Text written by WikiBrother Gabriel Brandino , from @moshinhell
One of the bands that best manages to express their feelings through music is Nightwish . And the song whose meaning we're going to explain today perfectly exemplifies this idea: "Dead Boy's Poem."
Like
the vast majority of the band's songs, it was written by Tuomas Holopainen . Tuomas is a brilliant musician, and many of his compositions are inspired by his own life and imagination.
From
the beginning of their career, the band never liked to explain the meaning of their songs, mainly because the lyrics can have multiple interpretations. However, in the documentary *End of Innocence* , Tuomas spoke briefly about this song, saying: "One day I realized, what if I died tomorrow? There would be so many people and things for me to talk about. So, I wrote this song, hoping that these people can recognize themselves in it."
It
's as if the song were a "letter," written to his loved ones, his friends, and also his enemies. But beyond that, he uses this song to vent about his life and his childhood...because the song is about a young man who is misunderstood.
"Arose from silence, silence full of itself,
a perfect harmony, my friend.
There is so much to live for, so much to die for.
If only my heart had a home..."
He
never had anyone close to him or with whom he could talk, and his music is where he can put his feelings. His music gives him the impetus to keep living, and he puts everything into it.
“Sing what you can’t say
Forget what you can’t touch
Rush into sinking into beautiful eyes
Walk through my poetry, this requiem
My love letter to no one.”
⠀
The next verse is quite striking, and is probably one of the most autobiographical moments of the song:
⠀
“If by chance you happen to read these lines, remember not the hands that wrote them, remember only the verse, the cry of a writer, a cry without tears […]
The comfort of home, the mother’s lap, the chance for immortality.
Where being loved became a sensation I never knew…the sweet piano describing my life.”
⠀
And here’s a very plausible theory; many fans believe that this next verse could be for Tarja Turunen , the band’s former vocalist, and possibly Tuomas’ eternal love.
“Teach me what passion is, for I fear it is already extinct.
Show me love, protect me from pain.
There is so much more I would like to offer those who love me.
Forgive me.
Time will tell this cruel goodbye.
I no longer live to shame, neither myself nor you.
And you… I wish I felt nothing more for you…”
Then
he ends the song with a verse referencing the ocean, something quite common in his compositions.
“
A lonely soul…
An oceanic soul…”
