I didn't even think of the Walt Whitman poem until the very end...what a great addition. Very cool experience!

This is a fan made video in tribute to Ann Waychoff, Godmother of the Nightwish Army, upon her passing. Ann started the tradition of providing reactors new to the band background information, a tradition that General Gabriel has nobly and expertly carried on in her honor. Song of Myself was her favorite song. The video is a mash up of the live performance from Wacken and the fan made lyric video of the spoken word section at the end of the song from the album. The spoken words are a poem composed by Tuomas in tribute to Walt Whitman whose poem, Song of Myself, is the inspiration for this song. Normally the spoken word section is not performed live but is displayed on the big video screen behind the band. RIP Ann. 🕯

This song has become the official tribute to Ann Waychoff who was known as the Nightwish mom.

For me, the line read by Tuomas in the poem "Careless realism costs souls" is of horrifying lucidity. The whole poem has on me the effect of a punch in the plexus. This, after one of the longest breakdowns in metal, in the hypnotic live performance from the concert.

RIP Ann Waychoff, mother of the Nightwish Army. This was a fan-made video, combining the live performance from Wacken with Floor, with a lyric video of the latter portion which was on the studio version on the album, read by band members, family and friends. The prose portion was not played live. Gem, (G to e minor) was also a name of a character in the film Imaginaerum. Keep exploring Nightwish.

“And There, Forever Remains That Change From G to E minor” R.I.P. Ann Waychoff

R.IP ANN WAYCHOFF SHE WAS .THE GOOD SOUL OF THE NIGHTWISH ARMEE. GABRIEL DO HIS WORK IN HER MEMORY. 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

For Ann,R.i.P dear, we miss you 🤘❤️🤘

Favorite song of the late Ann Waychoff, Mother of the Nightwish Army. Inspired by the 19th century , 52 chapter poem of the same name by Walt Whitman. You have the full version, cool. A fan made video that attached the spoken poem section from the album to the live video. It was written by Tuomas in an ode to the original poem, and voiced by 'friends and family' Voices include Troy, Tuomas' father, and I think, Johanna Kurkela, Tuomas' wife. The poem line that is most notable to me is 'Death is the Winner in any War' Marko left for personal reasons. His resignation letter is on the Nightwish website. Just search 'Marko resignation letter'

Marko dropped out due to depression, burnout. He has his own YT channel as well as interviews of others and goes into the issues. He is doing much better now.

RIP Ann Waychoff, we will never forget you... And my mother, she passed away just one day after Ann.

Marco had MH issues going on, and said he just couldn't do it anymore. He even said he felt like he was dragging the band down towards the end. He also did not like leaving his family so long for the long tours, and the business side was pissing him off.

Oh you gonna love this .....The Dark Galadriel is waiting

R.I.P Ann Waychoff mother of the Nightwish Army. June 28th, 2020 This is your song. If you ever have to explain the Groove in Metal to someone - play this tune. Until the Breakdown hits you with a 10 ton hammer it is all fun and games. But then the slow chugging monster with the machine gun riffing takes over. And for every Metal Head this lights up the day. Awesome….Imho one of the best songs ever. Sometimes the sky is piano black…. Floor Jansen, First of Her Name, Queen of the Valkyries and Stonehenge, Lady of Nightwish and Protector of our Metal Realm. Long may she reign. Bow, mortal !

That line because there's no fear in a dream hits me right in the chest

An was the head of the Nightwish army and she sadly passed away. This was her favourite Nightwish song. the dedication of the song was to her. I love that nightwish recognises the Nightwish army of fans out there. Ive been an army memeber for 12 years x

Great to see the Walt Whitman poem in this reaction, most don't have this version. A deep and meaningful poem

I an writing this before you play and react This song has an extended version as well, it is a poem like thing where different people say things about their lives and everything between. It's made for ultimate Nightwish fan called Ann Waychoff. She was NW army leader and Gabriel got the honor to lead us with Ann's blessing. Gabriel has really done the job of leading us NW fans and you Reactirs very well. Thx for your reaction, Jani from Finnish brigade reporting to WrightgeousJ's chanbel

My favorite thing in the video is when Emppu just lets his guitar feedback while drinking a beer ( 7:35 )

Tuomas keyboard player composer is unique one of the greatest song writer of our times mix with the best musicians and singers you have nightwish R.I.P. Ann God bless

Thank you so much ❣️ ... sometimes you don't need word's ... you only need a ❤️ I think... Much Love from Germany to everyone 🥰

Marco, in an interview he gave in summer 2022, said that he left the band because his depression and despondency from the pressure of playing in such a big band as Nightwish limited the band during the making of their last album. He said he wouldn't come back because he didn't want to be an anchor for the team. I miss him so much, I miss him so much during concerts. Floor kind of sad, subdued... Mrco come back please...

R.I.P Ann

Very few reactors listen to the poem part of this song. Im glad you did. Great reaction.

"And there forever remains that change from G to E minor” G and E minor" are parallel musical scales exactly the same pitches like two sides of of a coin - Hapiness and sadness are coexisting parts of our life. Tuomas described this lyric as celebration of life with all it's beautiful and dark sides simultaneously. (NB - one of the main characters from the Imaginaerum movie is called Ge = (G+em)

Thank you for for playing the whole song to the end

"this is really unique" - every Nightwish song in a Nutshell :)

One of the few reactions out there that did the full version with the poem. Well done man!! Can't wait for more Nightwish in your channel. Let me share some suggestions on your next steps of this journey: Storytime (live at Wacken) Everdream (live at Wacken) 7 days to the wolves (live at Wembley) My Walden (live at Wembley) The Islander (live at Tampere) Stargazers (live at Tampere) Dead boy's poem (live at Buenos Aires) Devil and the deep dark ocean (live at Buenos Aires) Phantom of the opera (End of an era live) High hopes (Pink Floyd cover in End of an era live) I have only one advice for your journey. When the time comes for the two masterpieces 'Poet and the pendulum' and 'The greatest show on earth' please make a little research before and watch it with lyrics. It will add so much more to the experience. Greetings from Nightwish army Greece department 🤘🇬🇷

The song has two meanings: First, it refers to the poem of the same name by Walt Whitman. On the other hand, the album Imaginaerum is the music for the Nightwish film of the same name. In this one, a father and musician has become estranged from his daughter because he never spoke openly to her. When he falls ill with dementia, he begins to write down everything he always wanted to say to her, but never said. Shortly before his death, his daughter finds what he has written. The father lost most of his memories and can no longer talk to her. Only what he wrote down still exists.

You were wondering about "remains the Change from G to E minor". As a musician, you'll love this. When you're writing or composing music, you have what key you want the song to be in. Well, if you look at the key of the song, G major (which has one sharp: G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G) , the relative minor to the key of G major, is E minor (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D-E). If switching from G major to E minor, there is no change in the notes you are playing..

The change from G to Em makes way more sense once you have watched their movie Imaginaerum. It makes this song so much more special.

Welcome back to Nightwish! This song has a little bit of everything in it! Enjoy!

WrighteousJ???? I really love your humble reactions to Nightwish and Floor. You're a singer. A great one. But you have the heart to tell what you feeling about the song, the band, the singer. You're a great reactor. Thanks for having the courage to react to another bands/singers.❤🤘❤🤘❤🤘❤🤘❤🤘❤🤘❤🤘❤🤘❤🤘

Thank you for enjoying the full experience! RIP, Ann W.

Marko's first statement was that he no longer wanted to be exploited commercially by investors and was therefore leaving the music scene. He later said he had been suffering from depression for years and his doctors couldn't find a cure. In the meantime he would have a different diagnosis and medication that would help. He has not had any contact with the band since his retirement. And he would be fed up with endless travel and hotels. At that point he was already back at festivals in Finland. Sometimes with Northern Kings, sometimes alone. In the meantime he has announced a small tour in Finland and that he wants to be active again permanently. I hope someone has contacted him by now and who he should be active with again. Floor would need a singing partner for her spring tour...

"All that forever remains is the change from G to Em." Best describes that moment. The difference of perfect and almost perfect.

I read a fairly recent interview with Marco explaining why he decided to quit Nightwish. The short version is that he had bern suffering from recurring depression for years and ehrn the pandemic hit he just couldn’t deal with it. So he decided it was time to quit and I think he did the right thing. He ended it on hos terms and he did it before he created a rupture in the relationship to the other band members. This way he didn’t have to loose some of his dearest friends. Had he pushed on he might have gone the same way Tarja or Annette did. And I think that those experiences greatly affected his decisions, because those situations can’t have been easy to handle or process. As for the song, it really is a piece of art paying homage to another piece of art in the most beautiful way possible. I really liked that you did the full version, not many people do that and I think that is a great shame. People really need to take more time to appreciate art and it’s beauty. Thank you for this reaction, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Keep them coming! 🤘❤️

Another great reaction, including the narration of the Whitman poem (which was not played live but on the album). Loved it.

This song is for You Ann (mother of Nightwish Army) R.I.P 🤘😔🤘 Your flame and passion lives on in Us 🤘🔥🤘. Ann Waychoff was known by many as the Nightwish Mom. She would give comments to people who reacted to Nightwish videos to try and help the reactors understand and she would tirelessly exchange comments with people who wanted to know more. She also communicated privately with a large number of fans and reactors (we know now from the tributes.). kzfaq.info?search_query=ann+waychoff will show how many knew her and how many liked her enough to spend hours making videos about her/dedicated to her. For me this song has some serious Pantera vibes 🤘🔥🤘. Pure fire and great song!!! NWSU .

This performance is an amalgam of the Wacken performance + the poem at the end of the album version. The original was performed by Anette.

The poem is by Tuomas, inspired by Walt Whitman's poem of the same name. It is read by the family and friends of Nightwish. On every album this century Nightwish have had one 10+ minute song, but it doesn't make sense to perform the poem live so the length of this song gets cut down to something more "normal". Glad you enjoyed it!

Nightwish videos never seem long. You always want more.

Thanks!! for reaction to the spoken words to, many reactors dont, and its a pity, because its a beautiful poem, that could make you think and wonder about stuff.. Marko left the band, to take care of hes own health, he is a older man, being on tiur is a hard life, and i think he made the only right choice for himself, to stop, before destroying himself, and spend more time with family instead, even every NW fan will miss him, its only right thing..

Ann 🧚‍♀️💖

Thank you for watching the entire video, a lot of reactors quit after the singing stops. I loved all the times you felt compelled to rewatch parts (more watching time for us, too). Other posters have given you links to an interview Marko did with Chaoszine where Marko explains some of what he's been going through. The letter he released to fans to announce his departure from Nightwish is posted on his KZfaq channel. He did a fairly recent interview with Chaoszine about being a frontman and he seems to be doing much better.

Great to see someone react to the full version. Live part and studio ending. RIP Ann.

“Wacken Open Air ……” I keep saying that out loud as the song ends. Now I have to go listen to “Last Ride of the Day”

I miss Marko and hearing him sing in Nightwish. It seems he was really struggling with depression for a long time and recently he's been diagnosed with ADHD so I might not be surprised if there's some degree of burnout also in the mix for him that he wasn't aware of. But I don't think he would have gotten that diagnosis if he stayed in the band tbh. He seems to be doing better now.

Hey bro!! Good reaction!!! There's no much to say. This is pure poetry. Thanks. Greettings from Argentina

R.I.P. Ann Waychoff … the full studio CEO was her favorite song. I think she would have enjoyed your reaction especially including the full piece via audio. Well done.👍

Great reaction. This was song 14 of the Wacken concert, right after Ghost Love Score. I have many favorite NW songs depending on my mood, but this G em (pun intended) is always in my top 10. I love the lyrics as well, the reference to piano black 🖤 that is truly as black as it can get. The whole poem is projected on the screen behind the band when they perform this, hence "remains the change from G to Em". As many people have said this was Ann Waychoff's favorite song, she will live and will always be remembered when this song is played. My next suggestion for you would be Dead boy's poem (Argentina 2015) there is a reference in the chorus of this song to that one.

Thank you for your reaction 💚. I'm Nightwish fan from Finland...and I like your reactions and please go back and watch again so many times as you want🙂. Waiting for the next one 😋🙃. Greetings from Finland 🙋‍♀️⛄️.

Hi Jordan, far as I know (and wtf do I know) Marko had a cluster of problems leading up to his departure. He has been plagued by returning depressions for a long time, probably dysthymia. He's also had a very close personal loss in ... '21 I think. Then he had beef with the record company over the percentages they take over things, but especially over merchandise as they did nothing for it, but still took a percentage. Furthermore, he was with NW for a long time and wanted to do something different. All together made him leave. He had aready taken part in 'The Masked Singer Finland' and I think he even won it and now he's in the supergroup 'Northern Kings' and maybe he's also still in 'Tarot'. And ofcourse he's participating in Arjen Lucassen's 'Ayreon' projects. If you don't know Ayreon, you really should listen to some of his (and theirs) work. "The Day That The World Breaks Down" would give you a good start and "Eye of Ra" a fantastic ending. But there's *a lot* in between. Be careful! It's another rabitt hole! 😁

Can't wait for this. An hour until the good times roll.

This was the song after Floor did her Ghost Love Story, they had been playing for about One hour and twenty minutes. Did Last Ride after this for their closing song. That's Marko singing with Floor, Tuomas is the keyboard player.

YES! nice reaction! Love how you, not only pay attention to just the lead singer, but also the rest of the band and other small details!

With Nightwish....sometimes just saying, " That was awesome!" is all you need to say.

You should really check out Ghost River

I have seen so many reactions now, you are the first one who opened my eyes to that great lyrics in the end.. That makes you extraordinary for me. AND it shows me once again what a great composer/writer Tuomas is, unbelievable for sure!

Marco left because of mental health issues and Nightwish was a lot of stress. He did not want to limit others, took some time off the public life and now does smaller venues with his own projects.

Yep, my No 2. GEm - the name of the girl in the Imaginaerum movie, the album this song came from. "Sometimes the within is piano black" - the whole section is titled "Piano Black". Great description of depression.

Great job mate! Keep em nightwish reactions coming! 😍

The Song of Myself is amazingly powerful

Thanks for reacting to this one! It's a favorite. Your reactions are great. I like the musical analysis throughout, and how you're focusing on every little part of a song, and might comment on vocals here, or the drumming there. You mentioned that you always love a good breakdown, so I think I'll recommend 7 Days to the Wolves next. Great breakdown, and Floor has said that it is her favorite Nightwish song. If you do have a listen to Lovebites, while I recommended Holy War, live at Zepp, for the overall feel of the band and Asami's range etc, I think maybe you'd really enjoy Thunder Vengeance (live from Zepp) and Break the Wall. They have my favorite breakdowns of theirs, but like Nightwish, there's so much to choose from, and it is all so good.

Marko was not feeling well and had to fight with long term Depressions. Its sad but NW moves on.

My favorite!!

one of my favorite nightwish songs

WrighteousJ, as always.....keep them coming your reactions. Nice to hear a man who knows what he is talking about. Greetings from The Netherlands!

A legendary Concert and FLOOR.. The Legendary Goddess Singer.😍💯🤘🔥👸

Thank you for reaction for whole piece.

This song is just so epic!

Bewitching! perfect summary, great reaction x

“The change from G to Em” pays off even better on the album, as it’s immediately followed by an sweeping upswell of strings as the title track starts - in and of itself, an instrumental suite of the whole album I’ve listened to this concert many, many times, but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen the live video of SoM … there’s a perfect moment in the outro where Floor is perfectly framed by the pyro hitting on the end of break, I think it was the second or third of the four big hits. Literally and figuratively 🔥

i love going on this Nightwish journey with you :)

My favourite shapeshifter 🤗🤩

Thank you for doing the whole song

such a great reaction you notice everything in the song even the little keythings before the last part . and the first reactor who does the last part thanks for that . funny though you do a lot of mmmm

Great reaction with that whitman poem!! THNX!

Hey bro!!! No worlds. I'm in tears. Good reaction. Thanks. Greettings from Argentina

thx for the react.. good..? my opinion FloorJansen= most versatile, talented female vocalist the planet has to offer right now. ROCK ON!

I saw most of your reactions of NW some times and appreciate very much that you know what you are talking about. Thanks. I am sure you are a great performer as well

Yessss, finally back with a NW reaction!!

Nightwish is still missing Marco. He was the secret weapon of the band. I know Troy is trying to fill his shoes as is Floor. But the loss is monumental. Hopefully one day he will return but what a shame if he never does.

Marco and his wife have little girl baby. Marko is 56 years old young man. 20 years round over 4:08 the world’s 15 times. Now he want to be a home papa

One of my favorites ❣️

One of their most iconic songs, and with Floor the best performance of it. unfortunately I have never seen it performed after Wacken, but who cares as it can not get better than this❤ For me there are NW songs that are bound to a specific concert, this is one of them that belongs to Wacken 2013 together with storytime. For Wembley 2015: shudder before the beautiful, seven days to the wolfs and there magnum opus the poet and the pendulum. For Tampere 2015: the greatest show on earth and stargazers, for Buenos Aires 2018: dead boys’ poem, the devil and the deep dark ocean.

Beautiful

Nightwish, Floor, Marko a gift to us all. 🙏😊♥️

What to say... It's EPIIIIC!

🤩👌💥💯 "Silent symphony...." (not really)...Turns around and outta be a pre-painted lyrical canvas. Cool you took this particular piece under the view, despite the live part is already quite impactful. 🤘😎 🇫🇮 💙

Bewitching is the perfect word.

Brilliant 👌💥💜🔥⚡🌹

This is my favorite

there is SO MUCH more that melodies and notes in the compositions of Tuomas,,he draws from his soul and the souls of the greats..

You should watch The Islander live from Nightwish. To get an idea what Marco (The guitarist and singer) is capable of!

Yes.

🎶 Nightwish Live at Wacken Open Air 2013 🎶 Correct speed - FullHD - Remastered 🎶( kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o-CTrJaSntecj2Q.html ) Setlist: 1. Dark Chest of Wonders, 2. Wish I Had an Angel, 3. She is My Sin, 4. Ghost River, 5. Ever Dream, 6. Storytime, 7. I Want My Tears Back, 8. Nemo, 9. Last of the Wilds, 10. Bless the Child, 11. Romanticide, 12. Amaranth, 13. Ghost Love Score, 14. Song of Myself, 15. Last Ride of the Day

That growly base, tho?! 😎👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️❤️❤️

Marko left because of different reasons. Especially he didn't like the hassle touring all over the world. Being forced spending lots of time with his family during lockdown increased these feelings even more. Also the way the music industry has developed nowadays bothered him very much. There are some interviews with him to find on KZfaq about his departure.

epic!!!