The roots of TSO are found in Savatage, a traditional heavy metal band that gradually progressed into a symphonic metal act. Savatage's rock operas, starting with STREETS, began the experimentation with what would become TSO culminating on the track "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" from DEAD WINTER DEAD. This track was a minor hit for the struggling band, and demonstrated that there might be an audience for the symphonic metal approach to holiday themes.
The concept for a band playing Christmas carols in a rock opera style was not received warmly by the industry, but quickly proved a success with adults as well as young people. In the recording studio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra uses a full 60-piece orchestra and a choir.
As of 2004, their touring band included 14 vocalists, 14 musicians, and 2 narrators. Trans-Siberian Orchestra released their debut album Christmas Eve and Other Stories in 1996, and it remains their best-selling album. Their 1998 release The Christmas Attic was similarly a concept album with a Christmas theme. In 2000, they released their first non-Christmas album, Beethoven's Last Night. Beethoven's Last Night is a concept album about Ludwig van Beethoven's last night on earth, during which he meets Mephistopheles (possible Satan, or one of his underlings).
After a few years of touring, they returned to the studio with another full-length album, Lost Christmas Eve, and the accompanying DVD/3-CD release The Christmas Trilogy, which contained all three of their Christmas albums to date.
During their winter tours of 2005 and 2006, the band had announced that they were working on the new album, set to release later that year (this was said both years). During the summer of 2007, the official myspace for TSO stated that they were recording, with the expression 'inspired'. Finally, on October 27, 2007, the long awaited new album (and second non-Christmas) arrived "Night Castle". The album is another concept album, spanning 2 cd's, and is the telling of the story of a soldier's experience during the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge. As always, it's about faith, hope, fate and the inherent belief that there is good in all people. The album was received with mixed reviews, from the praise of the band's fans, to the near burning of albums by those that are less than receptive to the album. Along with the songs for the story, the album also includes 4 tracks that are not part of the story, and yes, it features the band's rendition of "Carmina Burana (O Fortuna)", performed as a preview by the band during their winter tours, as well as one cover of a Savatage song.
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Christmas Dreams
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was the dark
In the dark
Was the dream
In the dream
Was the Child
And myself
There unseen
In the book was the word
In the word there was truth
In the truth there was age
In the age there was youth
And I said to the Child
Do your hands they still bleed
After all of this time
Do you think there's still need
But the Child only smiled
And said not a word
And the snow it came down
As if it hadn't heard
And all that night the snow came down
To heal the scars our lives had found
And the years that lay broken
And there upon that bridge of dreams
Across the night we walked unseen
With no words ever spoken
And then on through that night
We did walk for a while
And our steps turned to blocks
And the blocks turned to miles
Then we followed a path
For as far as we could
Till we found ourselves there
In an evergreen woods
There were thousands of candles
Upon every tree
It was beautiful
But there was one mystery
For with all of those candles
You must understand
That the only one lit
Was now in that His hand
And there upon that Christmas scene
The candle wax of melted dreams
And the years they had taken
And there's that snow did gently fall
We one by one relit them all
Till each dream was awakened
And then there to that light
This young Child showed to me
All the things that he dreamt
All the things that might be
How for everything given
That something is gained
Strike one match in the dark
And all the world's not the same
And then I asked that Child
Why this night has a star
And he said, "So we'd know
That we could see that far"
And these candles are wed
To that star's distant light
And it all came to be
Upon that long winter's night
That long winter's night
That long winter's night
And when I awoke, well the Child he was gone
But somewhere in my mind
I believe he lives on
And somewhere in my life
Between here and the end
On a long winter's night
I will dream him again
The song Dream Child by Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a beautiful, poetic account of a dream in which the singer meets a child whom he believes is a representation of hope, faith, and what might be possible. The dream occurs in the night, in the dark, and in the dream itself, the child appears. The singer asks the child if his hands still bleed, and the child responds with silence and a smile. The snow falls, and they walk across a bridge of dreams, unspoken words shimmering in the night air around them. The dream journey leads them to an evergreen woods, where thousands of candles light up the trees, and the child holds the only one that is lit.
As the snow continues to fall, they begin to relight the candles one by one, and the child shows the singer his dreams, and how for everything given, something is gained. The singer asks the child why this night has a star, and the child replies that it's so they could see that far. It all came to be on that long winter's night, and the singer believes that the child lives on somewhere in his mind, and that on another long winter's night, he will meet him again in his dreams.
Dream Child is a song about hope and possibility, about finding beauty and light even in the darkest moments. The child in the dream embodies these ideas, and the imagery of the snow, the bridge of dreams, and the candles evokes a powerful sense of wonder and magic.
Line by Line Meaning
In the night
When darkness covered everything
Was the dark
The absence of light enveloped the surroundings
In the dark
Within the pitch-black void
Was the dream
The imaginary creation of the mind
In the dream
Within the boundaries of the person's thoughts
Was the Child
The depiction of an innocent spirit
And myself
The storyteller, though not visible, was present in the scenario
There unseen
Even though present, the storyteller was not visible
In the book was the word
Within the confines of pages was the meaning
In the word there was truth
The truth arrived in the form of words and expressions
In the truth there was age
As the truth caught up with people, it revealed the passage of time
In the age there was youth
Despite the passage of time, people always kept the essence of youth within
And I said to the Child
The storyteller spoke to the child present in their imagination
Do your hands they still bleed
The storyteller inquired if the child's hands still had wounds
After all of this time
Even after years have passed
Do you think there's still need
Is there still a necessity for the scars to exist
But the Child only smiled
The child responded with a gentle smile instead of words
And said not a word
The child chose not to utter a single sound
And the snow it came down
As if in response to the unanswered question, snowflakes started to fall from the sky
As if it hadn't heard
The snow seemed to ignore the inquiry
And all that night the snow came down
Throughout the night, snow kept falling
To heal the scars our lives had found
It aimed to mitigate the wounds that life had given
And the years that lay broken
The events that had taken place and left a lasting imprint
And there upon that bridge of dreams
In the realm of imagination, the storyteller and the child walked across a bridge
Across the night we walked unseen
On the pathway, they walked without being noticed
With no words ever spoken
No verbal communication occurred throughout the walk
And then on through that night
They continued walking together in the night
We did walk for a while
Their strides continued for an unspecified length
And our steps turned to blocks
Eventually, their steps turned into an abstract concept
And the blocks turned to miles
The abstract concept finally transformed into an understandable distance
Then we followed a path
They chose to follow a course of action
For as far as we could
Until they were no longer capable of continuing the pathway
Till we found ourselves there
Eventually, they located a certain location
In an evergreen woods
It was a place where pine trees stayed statically green all year round
There were thousands of candles
The woods was full of candles, whose number amounted to thousands
Upon every tree
These candles sat on every single tree present in the woods
It was beautiful
This scenery was aesthetically pleasing
But there was one mystery
There was a single question that arose
For with all of those candles
Despite the vast number of candles
You must understand
It should be clear to the listener
That the only one lit
The storyteller drew their attention to the only candle that was lighting the scene
Was now in that His hand
The young child was carrying the burning flame
And there upon that Christmas scene
At the place where Christmas was being celebrated
The candle wax of melted dreams
The melting wax of this single candle contained the wishes and aspirations of many
And the years they had taken
The wax was the product of the accumulation of time
And there's that snow did gently fall
Snowflakes began to fall calmly
We one by one relit them all
Together, they rekindled all of the burnt-out candles one at a time
Till each dream was awakened
By lighting the candles, they brought life back into the wishes and hopes that had been forgotten
And then there to that light
In the presence of those flames
This young Child showed to me
The young child demonstrated something to the storyteller
All the things that he dreamt
All the child's hopes and dreams
All the things that might be
The endless possibilities that exist
How for everything given
For every act of charity or kindness
That something is gained
There is always something to be obtained in return
Strike one match in the dark
With a single light in the darkness
And all the world's not the same
The event has the ability to alter the entire nature of the world
And then I asked that Child
The storyteller directed a question to the child
Why this night has a star
The reason for the existence of a star on this particular night
And he said, "So we'd know
The young child responded to the inquiry
That we could see that far"
To make them aware of how far they are capable of seeing
And these candles are wed
These candles are inextricably linked
To that star's distant light
To the unreachable light of that far-off star
And it all came to be
As it all started to make sense
Upon that long winter's night
On that particular evening, which signified an extended period of somberness
And when I awoke, well the Child he was gone
When the storyteller regained consciousness, the young child had vanished
But somewhere in my mind
The young child remained in the storyteller's memories
I believe he lives on
The child's spirit and actions continued to exist
And somewhere in my life
During an elusive instance in the storyteller's life
Between here and the end
Before the conclusion of their journey
On a long winter's night
On a night like the one in their dream
I will dream him again
The young child will resurface in the storyteller's imagination
Lyrics Β© Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN OLIVA, JOHN N. OLIVA, PAUL O'NEILL, PAUL F. O'NEILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind