The Count Of Tuscany

(album: Black Clouds & Silver Linings - 2009)

[Music by Petrucci, Portnoy, Rudess and Myung, Lyrics by John Petrucci]

Several years ago
In a foreign town
Far away from home
I met the Count of Tuscany

A young eccentric man
Bred from royal blood
Took me for a ride
Across the open countryside

Get into my car
Let's go for a drive
Along the way
I'll be your guide
Just step inside

Maybe you recall
A cannibal curator
A character inspired by my brother's life

Winding through the hills
The city far behind
On and on we drove
Down narrow streets and dusty roads

At last we came upon
A picturesque estate
On sprawling emerald fields
An ancient world of times gone by

Let me introduce
My brother
A bearded gentleman
Historian
Sucking on his pipe
Distinguished accent
Making me uptight
No accident

I want to stay alive
Everything about this place
Just doesn't feel right
I
I don't want to die

Suddenly I'm frightened for my life

I want to say goodbye
This could be the last time
You see me alive

I
I may not survive
Knew it from the moment we arrived

Would you like to see
Our secret holy place?
I come here late at night
To pray to him by candle light

Then peering through the glass
I saw with disbelief
Still dressed in royal clothes
The saint behind the altar

History recalls
During times of war
Legend has been traced
Back inside these castle walls

Where soldiers came to hide
In barrels filled with wine
Never to escape
These tombs of oak are where they died

Down the cellar stairs
I disappear
Like the English heir
The end is near

Come and have a taste
A rare vintage
All the finest wines
Improve with age

I want to stay alive
Everything about this place
Just doesn't feel right
I
I don't want to die
Suddenly I'm frightened for my life

I want to say goodbye
This could be the last time
You see me alive

I
I may not survive
Knew it from the moment we arrived

Could this be the end?
Is this the way I die?
Sitting here alone
No one by my side

I don't understand
I don't feel that I deserve this
What did I do wrong?
I just don't understand

Give me one more chance
Let me please explain
It's all been circumstance
I'll tell you once again

You took me for a ride
Promising a vast adventure
Next thing that I know
I'm frightened for my life

Now wait a minute man
That's not how it is
You must be confused
That isn't who I am

Please don't be afraid
I would never try to hurt you
This is how we live
Strange although it seems
Please try to forgive

The chapel and the saint
The soldiers and the wine
The fables and the tales
All handed down through time

Of course you're free to go
Go and tell the world my story
Tell about my brother
Tell them about me
The Count of Tuscany...