Storytime – English Lyrics

• By: Nightwish
• Album: Imaginarium

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a captivating journey with Nightwish's "Storytime," a masterful example of symphonic metal that blends powerful storytelling with enchanting melodies. This song is perfect for language learners as its clear vocals and narrative lyrics, rich with fantastical allusions, offer an engaging way to connect with English vocabulary and poetic expression. Dive into the imaginative world crafted by Nightwish and discover how music can bring stories to life.

[English]

It was the night before

When all through the world

No words, no dreams

Then one day

A writer by a fire

Imagined all of Gaia

Took a journey into a child-man's heart...

A painter on the shore

Imagined all the world

Within a snowflake on his palm

Unframed by poetry

A canvas of awe

Planet Earth falling back into the stars

I am the voice of Never, Never Land

The innocence, the dreams of every man

I am the empty crib of Peter Pan

A silent kite against the blue, blue sky

Every chimney, every moonlit sight

I am the story that will read you real

Every memory that you hold dear

I am the journey

I am the destination

I am the home

The tale that reads you

A way to taste the night

The elusive high

Follow the madness

Alice you know once did

Imaginarium, a dream emporium!

Caress the tales

And they will dream you real

A storyteller's game

Lips that intoxicate

The core of all life is a limitless chest of tales...

I am the voice of Never, Never Land

The innocence, the dreams of every man

I am the empty crib of Peter Pan

A silent kite against the blue, blue sky

Every chimney, every moonlit sight

I am the story that will read you real

Every memory that you hold dear

I am the voice of Never, Never Land

The innocence, the dreams of every man

Searching heavens for another earth...

Neverland, innocence, dreams of every man.

Neverland, innocence, every man, Peter Pan

I am the voice of Never, Never Land

The innocence, the dreams of every man

I am the empty crib of Peter Pan

A silent kite against the blue, blue sky

Every chimney, every moonlit sight

I am the story that will read you real

Every memory that you hold dear

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
dreams /driːmz/ A2	noun - a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep verb - to indulge in a daydream or fantasy
fire /ˈfaɪər/ A1	noun - combustion or burning, in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke
journey /ˈdʒɜːrni/ B1	noun - an act of traveling from one place to another verb - travel somewhere
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation
shore /ʃɔːr/ B1	noun - the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or other large body of water
poetry /ˈpoʊətri/ B2	noun - literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm
falling /ˈfɔːlɪŋ/ A2	verb - move downward, typically rapidly and freely under the force of gravity
voice /vɔɪs/ A2	noun - the sound produced in a person's larynx and uttered through the mouth, as speech or song
innocence /ˈɪnəsəns/ B2	noun - the state of being innocent of a crime or offense
silent /ˈsaɪlənt/ B1	adjective - not making or accompanied by any sound
kite /kaɪt/ A2	noun - a toy consisting of a light frame with thin material stretched over it, flown in the wind at the end of a long string
chimney /ˈtʃɪmni/ B1	noun - a vertical channel or pipe that conducts smoke and combustion gases up from a fire or furnace and typically through the roof of a building
moonlit /ˈmuːnlɪt/ B2	adjective - lit by the moon
memory /ˈmeməri/ A2	noun - the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information
tale /teɪl/ B1	noun - a fictitious or true narrative or story, especially one that is imaginatively recounted
madness /ˈmædnəs/ B2	noun - the state of being mentally ill
caress /kəˈres/ B2	verb - touch or stroke gently or lovingly
lips /lɪps/ A2	noun - each of the two fleshy parts forming the upper and lower edges of the mouth.

Key Grammar Structures

• No words, no dreams

  ➔ Correlative conjunctions "no ... no ..."

  ➔ Uses "no ... no ..." to emphasize the negation of two related ideas.

• Imagined all of Gaia

  ➔ Past simple tense used for completed actions in the past

  ➔ The verb "imagined" indicates a completed action in the past.

• A painter on the shore

  ➔ Prepositional phrase indicating location

  ➔ Uses "on the shore" to specify the location where the painter is.

• Within a snowflake on his palm

  ➔ Prepositional phrase "Within" indicating something inside

  ➔ The phrase "Within a snowflake" describes a snowflake as containing or being inside something.

• I am the voice of Never, Never Land

  ➔ Present simple tense with "am" for identity or description

  ➔ The verb "am" indicates the present tense of "to be" used for identity.

• Follow the madness

  ➔ Imperative verb form "Follow" for commands or instructions

  ➔ Uses the imperative form "Follow" to give a command or encouragement.

• The core of all life is a limitless chest of tales

  ➔ The verb "is" linking the subject to the complement, expressing a definition or essence

  ➔ The verb "is" functions as a linking verb that equates the subject with its complement.