When the crowds are gone and I'm all alone, playing the saddest song, now that the lights are gone... These are prophetic and painful lyrics. They include all the fears and the vanity (or the ambition... You choose!) which live inside all of us. The song is a masterpiece from an era, Savatage will never meet again. Has the energy inside them gone? Has depression possessed Jon? Did he miss, back in 1993, his other half? Well, I’m not sure… As long as I hear this 23 years old, fantastic, heavy metal ballad and I'm still shuddering, I confirm myself for thinking that this song, remains one of the best, ever been written by a metal band.
Composer: Criss Oliva, Jon Oliva, Paul O'Neill }{ Year: 1989
Lyrics:
I don't know where the years have gone
Memories can only last so long
Like faded photographs, forgotten songs
And the things I never knew
When the skin is thin, the heart shows through
Please believe me what I tell you is true
Where's the lights, turn 'em on again
One more night to believe and then
Another note for my requiem
A memory to carry on
The story's over when the crowds have gone
All my friends have been crucified
Made life a long suicide true
Guess we never figured out the rules
But I'm still alive, my fingers feel
Gonna play on till the final reel's through
And read the credits from a different view
Where's the lights, turn 'em on again
One more night to believe and then
Another note for my requiem
A memory to carry on
The story's over when the crowds have gone
When the crowds are gone
When the crowds are gone
And I'm all alone
Playing the saddest song
Now that the lights are gone
Turn them on again
One more time for me my friend
Turn 'em on again
I never wanted to know
Never wanted to see
I wasted my time
Till time wasted me
Never wanted to go
Always wanted to stay
'Cause the person I am
Are the parts that I play
So I plot and I plan
Hope and I scheme
To the lure of a night
Filled with unfinished dreams
I'm holding on tight
To a world gone astray
As they charge me for years
I can no longer pay
Turn 'em on again
I never wanted to know
Never wanted to see
I wasted my time
Till time wasted me
I Never wanted to go
Always wanted to stay
'Cause the person I am
Are the parts that I play
The parts I play
And the lights
Turn then off my friend
And the ghosts
Well just let them in
Cause in the dark
It's easier to see
