| Bridges in the Sky | |
| A Dramatic Turn of Events | |
| Length | 11:01 |
| Working title | The Shaman's Trance |
| Release date | 13th September 2011 |
| Lyrics | John Petrucci |
| Music | Petrucci, Jordan Rudess & John Myung |
| First live performance | The Warfield, San Francisco, CA, USA, on Sept. 24, 2011 |
| Total live plays | 127 |
| Recorded | Cove City Sound Studios |
| Other appearances | |
| Previous song | This is the Life |
| Next song | Outcry |
Bridges in the Sky is the fifth track on Dream Theater's eleventh album, A Dramatic Turn of Events, and was used as the opening track for the majority of the album's tour. Its intro makes heavy use of samples, and features shamanic drumming, throat singing, and a long passage sung by a choir.
When the album was first announced, Bridges in the Sky was listed as The Shaman's Trance. The first indication that the name had been changed came in a tracklisting on an online retailer's website.
John Petrucci recorded this song using a 7-string guitar in standard tuning (B-E-A-D-G-B-E).
Interview[]
- "The song is about a shaman experience, it's musically very riff driven but extremely melodic at the same time. It has a really cool instrumental breakdown that's almost slightly Israeli, ethical part. At the beginning there is a voice, and that's the shaman." - John Petrucci
- "It's a soul-searching tune, it's about being in a very dark, souless period and then trying to go through the healing process. Jordan and us in the studio went through hundreds of samples and we went through that and these gregorian vocals came and we thought 'Oh cool! Remember that!'" - James LaBrie
Lyrics[]
Blackness awakens Visions come alive Seeing through darkness With borrowed eyes Death survivor Take me higher Reunite my soul Whisperer of truth I trust in you To make me whole Sun, Come shine my way May healing waters bury all my pain Wind, Carry me home The fabric of reality is tearing apart The piece of me that died Will return To live again Feeling myself slip away Suddenly dreaming awake Hidden memories Flooding back I will not grow in the light Until I pass through the darkest caverns of my heart Dance with fire Spirit guide erase the world outside Messenger of truth I trust in you Transform me now Sun, Come shine my way May healing waters bury all my pain Wind, Carry me home The fabric of reality is tearing apart The piece of me that died Will return To live again And at last the time has come To unite again as one To the power of the Earth I'm calling Crossing bridges in the sky On a journey to renew my life Shaman take my hand Sun, Come shine my way May healing waters bury all my pain Wind, Carry me home The fabric of reality is tearing apart The piece of me that died Will return To live again And at last the time has come To unite again as one To the power of the Earth I'm calling Crossing bridges in the sky On a journey to renew my life Shaman take my hand
Dream Theater - Bridges In The Sky