Castle Walls
Written by Dennis DeYoung
Lead Vocals by Dennis DeYoung
Once in a dream
Far beyond these castle walls
Down by the bay where the
Moonlit water falls
I stood alone while the minstrel sang his song
So afraid I'd lost my soul
There in the fog his song kept calling me
Leading me on with its haunting melody
Deep in my heart a voice kept echoing
I knew I'd soon be wandering
Far beyond these castle walls
Where the distant harbour meets the sky
There the battle raged like hell
And every dove had lost its will to fly
Far beyond these castle walls
Where I thought I heard Tiresias say
Life is never what it seems
And every man must meet his destiny
Interpretation
Probably based on the epic Greek poem The Odyssey, by Homer. However, there are a few other interesting interpretations that may also be valid. Read on for a sampling of these additional viewpoints...
[The following interpretations were exerpted from e-mails sent to the Styx Internet Mailing List in December 1996 and again during February of 1998 during discussions of the meaning(s) behind the lyrics to Castle Walls.]
In listening to "Castle Walls", and reading the lyrics, do you think (I won't bore you with how I analyzed this, and or what conclusion I came up with) that this is a song about:
1.) An individual going off to war (the battle raged like hell).
or
2.) An individual waging a private war with drugs (life is never what it seems).
Your thoughts please, oh fellow listees (is listees a word ?).
Titus
I think that Castle Walls is about a personal or private war, but notnecessarily with drugs. It can be about whatever you are battling at the time. A restrictive home environment, peer pressure, a confusing relationship, or any number of societal pressures.....
That's one reason why styx is so cool, their music can adapt to whatever life situation you find yourself in. :)
Kelly
I always wondered who Tiresias was. Anybody know?
Michael
Tiresias was a blind prophet in the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. When Oedipuswas born, Tiresias told his father, the king of Thebes, that the boy wouldgrow up to kill him, marry his wife (Oedipus' own mother), and take thethrone. The king therefore had the infant Oedipus taken far away fromThebes and chained up in the woods to die.
A woodsman found him there, and his family raised Oedipus, who eventuallyrose to power in his own right. Years later, Oedipus returned to Thebes;outside of town, he met with the king on a bridge. Neither man would humblehimself and let the other pass. Not having any idea that the man was hisfather, Oedipus drew his sword and killed him. He then entered Thebes,where he was well received. When it became known that the old king had beenkilled (no one knew by whom), the people made Oedipus king. By this timethe former Queen had fallen for this new warrior; when Oedipus accepted thethrone she took him for her new husband.
When it was later revealed to Oedipus what he had done, he plucked out hisown eyes for having been so blind.
One of the biggest messages behind Tiresias' prophesy is that by trying toavoid it, the old king helped it come true. I think maybe that's part ofwhat Dennis was getting at in the lyrics to "Castle Walls." Of course, Icould just be an English major with way "too much time on my hands" . . .
CTW
I've enjoyed the interpretations thus far. My $.02 is that the song isabout growing up and leaving the nest and finding the internal battle thatlife is. He had a dream beyond the Castle Walls (home) where he stoodalone (probably for the first time). In this dream he listened to a poet,a minstriel (the conventional wisdom of the world) and by following thiswisdom, he lost his soul (he wasn't true to himself). But deep in hisheart (no longer dreaming) he knew he'd be wandering (cause he was about toleave the nest and was afraid that he wouldn't find his way, or be true tohimself, or reach his potential). The battle raged there (internal battles)so much so that the doves (symbols of peace) didn't even have a will tofly.
Now, lest we forget, this is Styx's first concept album. Far beyond theseCastle Walls, WHERE THE DISTANT HARBOR MEETS THE SKY. Harbors meet the skyon the horizon, when sailing on the sea. DDY is setting an open course forthe virgin sea, cause he's go to be free, free to face the life that'sahead of him. He's the captain searching for tomorrow on every shore.Back to CWalls, Life is never what it seems, and every man MUST meet hisdestiny. I think the song fits quite nicely within this concept album!
Of course, it could also mean the other things that others have posted too.That's the beauty of poetry, of art, of Styx.
Bob AkuAku
Well here is my interpetation of the Lyrics.
Once in a Dream, (it's a dream therefore many interpertation can befound, so lets consider this a Parable). Far Beyond these castlewalls... (Here he gives imagery as to where he is. The Castle is whatI would like to consider the walls that shelter us from wrong andtemptation, protecting us from the evils in the world.) I stood alonewhile the minstrel sang his song. (In most cases I wouldn't consider aminstrel an evil person but for this song I think of the minstrel be theDevil, trying to temp us, which would be why he's a fraid he's lost hissoul, because he's alone with this minstrel).
There in the fog his song kept calling me, Leading me on with itshaunting melody. (Again the devils song is tempting him farther awayfrom the castle and into the unknown) Deep in my heart a voice keptechoing. I knew I'd soon be wandering. (He knows in his heart what heis doing is wrong and that if he doesn't fight it now then he will belost from the path of what is right.)
Far beyond these castle walls. Where the distant harbour meets thesky. (He has final reach his final destination or the battle groundwhere he must choose between good and evil, the sky being heavan and theharbour being hell). There the battle raged like hell. And every Dovehad lost its will to fly. (Two ways to interpret this. 1. there is nopeace since the Dove has lost it's will to fly. 2. He lost the battleto temptation since the Dove being a sign of the Holy Spirit can notfly. Either way the Devil seems to win)
Far beyond these castle walls. Where I thought I heard Tiresias say.(This happens after the Solo section so I assume it is the moral or thelesson that we are to take away from the song. Especially since itcontains "The fountain of truth: Tiresias, the seer." later called"Tiresias, famous man, prophet" {Taken from the "Oedious Rex" Librettoby Igor Stravinsky}) Life is never what it seems. And every man mustmeet his destiny. (No matter how hard it is, we must all live our lifeand reach our destiny, no matter how far from the castle we mustjourney. And even though in the dream we may have lost to the Devil,life is not what it seems and we may still be able to overcome)
Forgive me if I offended anyone with the religious references but thatis how I see the song.
Mike DeCraw
Mike,
Hey, man, an interesting reading. For my personal interpretation, I'd makea small, but significant, adjustment as to the symbolism of the minstrel. Idon't think it's necessary to see the character as evil or as leading thenarrator down the path of darkness. It strikes me as that spirit that weall encounter in adolescence that leads us out of childhood and into thelarger world of adulthood.
The melody is haunting because 1) it is unknown, new and strange to achild's ears, and 2) it is nonetheless aluring and irresistable. Peoplehave an extremely strong tendency to fear the unknown; against that, we arealso a very inquisitive species, always seeking to know and learn. Theminstrel in this song, I think, embodies and personifies these two sides ofthe same coin in our nature.
The narrator fears he has lost his soul because he suddenly finds himselfdrawn away from the sheltered walls of his childhood and into a much largerworld. In this new world, he has not yet established his adult identity--hedoesn't know who he is or is supposed to be, so he wonders if he's losinghis soul. But he can't turn away ("I knew I'd soon be wandering") becauseit's all part of the inevitable cycle of growing up.
The raging battle can be seen as the turmoil the young man goes through intrying to find himself in this strange new world. The dove without the willto fly strikes me as the despair that often sets in when a person realizeshow vast the world is (note the horizon reference and vast things: distantharbor, sky) in contrast to the relative insignificance of the individual.
But then the prophet Tiresias steps in to help our narrator see the truth:"Life is never what it seems." There is no call for despair; there is aplace for the individual in this vast world, but he must take responsibilityfor his own identity ("every man must meet his destiny")--he won't get ithanded to him.
Looking at it this way, the minstrel is not someone to be mistrusted orfeared. At worst, he may be seen as a trickster who serves a necessarypurpose. At best, he is a sly guide on the sacred path of life.
2cents!
CTW
Just wanted to make some quick comments after reading some of theinterpretations for "Castle Walls". Everyone has locked into Tiresias'sappearance in the story of Oedipus but Tiresias was a prophet thatappeared in more than one "legend". I figured I hit the nail on thehead when I discovered that Tiresias is also in "The Odyssey", the epicpoem about Odysseus and his adventures. I haven't read the Odyssey inalmost 20 years so I currently can't do a side by side comparison of thelyrics and the events in the poem. I do recall that at the time I coulddo that and have subsequently assumed that the song was a "short"musical telling of Odysseus's adventures.Quick off the cuff examples: Odysseus did a lot of wandering; hiswanderings included the Trojan War; and of of course the encounter withTiresias.
Thanks
Lance
I would guess that the "voices calling me...leading me on... could bea reference to the sirens' song that enchanted Odesseus and held himprisoner.
Stacy
I'll try to match the lyrics to what I remember of the story.
Once in a dream
Far beyond these castle walls
Down by the bay where the
Moonlit water falls
I stood alone while the minstrel sang his song
So afraid I'd lost my soul
This is from right before he went off to the trojan war if my memoryserves me. Oddyseus was walking along his islands shore thinking about aprophecy from either a delpninic oracle or one of the blind seers of thegods. He had been warned that the next time he left the islands he wouldbe gone for twenty years. The dream could be the prophecy of his exile.minstrel being the oracle or the seer. I do remember though that whenAgamemnon came to enlist his aid, he played the insane man so as not togo.
There in the fog his song kept calling me
Leading me on with its haunting melody
Deep in my heart a voice kept echoing
I knew I'd soon be wandering
His fear was so much that he almost killed his little newborn son.Agamemnon had placed the babe in front of the plow that Oddyseus waspushing around in a mad rant to prove that Oddyseus was as sane as thenext man. He knew that if he went with Agamemnon he would be gone for agreat long while.
Far beyond these castle walls
Where the distant harbour meets the sky
There the battle rages like hell
And every dove had lost its will to fly
Far off Troy where on the plains before it, the Trojan war took place forten long years. A war where all who fought either died in battle or lostsomething of great importance, be it pride love or material goods as Priamthe King of Troy lost.
Far beyond these castle walls
Where I thought I heard Tiresias say
Life is never what it seems
And every man must meet his destiny
Tiresias was the blind prophet in hades who Oddyseus went to see to findout about his journey home. His words rang true and Oddyseus was lost atsee for another ten years with all the trials and tribulations. All ofOddyseus's hopes and dreams for teaching his young son during hisformative years. Oddyseus could not run from his prophecy/destiny byfeigning madness anymore than the next man.
Anymore extrapolation will have to be done when I have the actualstory/poem in front of me. While were at, can anyone add to this??Dan Perugini
Dan, you got most of it...
yes, Odysseus seeks out Tiresias in the afterlife to ask for assistance...but the reason Odysseus never makes it back until 20 years later isbecause while en route to Ithaca, his men killed some of the cattle thatwere sacred to the gods, and infuriated, they drove him off course. So hehit the island of the Cyclops, blinding one of them, and taunting him ashe sailed off. Since the Cyclops were related to Poseidon, they beggedhim to assist him in vengeance, and he destroyed their ship, capsizingOdysseus as the only survivor, and made his life hell trying to get home.It all works out in the end though...
And Odysseus is conned into going, but he also cons ACHILLES into going,when Achilles dressed as a woman to avoid going off to war. But whenOdysseus showed up at his house bearing clothes and weapons, the women inthe house went to look at the clothes... guess what Achilles picked.Devious fellow, Odysseus.
I always would have thought that Orpheus (the legendary musician of Greekmyth) was the one for CASTLE WALLS.
Unfortunately, I gotta go, but I will post my reasoning next time..
Cheers,
Misha
Lets see if I can maybe remember this one as well. Tell me if I amwrong(from memory again) but Orpheus was the greatest musician of alltime at the time correct? Now he played so well that animals came to hearhim play. The gods themselves loved to listen to him play. But tocontinue on with the story. He fell in love with and married a certainwoman(surprising aint it.... not). He was so in love with her that whenshe died tragically(i forget of what) he went to Underworld to try andtalk to Hades. it worked to some point. He was able to convince Hades toallow him to see his wife and for his wife to come with him back to thereal world. One condition though, He could not turn back before they bothreached the end of the tunnel to look upon his wife. If he did, he wouldlose her forever. He of course did and had to watch her crumble to dustand go back to the underworld. He also knew that if he returned after herhe would not be able to come back to the land of the living. So until theend of his life he stayed at the entrance to the Underworld playing hismournful music.
Is that about correct Misha?? I can see where Castle Walls would fit inhere as well and you are correct. It is pretty interesting.
Dan Perugini
Right you are, Chaplain Dan.
He married Eurydice, she was bitten by a snake, and died.He played his way into the Underworld, won the sympathy of all of Hades,and was permitted to take her back as long as he didnt' look behind him.Of course, he did, and she vanished into Hades again.He was later torn to pieces by a crowd of women, I forget why at themoment, but joined her in death and the two now reside in the cheerierparts of the Afterlife.
More later,
Misha
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