Under A Glass Moon

Album: Images And Words (1992)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci wrote the lyric to "Under A Glass Moon," which runs 7:03 - not an unusual length for the band. The song is rich in imagery; we hear about "liquid shadows" and "silver teardrops." The storyline is open to interpretation.

    Speaking with Songfacts in a 2020 interview, Petrucci said: "That song I wrote while I was listening to the song, trying to think of lyrical content. I went out in my car, sat in my car at night during a rainstorm, and I just got all this imagery. There was a full moon out, it was raining. I just came up with the title and started writing from there."
  • This is part of Images And Words, the band's second album, and their first with lead singer James LaBrie. After forming at Berklee College of Music in 1986, the band signed to a small label and released their debut album, When Dream And Day Unite, in 1989. It went nowhere, but they were able to get a deal with a bigger label, Atco, which released Images And Words in 1992. The album defied expectations, selling about 600,000 copies in America and establishing Dream Theater as one of the top progressive metal bands (along with Queensrÿche). It was not all wine and roses in the aftermath: Atco was absorbed into East West, which was absorbed into Elektra, which drove the band to the brink when they pushed for a hit on their 1997 album Falling Into Infinity. The band survived the ordeal and were later given total control of their work, which they used to keep pushing their musical boundaries.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.

Actors With Hit Songs

Actors With Hit SongsMusic Quiz

Many actors have attempted music, but only a few have managed a hit. Do you know which of these thespians charted?

Movie Stars In Music Videos

Movie Stars In Music VideosSong Writing

Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis and John Malkovich are just a few of the film stars who have moonlighted in music videos.

Famous Singers' First Films

Famous Singers' First FilmsSong Writing

A look at the good (Diana Ross, Eminem), the bad (Madonna, Bob Dylan) and the peculiar (David Bowie, Michael Jackson) film debuts of superstar singers.

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of WayneSongwriter Interviews

The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."