A Mind Beside Itself
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| “A Mind Beside Itself” | |||||
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| Suite by Dream Theater | |||||
| Album | Awake | ||||
| Released | October 4, 1994 | ||||
| Recorded | 1994 | ||||
| Genre | Progressive metal | ||||
| Length | 20:26 | ||||
| Label | EastWest | ||||
| Writer | John Petrucci | ||||
| Producer | John Purdell and Duane Baron | ||||
| Awake track listing | |||||
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A Mind Beside Itself is a twenty-minute long suite by progressive metal band Dream Theater, from the album Awake. The album version comprises three tracks: an instrumental track called "Erotomania," the ten-minute "Voices" and the acoustic "The Silent Man." John Petrucci wrote all the lyrics, and also composed the music for "The Silent Man" alone. In the decade since its release, its lyrics have proven somewhat impenetrable, though they obviously seem to deal with religion. It should be noted that "A Mind Beside Itself" roughly symbolises the word 'paranoia'.
The first part, "Erotomania," is an instrumental which carries certain musical themes not only from the rest of the suite, but from other parts of the album. "Erotomania" is in part an amalgamation of previous Dream Theater works, and the organ solo is almost identical to a section of the "A Change of Seasons." The term Erotomania refers to a psychological condition where the sufferer has an unshakable belief that someone else is secretly in love with them.
Part two, "Voices," seems to suggest that schizophrenia might be enhanced by blind religious devotion, as it is apparently written through the eyes of a schizophrenic who believes that angels and demons are speaking to him. The music suggests that the character is experiencing extreme distress, which suggests that perhaps he is at least partly aware that the voices are only a figment of his disorder. The song has also been analysed as a clash between one's sex life and religious devotion [1].
Many consider the third part, "The Silent Man", to be a separate entity from the other two parts. Musically it represents a sharp shift from "Voices" into folk territory. The lyrics are also much simpler, and the song follows a traditional verse-chorus structure. It does, however, connect to the theme and seems to suggest that the fate described in Voices can be avoided if we support each other in our faith. As per the usual Dream Theater formula, the clearest statement of the suite's meaning is found here, at the end.
Alternatively, The Silent Man is also believed by some to be drawn from The Arabian Nights stories. The lines "A question well served, is silence like a fever Or a voice never heard, or a message with no receiver?" are direct from the prologue. Equally the lines "I could sail by on the winds of silence" are lifted word for word from The Tale of Sinbad.
"The Silent Man" was released as a single in 1994.
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