Castle Walls

Dennis DeYoung

©1977 Almo Music Corp and Stygian Songs

Once in a dream

Far beyond these castle walls

Down by the bay where the moonlit water falls

I stood alone while the minstrel sang his song

So afraid I'd lost my soul

There in the fog his song kept calling me

Leading me on with its haunting melody

Deep in my heart a voice kept echoing

I knew I'd soon be wandering

Far beyond these castle walls

Where the distant harbor meets the sky

There the battle raged like hell

And every dove had lost its will to fly

Far beyond these castle walls

Where I thought I heard Tiresias say

Life is never what it seems

And every man must meet his destiny

About the song:

Tiresias: According to Greek Mythology, Tiresias was a blind prophet. Also mentioned in Dante's Inferno, where in hell Tiresias must exist with his head backwards, since in life he looked forward into the future. (Find out more about Tiresias at Wikipedia)
 
Dennis DeYoung has mentioned that he was inspired by the movie The Exorcist when he wrote Castle Walls. The synthesizer interlude in the middle of the song indeed sounds like Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, which was used in The Exorcist.
Listen to a clip of Castle Walls vs. Tubular Bells:      
This inspiration also seems to appear at the beginning and end of Double Life, a song written by James Young released on Kilroy Was Here.
Listen to a clip of Double Life vs. Tubular Bells:      

Interesting side fact: Tubular Bells was initially rejected by many record labels. Richard Branson took the chance, and the song was the first release for Virgin Records.