ONCE (Album Version)

Once, there was time to sort it out

Once, there was living without doubt

Once, there was freedom, lots of space

and a belief we could embrace

See, all the fears you cannot face… turn into wars — you cannot flee

Feed all the longings that we’ve chased… while pulling you away from me

Show me a sign that I can read You will never read it, you don’t want to see it

Turn me away from things I need Don’t need anything… don’t want everything

Send me a note how to proceed You will never read it, you don’t want to see it

Turn me away and watch me bleed Going all the way… how long I cannot say…

Voices now lead you somewhere else… they tell you secrets I can't hear

Time… changing us into ourselves… taking away both hope and fear

See all the faces we possess and all the signs we try to send

show us no way out of our mess and all there is, is just pretend

See all the writings on the wall — they won’t concern us, not at all

Won’t ever read until we fall… when we hit bottom, when we crawl

All through the ages we turn the same pages

and all we discover is too much to bother

and all we experience is fear of transcendence

and we run for cover, dismissing our lovers

And all these mirrors on the wall Tell me what you see… is it you or me?

Won’t show you anything at all You will not deceive with your make-belief

Won’t turn back time or help you out Tell me what you see… can we let it be?

Won’t ever take away our doubt We are never free… and we can’t ever be…

I was born to walk this path alone — far away from the light, far away from home

Yes, I’m almost gone — fall away from it all, no peace of mind, there’s no answer to my call

In the night, in the dark, lie awake, let me go — and I wait, play a part that I don’t even know

So goddamned tired of the smell of decay… so goddamned tired of not knowing what to say

People change, telling lies to a crowd in the clouds, should maybe better focus but we’re talking too loud

A memory of you and me and all the things I couldn’t see — over, dead and gone for it wasn’t meant to be

Looking up to the sky and we wait for a sign while the demons inside wait to step out of line

The mess that we made won‘t be fixed in time… The hell we create in the name of the sublime!