An Ocean Of Strange Islands – English Lyrics

• By: Nightwish
• Album: Yesterwynde

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music is a powerful tool, and Nightwish's “An Ocean Of Strange Islands” offers a rich and poetic landscape for English learners. The song's narrative style and evocative, metaphorical lyrics about journeys, discoveries, and human connection provide a compelling way to explore vocabulary and complex emotional expression. Its epic and intricate musical arrangement makes the learning process an exciting adventure.

[English]

A mariner under a sky moonlit

On an island of a crewless ship

A few decades of immortality ahead

A one-man crew for a one-way trip

Islands, islands everywhere

I keep my range with crowded sails

My waves they kiss every shore I land

Steep cliffs will mock my waving hand

Islanders, villagers, universal mariners

Calling me, guiding me

Monsters far beneath

Hurricanes on the way

Lunatic weathervanes

Shipwrecked lovers on a faraway cay

Passing by butterflies, fluttering for a day

Jokers, jesters, goddesses hominidae

Deep delicious blue beneath

I'll steer wherever tomorrow is near

Light a beacon so I can navigate

Through the tempest

Through the madness

Light a homefire for the sad man

With a begging hand

Light a beacon so I can navigate

Through the tempest

Following the quintet

Ride on the highest wave

Bring me to life

To them who dance in the daylight

Sail and seek

The starbound quay

Calling you, calling me

To be a part of your story

Here raining ash to cover the dead

An island of the past wrecks

Of you of the endless sundown

Hemlock meadows, deepest quicksand

Empty harbor by a wasteland

Mirrors, mirrors, everywhere

For you of mad despair

Friends who were for a time

Now grapes of sour wine

Lords of a single fly

Still, I rue no island of shared solitude

You who glow in deepest woe

Let it be, retiree, the water's fine

Sail carefree

Sail and seek

The starbound quay

Calling you, calling me

To be a part of your story

On these strange islands

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
mariner /ˈmærɪnər/ B2	noun - a sailor or someone who navigates the sea
island /ˈaɪ.lənd/ A2	noun - a piece of land surrounded by water
shipwreck /ˈʃɪpˌrɛk/ B2	noun - the destruction or sinking of a ship
waves /weɪvz/ B1	noun - movements of water on the sea surface verb - to move or sway like waves
cliffs /klɪfs/ B2	noun - a high, steep face of rock or land
monsters /ˈmɒn.stərz/ B2	noun - fantastical or frightening creatures
hurricanes /ˈhʌr.ɪ.kænz/ B2	noun - large, powerful storms over the ocean
beacon /ˈbiː.kən/ B2	noun - a signal or light used as a guide
tempest /ˈtɛm.pɪst/ C1	noun - a violent windstorm
solitude /sɒl.ɪˈtjuːd/ C1	noun - the state of being alone
voyage /ˈvɔɪ.ɪdʒ/ B2	noun - a long journey, especially by sea or in space
seek /siːk/ A2	verb - to look for or try to find
dance /dæns/ A2	verb - to move rhythmically to music
story /ˈstɔː.ri/ A2	noun - a narrative or account of events

Key Grammar Structures

• A mariner under a sky moonlit

  ➔ Past participle as adjective

  ➔ The word "moonlit" is the past participle of "moonlight" used as an adjective to describe the sky.

• My waves they kiss every shore I land

  ➔ Subject-verb inversion (poetic license), Relative clause with omitted relative pronoun

  ➔ The usual word order would be "My waves kiss every shore I land on". The relative pronoun "on" or "where" is implied.

• Steep cliffs will mock my waving hand

  ➔ Personification

  ➔ Giving human qualities ("mock") to non-human things (cliffs).

• Light a beacon so I can navigate

  ➔ Subordinating conjunction "so" expressing purpose

  ➔ "So" introduces the reason for lighting a beacon - to be able to navigate. "So that" can be used interchangebly.

• Bring me to life

  ➔ Imperative

  ➔ This is a direct command or request.

• To them who dance in the daylight

  ➔ Relative clause with "who"

  ➔ "Who" refers to people.

• Here raining ash to cover the dead

  ➔ Present participle "raining" as a reduced relative clause, infinitive of purpose "to cover"

  ➔ The sentence implies "Here is ash raining to cover the dead." The verb 'raining' acts as an adjective modifying 'ash'. The infinitive 'to cover' explains the purpose of the ash.

• Friends who were for a time

  ➔ Relative clause with "who"

  ➔ "Who" introduces a relative clause modifying "Friends".

• You who glow in deepest woe

  ➔ Relative clause with "who"

  ➔ "Who" refers to a person or persons being addressed.