember thinking of impossible things
Of never backing down to impossibility
Dreamer
Where have you gone
Dreamer
Will you live on
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
There nothing left but emptiness, when you realise what you could have been
Kept searching for the right moment
When you just have to live in it
You just have to live in it
Dreamer
Where have you gone
Dreamer
Will you be gone/Will you belong
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
DandelionVolta
"I remember thinking of impossible things
Of never backing down to impossibility"
Love that part
DimmyDeeOfficial
DandelionVolta me too 😌
Space Sloth
this song gives me chills
Fragile*Paradox
Best song on the album..
Dick Richard
Being The "Best" is always a fallacy. It is a great song though.
Lindsay
I've forgotten who I am
Afraid it's too late
Was I wrong?
Was there hope all along?
Can't remember when I felt alive
Illusions took hold
Lost myself but worse than anything
I woke up on my own
I remember thinking of impossible things
Of never backing down to impossibilities
Dreamer
Where have you gone?
Dreamer
Will you live on?
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
There's nothing left but emptiness
When you realise what you could have been
Kept searching for the right moment
When you just have to live in it
You just have to live in it
Dreamer
Where have you gone?
Dreamer
Will you live on?
Dreamer
(Dreamer)
Dreamer come home
Adam Fowler
This is such a beautiful song in it's unique way..I could listen to the damn chorus all day long..it's songs like this that motivate me in life.
Saiyan lineage 1
I really love this
This is what I expected from the album this feel.
When I heard trapped I was sucked in.
I want to buy this album for sure
The imagery about space and white and black eclipse stuff is just mesmerizing.
Need to buy this album quick
Saiyan lineage 1
ihavenolungs TV
🤓🤓🤓🤓
ihavenolungs TV
SAIYANLINEAGE \\\\\\\\ could say you were "trapped" by trapped