Light Fuse and Get away | |
When Dream and Day Unite | |
Length | 7:21 |
Working title | |
Release date | March 6th, 1989 |
Lyrics | Kevin Moore |
Music | Dream Theater |
First live performance | |
Total live plays | |
Recorded | Kajem/Victory Studios |
Other appearances | When Dream and Day Unite Demos, When Dream and Day Reunite |
Previous song | The Killing Hand |
Next song | Afterlife |
Light Fuse and Get Away is a song by Dream Theater. It is the fifth song from their first album, When Dream and Day Unite.
Personnel
- Mike Portnoy - Drums
- John Petrucci - Guitar
- John Myung - Bass
- Kevin Moore - Keyboard, lyrics
- Charlie Dominici - Vocals
Lyrics
Would you like to sit and talk to me about the way things change so suddenly when your senses come and the feeling goes? can you remember feeling much too close? Stop your hands from shaking. Look at me. Are your senses racing endlessly tracing past impressions? So were mine. Have you ever been used or will this be the first time? It's come so clear to me Light fuse and get away No gain, no pain It's a fatal game and the true lose everything I can see what trust and loyalty have done for me falling miles from the mark with a thirst for revenge and a dangerous heart I've tried to wash from memory feelings of betrayal and the incidents that plague me since I lost my sense of innocence A history of changes now I'm loving now I'm losing keeps me constantly in fear of hearing "I can't see where this is going" You lie alone with the memory feeling the ceiling and walls closing in on Your Conscience - my ally the guilt - your affliction from preying on praise as you fed an attention addiction Someone told me Light fuse and get away No gain, no pain and when it's lust to dust you can crawl from the wreckage I can see what trust and loyalty have done for me lying bleeding in the dark with a thirst for revenge and a dangerous heart It's come so clear to me Light fuse and get away No gain, no pain It's a fatal game and the true lose everything I can see what trust and loyalty have done for me falling miles from the mark with a thirst for revenge and a dangerous heart
Analysis
Light Fuse and Get Away initially seems quite abstract, particularly the title and chorus, however examination of the verses shows the song to be fairly literal. The song is a person who had suffered too many breakups and his fear of an impending one leads him to break up with his significant other before she can do it to him.
Tone
The song, like many of the songs on When Dream and Day Unite, is quite heavy, with very fast riffs that contrast with Dominici's slower delivery of the vocals. The tone could best be described as fast and frantic.
Notes
One thing the song is notable for is the use of a pre-recorded voice sample. The line "I can't see where this is going" is delivered by Charlie Dominici's then girlfriend of the time, as stated in the biography "Lifting Shadows".
Live Performances
As with most of the songs on When Dream and Day Unite, Light Fuse and Get Away is performed rarely, somewhat more rarely than most of the other songs on the album. Performances are straightforward with very little deviation from the album version. The sampled voice is not used, instead with Dominici (or LaBrie delivering the line himself.)
Appearances
- When Dream and Day Unite - Original recorded version
- When Dream and Day Unite Demos - Instrumental demo version
- When Dream and Day Reunite - Live version