Dream Theater - A Nightmare to Remember Meaning

A Nightmare to Remember Lyrics

A nightmare to remember
I'd never be the same.
What began as laughter
So soon would turn to pain.
The sky was clear and frigid
The air was thick and still
Now I'm not one to soon forget
And I bet I never will

Picture for a moment
The...

1. anonymous

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   Jan 26th 2010 !⃝

   This song is great. And it is actually about the guitarist John Petrucci having a car crash when he was a young boy. Then remembering about the horrific crash. Even though everyone survived an recovered he will never forget the horrifying car cash.
2. jeffc89

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   Aug 27th 2009 !⃝

   This song is like a short story in first person view. The title of the song "A Nightmare to Remember" is another way of saying a tragic and unforgettable event. The song starts off with background sounds off as a setting in a dark stormy night, as the lyrics come in the narrator is just describing the setting and what was about to happen. Later in the background of the song you hear a car what sounds like speeding then swerving out of control and crashing. Then the narrator explains the horrific scene of the aftermath of the crash.
   In part 2 of this song you hear the music start to slow down in tempo and begin to sound like dazing and blurry like someone waking up from unconsciousness, in the background you can hear sirens of what sounds like an ambulance, and then heavy breathing and the sound of a heart rate monitor beeping a steady paste. Later the lyrics then explain of the narrator waking up in the hospital experiencing amnesia. He is also being treated by a nurse or doctor. The chorus of this section just explains the narrators thoughts at the moment.
   In part 3 of this song the song starts to pick up in tempo and the music begins to become stronger and heavier. The narrator then begins to remember the tragic event and how it is constantly playing in his head like a nightmare. The music then starts to sound heavier and stronger trying to get the audience to imagine what happened.