Wiki
Octavarium is a song by progressive metal band Dream Theater, from the album of the same name. It is notable as being the band's third longest song at exactly 24 minutes, behind "In the Presence of Enemies" and "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence". Both songs, however, span through various tracks on their respective albums, Systematic Chaos and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, which makes "Octavarium" the band's longest studio track. It was featured on the live album Score.
The song starts with Jordan Rudess using his Haken Continuum and his lap steel guitar, drawing references from Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", Tangerine Dream, Marty Friedman's Scenes, and Queen's "Bijou".
Movements
I. Someone Like Him
0:00 - 8:47 (8:47)
Lyrics by John Petrucci
Beginning with a lengthy Continuum / lap steel guitar solo by Rudess, this section is told from a first-person perspective. It portrays the thoughts of a person as he decides on what to do in the course of his lifetime, as well as his wish to never become an ordinary person.
He fails, however, in changing into becoming the person he wished to become, eventually becoming 'Someone like Him'. This is also in line with the 'Full Circle' theme of Octavarium: "this story ends where it began".
It is also speculated that the lyrics refer to John Petrucci taking the place of those that inspired him.
II. Medicate (Awakening)
8:48 - 13:49 (5:01)
Lyrics by James LaBrie
A person wakes up to discover a doctor sitting at his bedside. The doctor informs him that he has been in catatonic sleep for 30 years. The doctor, however, believes he was able to cure him. Suddenly, the patient is in dire need of help as he feels his conscience fading. The doctor prescribes a higher dosage of medicine, but it doesn't seem to help. Despite the doctor's failure in assisting him, the patient tells the doctor that he's not at fault, and that he shouldn't feel ashamed. Eventually, the patient slips back into unconsciousness. This is in line with the events of the movie Awakenings.
Again, this also reflects the theme of 'Everything ends where it began.'
III. Full Circle
13:50 - 16:36 (2:46)
Lyrics by Mike Portnoy
Full Circle is Mike Portnoy's ode to progressive rock, shown in the lyrics by several underlying references to his favourite songs, bands and more. Once again a reference is made to the unifying theme of the song ('Everything ends where it begins'). The enumeration using the last syllable/word as the beginning of the next reference enhances the message that everything is linked, a common theme throughout Dream Theater's albums. (i.e. Day for Night, mare Cinema, Show).
Isn't this where we came in? - Pink Floyd's The Wall
Sailing on the seven seas - possible reference to Queen’s Seven Seas of Rhye or Primus's Sailing the Seas of Cheese.
Seize the day - A Change of Seasons
Day Tripper - Beatles
Jack the Ripper - Morrissey
Tim "Ripper" Owens - ex-Judas Priest and Iced Earth singer
Owen Wilson - actor
Wilson Phillips - band
Supper's Ready - Genesis
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Beatles
Diamond Dave - David Lee Roth
Dave’s Not Here – Cheech and Chong
Here I Come to Save the Day – Mighty Mouse
Day for Night - Spock's Beard
Nightmare Cinema – Dream Theater's band name when their players swap instruments
The Cinema Show - Genesis
Show Me The Way - Styx
Get Back - Beatles
Flying off the Handle - Peter Blegvad, King Strut
Handle with Care - Travelling Wilburys
Careful With That Axe, Eugene - Pink Floyd
Gene the Dance Machine - The Gong Show / character in the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Machine Messiah - Yes
Light My Fire - The Doors
Pinhead (Gabba Gabba Hey) - The Ramones
Hey Hey, My My - Neil Young
My Generation - The Who
Home Again - Taken from the song Time, by Pink Floyd
IV. Intervals
16:36 - 19:53 (3:17)
Lyrics by Mike Portnoy
Before each stanza in the lyrics, Mike Portnoy says a scale degree. In each stanza, a song from Octavarium is referenced, and an audio clip from that song is played on the background.
Root Our deadly sins fill his mortal wrath
Remove all obstacles from our path Fifth Tortured insanity, a smothering hell
Try to escape but to no avail
The Root of All Evil Panic Attack
Second Asking questions, search for clues
The answer's been right in front of you Sixth The calls of admirers who claim they adore
Drain all your lifeblood while begging for more
The Answer Lies Within Never Enough
Third Try to break through, long to connect
Fall on deaf ears with failed muted breath Seventh Innocent victims of merciless crimes
Fall prey to some madmen's impulsive designs
These Walls Sacrificed Sons
Fourth Loyalty, trust, faith and desire
Carries love through each darkest fire Octave Step after step, we try controlling our fate
When we finally start living it's become too late
I Walk Beside You Octavarium
To finish the Octave, LaBrie repeats the line "Trapped inside this Octavarium", meaning that the speaker is trapped in the Octavarium's full circle, which begins and ends the same. To enunciate the intensity of this statement, LaBrie screams the line, straining his voice more than he had done for over a decade. By the time the song reaches the fourth repeat of the line, his voice has reached as high as F#5, tying for the highest note heard on a Dream Theater studio song, matching the famous F# in "Learning to Live". During live performances, LaBrie usually sings the first three lines the with the same notes, then jumps to the note on the last two syllables of the word "Octavarium", sometimes going as high as G5, holding the note and doing trills downwards on the last.
V. Razor's Edge
19:52 - 23:58 (4:06)
Lyrics by John Petrucci
This movement simply emphasizes the cyclical nature of all things, as well as the album, as it begins where it ends, using the same melody as the end to the first track, it also ends with the same note that The Root of All Evil begins with. There is also an alternative ending where the main flute theme is reprised and faded at the end of the song.
This movement also serves as the capstone for the song and the album which shares its name, being the fifth movement in the eighth song on the album. In this way, it continues the 5:8 theme. When performed live as part of "Schmedley Wilcox" on Chaos in Motion, Mike Portnoy adds in additional vocal emphasis to portions of this movement.
Track descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
