Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

Lyrics written by John Petrucci
Music written by John Myung, John Petrucci,
Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess



He seemed no different from the rest
Just a healthy normal boy
His mama always did her best
And he was daddy's pride and joy

He learned to walk and talk on time
But never cared much to be held
And steadily he would decline
Into his solitary shell

As a boy he was considered somewhat odd
Kept to himself most of the time
He would daydream in and out of his own world
But in every other way he was fine

He's a monday morning lunatic
Disturbed from time to time
Lost withing himself
In his solitary shell

A temporary catatonic
Madman on occasion
When will he break out
Of his solitary shell

He struggled to get through his day
He was helplessly behind
He poured himself onto the page
Writing for hours at a time

As a man he was a danger to himself
Fearful and sad most of the time
He was drifting in and out of sanity
But in every other way he was fine

He's a monday morning lunatic
Disturbed from time to time
Lost within himself
In his solitary shell

A temporary catatonic
Madman on occasion
When will he break out
Of his solitary shell

Instrumental
Music written by John Myung, John Petrucci,
Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess

Lyrics written by Mike Portnoy
Music written by John Myung, John Petrucci,
Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess


Napalm showers
Showed the cowards
We weren't there to mess around

Through heat exhaustion
And mind distortion
A military victory mounted on innocent ground

Hearing voices from miles away
Saying things never said
Seeing shadows in the light of the day
Waging a war inside my head

Years and years of
Bloodshed and warfare
Our mission was only to get in and kill

A free vacation
Of palmtrees and shrapnel
Trading innocence for permanent psychotic hell

Hearing voices from miles away
Saying things never said
Seeing shadows in the light of the day
Waging a war inside my head

Feeling strangers staring my way
Reading minds never read
Tasting danger with each word I say
Waging a war inside my head

Lyrics written by Mike Portnoy
Music written by John Myung, John Petrucci,
Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess



I. Reflection

Cunning, Baffling, Powerful
Beaten to a pulp
Vigorous, Irresistabel
Sick and tired and laid low
Dominating, Invisible
Black-out, loss of control
Overwhelming, Unquenchable
I'm powerless, have to let go

They can't escape it
It leaves them frail and worn
Can no longer take it
Senses tattered and torn

Hopeless surrender
Obsession's got me beat
Losing the will to live
Admitting complete defeat

Fatal Descent
Spinning around
I've gone too far
To turn back around

Desperate attempt
Stop the progression
At any length
Lift this obsession

Crawling to my glass prison
A place where no one knows
My secret lonely world begins

So much safer here
A place where I can go
To forget about my daily sins

Life here in my glass prison
A place I once called home
Fall in nocturnal bliss again

Chasing a long lost friend
I no longer can control
Just waiting for this hopelessness to end


II. Restoration

Run - fast from the wreckage of the past
A shattered glass prison far behind me
Fight - past walking through the ashes
A distant oasis before me

Cry - Desperate crawling on my knees
Begging God to please stop the insanity
Help me - trying to believe
Stop wallowing in my self-pity

"We've been waiting for you my friend
The writing's been on the wall
All it takes is a little faith
You know you're the same as us all."

Help me - I can't break out of this prison all alone
Save me - I'm drowning and I'm hopeless on my own
Heal me - I can't restore my sanity alone

Enter the door
Desperate
Fighting no more
Help me restore
To my sanity
At this temple of hope

I need to learn
Teach me how
Sorrow to burn
Help me return
To humanity
I'll be fearless and thorough
To enter this temple of hope

Believe
Transcend the pain
Living the life
Humility
Opened my eyes
This new odyssey
Of rigorous honesty

Serenity
I never knew
Soundness of mind
Helped me to find
Courage to change
All the things that I can

"We'll help you perform this miracle
But you must set your past free
You dug this hole, but you can't bury your soul
Open your mind and you will see"

Help me - I can't break out this prison all alone
Save me - I'm drowning and I'l hopeless on my own
Heal me - I can't restore my sanity alone


III. Revelation


Way off in the distance I saw a door
I tried to open
I tried forcing with all of my will and still
The door wouldn't open

Unable to trust in my faith
I turned and walked away
I looked around, felt a chill in the air
Took my will and turned it over

The glass prison that once held me is now gone
A long lost fortress
Armed only with liberty
And the key of my willingness

Fell down on my knees and prayed
"Thy will be done"
I turned around, saw a light shining through
The door was wide open

Lyrics wretten by John Petrucci
Music written by John Myung, John Petrucci,
Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess


She can't stop pacing
She never felt so alive
Her thoughts are racing
And set on overdrive

It takes a village
This she knows is true
They're expecting her
And she's got work to do

He helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
As he rubs his red-rimmed eyes
He says I've never seen her get this bad

Even though she seems so high
He knows that she can't fly
And when she falls out of the sky
He'll be standing by

She was raised in a small mid-western town
By a charming and eccentric loving father
She was praised as the perfect teenage girl
And everyone thought highly of her

And she tried everyday
With endless drive
To make the grade
Then one day
She woke up to find
The perfect girl
Had lost her mid

Once barely taking a break
Now she sleeps the days away
She helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
All she wants to do is cry
No one ever knew she was so sad

Cause even though she gets so high
And thinks that she can fly
She will fall out of the sky
But in the face of misery
She found hopefulness
Feeling better
She had weathered
This depression

Much to her advantage
She resumed a frantic pace
Boundless power
Midnight hour
She enjoyed the race

Lyrics written by John Petrucci
Music written by John Myung, John Petrucci,
Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess


What if someone said
Promise lies ahead
Hopes are high in certain scientific circles
Life won't have to end
You could walk again

What if someone said
Problems lie ahead
They've uncovered something highly controversial
The right to life is strong
Can't you see it's wrong

Human kind has reached a turning point
Poised for conflict at ground zero
Ready for war
Do we look to our unearthly guide
Ot to white coat heroes
Searching for a cure

Turn to the light
Don't be frightened of the shadows it creates
Turn to the light
Turning away would be a terrible mistake

Anarchistic moral vision
Industries of death
Facing violent opposition
Unmolested breaths

Ethic inquisitions breed
Antagonistic views
Right wing sound bite premonitions
In a labyrinth of rules

Are you justified
Are you justified
Are you justified
Justified in taking
Life to save life
Life to save life
Taking life to save life

This embryonic clay
Wrapped in fierce debate
Would be thrown away
Or otherwise discarded

Some of us believe
It may hold the key
To treatment of disease
And secrets highly guarded

Are you justified
Are you justified
Are you justified
Justified in taking
Life to save life
Life to save life
Life to save life

Human kind has reached a turning point
Poised for conflict at ground zero
Ready for war
Do we look to our unearthly guide
Or to white coat heroes
Searching for a cure

Turn to the light
Don't be frightened of the shadows it creates
Turn to the light
Turning away would be a terrible mistake

We're reaching
But have we gone too far

Harvesting existence
Only to destroy
Carelessly together
We are sliding

Miracle potential
Sanctity of life
Faced against each other
We're divided

Should we push the boundaries
Or should we condemn
Moral guilt and silence
Have collided

Turn to the light
We defy our own morality these days
Turn to the light
Pay attention to the questions we have raised

Music written by John Myung, John Petrucci,
Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess


Standing in the darkness
Waiting for the light
The smell of pure adrenaline
Burning in the night

Random blinding flashes
Aiming at the stage
Intro tape begins to roll
Igniting sonic rage

Still they keep me behind these hollow walls
Hoping to find in me
The answers to the test that stumped them all

"The boy is simply crazy
Suffering from delusions
We honestly think that maybe
He might need an institution

He lives in a world of fiction
And really could use some help
We have just the tools to fix him
To save him from himself."

Curled up in the darkness
Searching for the light
The smell of stale sweat and shit
Steaming through the night

Random urine testing
Pills, red, pink, and blue
Counseling and therapy
Providing not a clue

Still they keep me betwen these hollow walls
Hoping to find in me
The answers to the test that stumped them all

"We can't seem to find the answers
He seemed such a clear cut case
We cannot just let him leave here
And put all this work to waste

Why don't we try shock treatment
It really might do some help
We have just the tools to fix him
To save him from himself."