Singing in the Shower

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to sing. Opinions on how well I sing are varied, but I do love to sing.

About seven years back I had a chance to audition for a progressive-metal band call "All Too Human" (www.alltoohuman.com) whose lead singer had quit. Maurice, the bassist, and another guy come over to the house and I sang a few Queensryche songs for them. He then hands me a cassette tape of their latest album and tells me to listen to it and see if I can handle the songs.

The next morning on the way to work I pop the tape into the player of my truck. WOW!!! This band is awesome. The arrangements, playing, vocals... WOW!!! They were a cross between Queensryche and Dream Theater with a very healthy dose of Rush tossed in. And in true prog-metal fashion, the lyrics were incredible.

The first song was called "What Do You Call Me Now?" and it swooped and soared. I tried for weeks to wrap my vocals around it, but never could consistently. So I never called Maurice back and let the opportunity slip away like shadows in the night.

I still sing it occassionally in the shower. It still frustrates me in ways few other songs can. I still cannot consistently hit the notes. I hadn't sang it in several months when it popped into my head last night. Once again, I couldn't master this song, but the lyrics stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Free to question why.
To seek the truth
And weed out all the lies.

The banter of the innocent,
Running through my mind.
Vanity and arrogance,
Echo the voices, of uncertainty!!

What do you call the point
Between the silence and the sound?
What do you call the angels
Turned inside out?
What do you call the dreamers
Taken from their dreams?
What do you call me now?

Free to speak your mind.
Ignore the truth,
To see and still be blind.

The shattering of innocence,
Guilt inside my head.
Isolated circumstance,
Leads to the feeling, of uncertainty!!

What do you call the point
Between the silence and the sound?
What do you call the angels
Turned inside out?
What do you call the dreamers
Taken from their dreams?
What do call me now?

Free to see the lie,
To hear the truth
And know it's just a lie.
Just a lie!!!

What do you call the point
Between the silence and the sound?
What do you call the angels
Turned inside out?
What do you call the dreamer
Taken from his dream?
What do you call me now?

What do you call me now?

What do you call me now?"

The rest of the album was as good, if not better, lyrically. I'll have to go back and listen to the album, a Google search turns up nothing useful, and post the lyrics here from time to time.