| These Walls | |
| Octavarium | |
| Length | 6:59 |
| Working title | |
| Release date | 2004 |
| Lyrics | John Petrucci |
| Music | Dream Theater |
| First live performance | Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden, on Sept. 29, 2005 |
| Total live plays | 75 |
| Recorded | The Hit Factory |
| Other appearances | Romavarium (fan CD) |
| Previous song | The Answer Lies Within |
| Next song | I Walk Beside You |
These Walls is the third track off of Dream Theater's eighth studio album, Octavarium.
The song lyrics deal with frustration and a failure to express oneself. The intro is in A#0, when playing live John Petrucci tunes up the guitar over the course of the intro. The main song is in A minor, following the theme of the album's songs being an rising octave. Although the "official" length of the track is 6:59, it, along with some of the other Octavarium songs, has a negative time of 37 seconds, for a total duration of 7:36 mins.
This song was first released as a promo along with Panic Attack earlier in 2004. This version was an edited version of 4:37 mins length.
John Petrucci recorded this song using a 6-string baritone guitar tuned to A-D-G-C-E-A.
Lyrics[]
This is so hard for me To find the words to say My thoughts are standing still Captive inside of me All emotions start to hide And nothing's getting through Watch me Fading I'm losing all my instincts Falling into darkness Tear down these walls for me Stop me from going under You are the only one who knows I'm holding back It's not too late for me To keep from sinking further I'm trying to find my way out Tear down these walls for me now So much uncertainty I don't like this feeling I'm sinking like a stone Each time I try to speak There's a voice I'm hearing And it changes everything Watch me Crawl from the wreckage Of my silence Conversation Failing Tear down these walls for me Stop me from going under You are the only one who knows I'm holding back It's not too late for me, To keep from sinking further I'm trying to find my way out Tear down these walls Everytime you choose to turn away Is it worth the price you pay? Is there someone who will wait for you One more time One more time Watch me, Fading I'm losing all my instincts Falling into darkness Tear down these walls for me Stop me from going under You are the only one who knows I'm holding back It's not too late for me, To keep from sinking further I'm trying to find my way out Tear down these walls for me now Tear down these walls for me It's not too late for me Tear down these walls for me