I see this as a development of the theme "better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all". An old man, nearing the end of his own life, with memories of a past love. Now he has given up hope for himself, but gains his satisfaction by providing a guiding beacon to others. "Anchor to the water" is to me, a sea too deep to reach the seabed - nothing to hold on to. The song and its setting in a Celtic musical theme is from my understanding (and it might be wrong) originated by Marco, but that he struggled to finish, so brought it to Tuomas for help in completing it, and this is the result. The music video for this is the first time that Troy appeared in a Nightwish video - and it is right for him to be included even though he was not a member of Nightwish at that time, but his contribution to this song is huge, with his lifelong love of Celtic music and the instruments associated with it - in this case, he uses both the low and small whistles, and his voice is unmistakable. Whether he is playing the Irish bouzouki or simply rhythm guitar in that style I would leave to an expert in those instruments. He is well capable of both (and many more besides. And only he could be playing the uilleann pipes! The cut-down live version is amazing, and Marco's stage presence and personality really shine, along with his brilliance on guitar as well as his more usual bass. He manages to make a pretty decent-sized stadium feel intimate like everyone was sitting around him in a pub, or maybe a living room. The words in Finnish are when he invites the audience to sing along with him. At the start (which you missed) he introduces it by saying "it looks as if the other weasels have doubled back and left me on my own, so we have quite a situation here - 20 thousand people and change, but only one with a guitar, so I suppose I'd better come up with something".

It's a shame, though understandable, that you skipped Marco's introduction. Brings the whole performance into focus. And you meet The Weasels! 🤣 But a wonderful breakdown, as always.

This is kind of a silly thought, but could the part of albatross be a reference to Junnu Vainio? He was a finnish songmaker, excellent storyteller who has a song by that title. That song is basically a story about a man who regrets not going to the sea with his friend and choosing an unfullfilling life instead. Lyrics are basically storyteller talking to their friend who left. The chorus goes, roughly translated, "the albatross, gliding freely, is your soul, sailor, who knows..".

Bit of a late comment but regarding the comments of Marko's contribution to the songwriting, I HIGHLY recommend you check out his own band Tarot from a while back...they're sadly inactive and presumed to be done with now that he's stepped out of the music industry a bit and their drummer died in 2016, but the albums "Crows Fly Black" and "Gravity of Light" (especially the latter) contain some incredible songwriting from him. To pick out one song, "Gone" sums it up the best in my opinion.

Je suis tombé en amour avec Nightwish début 2021. J'étais vraiment sous l'emprise du band lorsque j'ai vu cette publication Facebook qui disait "Farewell Marko.." alors qu'il quittait le groupe. Cette magnifique performance accompagnait la publication. Je ne pourrais dire à quel point l'émotion m'a envahit, et elle ne m'a jamais quittée depuis. J'aurai toujours une larme pour cette solide performance 🌹 Merci Guylain! 🤟🖐️

Very nice analysis. The song "Last Of The Wilds" also has lyrics. In Finnish as "Erämaan Viimeinen". You can find the video on KZfaq with English subtitles.

Between the line "he sets the sail one last time saying farewell to the world" and "Anchor to the water, seabed far below" a time has passed. In any anchorage the seabed would not be "far below" in this sense. Some may be "deep" but "far below" is out at sea. Anchor to the water means he’s reach the destination he set. That destination being his death. To me, this is all about a life of duty well lived. A wife grown old and passed, children grown and out living their own lives. Not so much ability to visit or communicate. He has served his duty in life faithfully and is now at the end. And he faces his rest without fear. 💙💙💙All Hail Floor !! 💙💙💙 Infantryman-Nightwish Army. US Regiment. Kentucky Battalion RIP Ann Waychoff-Commanding General-Nightwish Army

The performance in Tampere is "Chef's Kiss". Troy's flute weaving in and out and around the vocals is superb. This performance is proof that Marco can rightly wear a t-shirt with the slogan "Floor Jansen is my backup singer!"

I´m watching from Portugal. Congratulations for yours great reviews.

comment oublier une telle chanson, la belle voix de Marco et les instruments de Troy, les images de Nightwish avec Tarja ne sont pas des erreurs, la personne a très bien compris le sens des paroles. Un vieil homme solitaire qui a la nostalgie d'un temps fort lointain. Oui le Nightwish avec Tarja est tellement lointain , il appartient définitivement au passé. Sauf erreur, c'est à partir de cet album que Troy apparait dans l'univers de Nightwish. Cette chanson semble tellement autobiographique , du sentiment intérieur de Tuomas, après tous les reproches et injures reçus après le départ de Tarja, ce "farwell to the world" laisse penser qu'il a pu penser au suicide , cette idée on la retrouve dans "The Poet and the pandelum". Les chansons de cette album ressemble à une sorte de thérapie pour lui. Il vivait un conte de fée, il était adulé , peut-être était-il enfermé dans une tour d’ivoire comme cela arrive à beaucoup d’artistes puis il est devenu un invisible pour la plupart des anciens fans , ceux qui s'accrochent au premier Nighwish, car ce qu'il compose aujourd’hui ne les intéresse pas est puisque ce n’est pas Tarja qui chante, ce n'est pas le vrai Nigtwish , il est invisible à leurs yeux. Peut-être attendait-il un pardon de leur part pour se sentir mieux avec lui-même

The quality here makes me so happy, both in the song and in your analisys. Thank you

Thank you for another great analysis, I always learn something from them. "Anchor to the water, seabed far below": The old man has reached his harbour: death. But an anchor is also a symbol for stability and hope, so "anchor to the water" means Tuomas is placing these into his (ocean) soul. This is a similar theme as in The Poet and the Pendulum: The old person dies, but there is hope and a rebirth (Meadows of Heaven).

"He sets the sails one last time saying farewell to the world" Perhaps this was his journy to the lighthouse island. Dropping anchor when he arrived.

It is going to be awesome Friday! The Islander premiere on my birthday, 38 times around the sun!! :) This life with Nightwish in it, a magical journey to feel truly being alive

It's always such a joy to listen to your musings. 😊

Um, Donne says "NO man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent". Nice analysis even if I have other interpretations. It's always interesting to see another interpretation and one of Tuomas' great characteristics is the ability to write in a way that can be interpreted by everyone in their own way. Agree - this is much better live (as so often with Nightwish).

As you probably know, watching your channel, almost all those son gs are played live with Floor. Annette did a musical video of the islander..well I won't badmouth it! you'll enjoy the live version at Tampere! God Bless you.

Thank you again for my Saturday morning breakfast date with you and those who participate in the live chat makes for a good start to the day always enjoy the new light shed on NW lyrics and different points that come from discussion Looking forward to next week I love the boys on stage together in Last of the Wilds I get such a different feeling from it with the interaction between them and just the music it’s different I think than in a song with lyrics See you all the same time next week from Australia

This was the first Nightwish track I heard, I was searching on KZfaq for something by Evanescence and The Islander popped up, It was Marko's voice that hooked me, I got the album but it never really did much for me, I played it occasionally but not often, it was not until I heard the group with Floor as the lead vocalist that I got hooked on the whole group. Thank you for your excellent analysis.

Hi Guylain, the islander is one of my favorite ballads and not only by NW, I love the music video too with the members by the fire 🔥🔥 exactly how Tuomas imagined his band, before it changed direction after her voice change Tarja, more operatic, different from when she was in music school. I agree with your analysis, the old islander isolated in the wind and the waves is Tumas of course, he feels that way, he gives the light, lights the lighthouse, leads the people but he himself feels isolated, here maybe he means the band members and the his fans. He left his tears behind and continues to give hope and light to their hearts. There was a time when there was a princess in his life and joy, his life had given him everything, now it is a deep memory, there is still pain but he left the tears behind but there is light at the end of the world. Wonderful poetry, music and performance. A lot even today Troy is blamed for the change in the musical direction of NW, more folk I really like this era, yes it's different but diversity is something I like and it doesn't scare me and Troy is a strong musician , I also love the band he created with Tuomas and his wife Johanna called "Auri"i love their two albums as well. The last of the wilds is instrumental but there is a Finnish version of the song with lyrics, which was only released in Finland and called "Eramaan viimeinen" with the Finnish singer Jonnsu with violin insist pipes if i remember well. I will leave the link below 👇 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qKddi6yJ3pvap2g.html Thank you for Tampere's version Guylain,i feel still pain when i see Marko's performance. Have a nice weekend.

Watch the official video clip as well as the live performance at Tampere

Personally, I interpret that the anchor is let loose and left behind to the bottom of the sea with no intention of returning as the old man leaves the shores. Maybe the old man is hopeful to see what is beyond or intends to make a last voyage before dying. I had a darker interpretation before like going to the bottom of the sea with the anchor, but connecting with other songs like you suggested makes me rethink that: I didn't notice the similarities before you pointed them out, thanks for this!

If you get your guitar out and play along, you'll notice that the live version is shifted up a key compared to the album version. From memory I think I had to go to drop b tuning for the album version.

A beautiful song by Marko and The Weasels! And while Floor makes for a great backup singer, the music video with Annette (and the reverse campfire) is also spectacular.

it's odd not seeing Annette since she sang it, I understand she told nightwish no photos of her.

This was with Anette Olzon after Tarja. Yes, not as good as this one from Tanpere 2015. Although I watched the official music video with Anette and it was good. Always love your reactions. Thank You!

I get the impression that all these Windows Movie Maker lyric video creators pay no attention to details and aren't willing to pour even a little bit of effort to make the video look good. Great song, though.

To be honest I skipped most of this. Marco and Floor makes me happy