The Alan Parsons Project Lyrics section

I have always been a big fan of the works of Edgar Allan Poe.  My father introduced me to this kinda sorta obscure band back around '94 or so.  I bought this album, and I was stunned by how much I liked it.  A friend of mine compared The Raven to a cross between symphonic orchestra and heavy metal.  After getting an excellent taste of what that can be upon my purchase of the Metallica S&M CD, I am inclined to agree.  Needless to say, this album remains one of my alltime favorites.

Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe

A Dream Within a Dream
Instrumental


The Raven
The clock struck midnight
And through my sleeping
I heard a tapping at my door.
I looked but nothing lay in the darkness
And so I turned in side once more.

To my amazement
There stood a raven
Whose shadow hung above my door
Then through the silence
It spoke the one word
That I shall hear for evermore

Nevermore
Thus quoth the raven, nevermore

And still the raven remains in my room
No matter how much I implore
No words can soothe him
No prayer remove him
And I must hear for evermore

Quoth the raven, nevermore
Thus quothe the raven
Nevermore


The Tell-Tale Heart
You should have seen him
Lying alone in helpless silence
in the night
You should have seen him
You would have seen his eye reflecting
in the light

So for the old man
Ashes to ashes, earth to earth and dust
to dust
No one will see me
No one with guilt to share no secret
soul to trust

And he won't be found at all
Not a trace to mark his fall
Nor a stain upon the wall

Louder and louder
Till I could tell the sound was not
within my ears
You should have seen me
You would have seen my eyes grow
white and cold with fear

Heard all the things Heaven and Earth
I've seen many things in Hell
But his vulture's eye of a cold pale blue
Is the eye of the Devil himself

Take me away now
But let the silence drown the beating of his heart


The Cask of Amontillado
By the last breath of the four winds that blow
I'll have revenge upon Fortunato
Smile in his face, I'll say "Come, let us go.
I've a cask of Amontillado."

Sheltered inside from the cold of the snow
Follow me now to the vault down below
Drinking the wine as we laugh at the time
Which is passing incredibly slow

What are these chains that are
binding my arms?

Part of you dies each passing day

Say its a game and I'll
come to no harm

You feel your life slipping away

You who are rich and whoose troubles are few
May come around to see my point of view
What price the crown of a King on his throne
When your chained in the dark all alone?

Spare me my life
only name your reward

Part of you dies each brick I lay

Bring back some light
in the name of the Lord

You feel your mind slipping away...

The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
Just what you need to make you feel better
Just what you need to make you feel
Just what you need to make you feel better
Just what you need to make you feel

At the far end of your tether
And your thoughts won't fit together
So you sleep light or whatever
And the night goes on forever
Then your mind change like the weather
You're in need of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether

Even clouds seem bright and breezy
'Cause the livin' is free and easy
See the rat race in a new way
Like you're walkin' up to a new day
It's a wise thing if you're clever
Take a lead from Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether

Find the end of a rainbow
Fly wherever the winds blow
Laugh at life like a sideshow
Just what you need to feel better

Don't stop bringin' the girls round
Don't start having showdown
Keep on handin' the jug round
All that you need is wine and good company


The Fall of the House of Usher
Prelude
Arrival
Intermezzo
Pavane
Fall
(Instrumentals)


To One in Paradise
If I could see the sky above
And my mind could be set free
As wild white horses reached the shore
I'd stand alone and oversee

And if the bush before me burns
Should I turn my eyes away?
And still the voices I can hear
As clear to me as light of day

I believed in my my dreams
Nothing could change my mind
Now I know what they mean
How could I be so blind?

Cold sands of time
                                               (Winds that blow as cold as ice
                                                 Sounds that come in the night)
Shall hide what is left of me
                                               (Come from Paradise)
I've been through times when no one cared
                                               (Words that were mine)
I've seen clouds in empty skies
When one kind word meant more to me
                                                (Shall last as a memory)
Than all the love in Paradise

I believed in my dreams
Nothing could change my mind
Till I found what they mean
Nothing can save me now


And all my days are trances
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy dark eye glances
And where thy footstep gleams
In what ethereal daances
By what eternal streams