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Ayreon - Actual Fantasy lyrics



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01. Actual Fantasy

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
Sit back and relax
Crawl into the maze
Within your mind
Leave it all behind
Now allow yourself to
Slide into a world
As real as you want it to be
Actual fantasy

02. Abbey Of Synn

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
Once upon a time as in ancient history
High upon a hill in a shroud of mystery
Loomed the abbey as we journeyed through the night
And wended our way towards the light

As we entered through the gates
We heard the silent calls
There was something evil
That lurked within these walls
As I relive my days in this godforsaken place
All that appears before me now... is her face

Another man died today like the ones before
With blackened tongue and blackened finger
Within the labyrinth behind the bolted door
Lies the answer to our mystery

Heed the book that kills - it holds an evil power
Those who turn the leaves wither like a flower
Well guarded by the seer inside the abbey tower
For laughter kills the fear within the abbey of synn

We found the secret path that led us here to you
Give us the deadly book of laughter
Too many men have died for a teaching of the few
Open up your heart reveal the mystery

Heed the book that kills - it holds an evil power
Those who turn the leaves wither like a flower
Well guarded by the seer inside the abbey tower
For laughter kills the fear within the abbey of synn

And then she came 2 me like a creature from the dawn
Enchanting as the moon - radiant as the sun
She took the boy in me and gave me back the man
With a force I could not withstand

The seer burned the abbey down and perished in the fire
We couldn't save the book the flames were rising higher
So many died in vain for an ancient discipline
Laughter kills the fear within the abbey of synn

Heed the book that kills - it holds an evil power
Those who turn the leaves wither like a flower
Well guarded by the seer inside the abbey tower
For laughter kills the fear within the abbey of synn

03. The Stranger From Within

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
He's a stranger I don't know where he's coming from
Is he a danger to me or just another man
He knows magic or maybe he's a charlatan
Is it a sly trick he plays does he have a plan

He said he came from a world beyond my dreams
From the depths of my mind
He said he'd burn like star and disappear
But leave his spirit behind

He's a stranger a man with a destiny
A rearranger of fate a changer of lives
They will erase him for they are all afraid of him
They're gonna trace him and then cause him to die

He said he'd cure me I do not have to die
I hold my fate in my hands
He said he'd always be there every time I'd cry
One day I would understand

He was a stranger they shot him and now he's dead
I'm out of danger he lives on inside my head

He said he came from a world beyond my dreams
From the depths of my mind
He said he'd burn like star and disappear
But leave his spirit behind

He said he'd cure me I do not have to die
I hold my fate in my hands
He said he'd always be there every time I'd cry
One day I would understand

04. Computer Eyes

Lost in a world created by man
I can't recall how it all began
Tell me who am I?

Fictional stars in lost galaxies
Synthetic dreams and false memories
Is it all a lie?

There is no escape
There is no way out of here
I'm locked in this universe
The real world will disappear
Where fantasy dies
You will see our dreams
Material lies
Materialize
Computer eyes
Computerize

Virtual reality - computer override
Actual fantasy locked away inside
Am I no more than a program
An artificial dream
A river of electrons flowing with the stream
A parallel dimension battle simulations
Mind over matter brain stimulation
I don't know if I exist I think therefore I am
Without emotions I'm but a hologram
There's no escape I'm locked in this universe
Where fantasy dies material lies
Computer eyes

There is no escape
There is no way out of here
I'm locked in this universe
The real world will disappear
Where fantasy dies
You will see our dreams
Material lies
Materialize
Computer eyes
Computerize

05. Beyond The Last Horizon

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
Ready for the enemy hungry for the battle
Fighting hard for victory in the army of the king

Armed with shield and sword we mounted our horses
Leaving on a sacred quest
On our way to fight the holy war

They attacked from different sides
Hard pressed with numbers
We could not even run nor hide
We had to stand and fight
Then I felt a blade of steel penetrate my armour
I did not dream the pain was real
As I went down I knew my time had come

And then he rode into the night
Towards that eerie distant light
That seemed to charm him
Until he came to a road that disappeared beyond the last horizon

He knew there'd be no way back
Once he had vanished in the blackness of infinity
And so he gathered all his strength not to descend
Into the valley of death
Into the valley of death

I opened up my weary eyes
The haze slowly lifted
The mighty roar of battle cries
Stopped ringing in my ears
I gazed upon a friendly face
He carried me to safety
I told him of this frightening place
And of my journey back from the other side

And then he rode into the night
Towards that eerie distant light that
Seemed to charm him

A force so seductive and yet so destructive and cruel
Until he came to a road that
Disappeared beyond the last horizon
I followed that road to the edge of eternity
He knew there'd be no way back
Once he had vanished in the blackness of infinity
I fought for my life for I had to survive the ordeal

And so he gathered all his strength
Not to descend into the valley of death
Into the valley of death

06. Far Side Of The World

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
A black shadow is crawling like a deadly spider
We're all waiting in silence for the lonely rider
For he will lead the way
For he will save the town
We have to leave today
Before the moon is down

I'm haunted by dreams of a holy mission
I follow the signs of my magic vision

We have to dig a hole
And he will be our eyes
We have to reach a goal
Before the sun will rise

Journey to the farside of the world
No one will catch me when I fall
Follow the trail of fire
No one will hear me when I call
Journey to the farside of the world
A distant place a future time
We'll climb the tallest spire
I will raise the cross and the bells will chime
We'll pass over the river to the silver
Tower run before the clock strikes the final hour

He saw it in a dream
He knew he had to die
We never heard him scream
We never heard him cry

Journey to the farside of the world
Make them believe the dream is true
Follow the trail of fire
The moon came down my time is through
Journey to the farside of the world
This is the way it was meant to be
We'll climb the tallest spire
The shadow is gone the town is free

07. Back On Planet Earth

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
I overheard the elders
Telling each other stories
About the days when they were young
Back on planet Earth

I wish to learn the secrets
Of those who lived before me
So I program my computer
For a flight to planet Earth

Blue skies over the oceans
Sail on the wind to the valley below
Rise high over the hills
To where the wildflowers grow

And I ride ride ride
The waves of time
Fly fly fly beyond the sky

We've abandoned all emotions
Whether good or bad
Up here in this station
Far from planet Earth

I can't tell if I'm happy
I don't know if I'm sad
But I do know I'd have been at home
Back on planet Earth

Black clouds over the debris
Storm is raging over the land
No life left on this planet
Now you will understand

And I ride ride ride
The waves of time
Fly fly fly beyond the sky

Blue skies over the oceans
Sail on the wind to the valley below
Rise high over the hills
To where the wildflowers grow

08. Forevermore

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
In a dusty room on a stormy night
Away from all the crowds
I rise above the clouds

Into a world once so bright
Where now the shadows fall
And a thousand voices call

Dream on forevermore
Our future's in your hands
Close your eyes close your eyes
And fantasise

Only one boy whose heart is pure
Can save them from the curse
That's upon this universe

He's on a quest for the secret cure
Across the burning sand
To the edge of the fairy-land

Dream on forevermore
Our future's in your hands
Close your eyes close your eyes
And fantasise

This world was built upon human dreams
On hopes instead of fears
Now it slowly disappears

Scream as loud as you can scream
For the empress needs a name
Or nothing will remain

Dream on forevermore
Our future's in your hands
Close your eyes close your eyes
And fantasise

Dream on forevermore...

09. The Dawn Of Man

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
More than a million years ago
It came to earth out of the sky
From whence it came is still unknown
And still we don't know why

Way beyond infinity where time is lost
And life has ceased to be
There's a cosmic entity
A bringer of life for all eternity
Is this how it all began?
The dawn of man
More than a million miles from earth
Somewhere in outer space
Behold a planetary birth
Making way for a brand new race

10. The Stranger From Within [single version]

Music & lyrics by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
He's a stranger I don't know where he's coming from
Is he a danger to me or just another man
He knows magic or maybe he's a charlatan
Is it a sly trick he plays does he have a plan

He said he came from a world beyond my dreams
From the depths of my mind
He said he'd burn like star and disappear
But leave his spirit behind

He's a stranger a man with a destiny
A rearranger of fate a changer of lives
They will erase him for they are all afraid of him
They're gonna trace him and then cause him to die

He said he'd cure me I do not have to die
I hold my fate in my hands
He said he'd always be there every time I'd cry
One day I would understand

He was a stranger they shot him and now he's dead
I'm out of danger he lives on inside my head

He said he came from a world beyond my dreams
From the depths of my mind
He said he'd burn like star and disappear
But leave his spirit behind

He said he'd cure me I do not have to die
I hold my fate in my hands
He said he'd always be there every time I'd cry
One day I would understand