For My Sunday Song #79, “Silent Lucidity” by the progressive metal band Queensrÿche will be the point of discussion. The song was released on Valentine’s Day in 1991 and was on their triple platinum selling album ‘Empire’. “Silent Lucidity” was the band’s top selling single ever in the U.S. where it reached #1 on the Album Rock Tracks and all the way to #9 on the Billboard Top 100. The song was even nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Song.
“Silent Lucidity” was a ballad, which was not something the band was known for doing. The song is absolutely beautiful with the whole lullaby feel to the song, the wonderful orchestration added and lastly, Geoff Tates vocals perfectly fit the mood of the song. It felt like you were in a dream state while listening to the song which was exactly the impact the band was going for with the song.
The song was supposedly inspired by the book ‘Creative Dreaming’ by Patricia Garfield, PhD which explains how to control your dreams…which I don’t think I have ever been able to do that. The song is about lucid dreaming which is the where you are actually aware that you are dreaming and as the book states, you can actually have control over parts of the dream. During the song, there is actually a voice that is explaining how to do just that. They state…”Visualize your dream. Record it in the present tense. Put it into a permanent form. If you persist in your efforts, you can achieve dream control.”
The song started out as really just acoustic guitars and vocals. It was late in the process that the orchestration was added to really take the song to the dream-like state. They even added at the 5:26 point in the song Brahms’ Lullaby which is quite possibly played by a cello. The orchestration was done by the great Michael Kamen who you might have heard of if you are big into movie scores as he is slightly famous for that kind of work.
The song almost didn’t make the record as the producer wasn’t overly thrilled with where they were with the song, but thankfully, the boys in the band persisted and the song ended up there and was one of their biggest hits. Funny how that sometimes works out.
Give it a listen and let me know what you think. Thanks and have a Happy Sunday!!
“Silent Lucidity”
Wipe away the teardrop from your eye
You’re lying safe in bed
It was all a bad dream
Spinning in your head
Your mind tricked you to feel the pain
Of someone close to you leaving the game of life
So here it is, another chance
Wide awake you face the day
Your dream is over… or has it just begun?
There’s a place I like to hide
A doorway that I run through in the night
Relax child, you were there
But only didn’t realize and you were scared
It’s a place where you will learn
To face your fears, retrace the years
And ride the whims of your mind
Commanding in another world
Suddenly you hear and see
This magic new dimension
I- will be watching over you
I- am gonna help you see it through
I- will protect you in the night
I- am smiling next to you, in Silent Lucidity
[spoken during solo]
(Visualize your dream)
(Record it in the present tense)
(Put it into a permanent form)
(If you persist in your efforts)
(You can achieve dream control)
(Dream control)
(How are we feeling today, better??)
(Dream control, dream control)
(Help me)
If you open your mind for me
You won’t rely on open eyes to see
The walls you built within
Come tumbling down, and a new world will begin
Living twice at once you learn
You’re safe from pain in the dream domain
A soul set free to fly
A round trip journey in your head
Master of illusion, can you realize
Your dream’s alive, you can be the guide but…
I- will be watching over you
I- am gonna help to see it through
I- will protect you in the night
I- am smiling next to you….
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
Listening to it now, thank you. I did all that lucid dream stuff when I was a former new ager.
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I don’t think have ever done it. Never tried or never could, not sure which.
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Lush and dreamy. It’s one of those songs you can’t help sway along to.
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A good song but it’s worn out its welcome with me. That’s often the point in the album where I might hit stop or just skip the last song. Empire gets a bit meh in the second half.
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Fair point! I haven’t listened to it in so long for that reason, but when I played it recently I really enjoyed it again.
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I actually enjoyed revisiting this album a few months ago.
Sure it was a ballad but it was good to see at the time it wasn’t your normal sounding Metal Ballad!
Good track but Scott makes the fair point that its worn out it’s welcome….
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I need to revisit it as well. Scott’s point is valid as the back half of the album is not as good as the first.
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Yeah well the first side is loaded with singles that I still hear quite frequently on Sirius..
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queensryche ‘silent lucidity’ put Geoff Tate and co in another stratusphere. He can sing!! this song just beautiful. I Saw queensryche before and after..opening for metallica? and then on their sign of the times tour. cool stuff
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I only saw them on the Operation Mindcrime tour which was amazing. I became a lifelong fan after that one.
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