I Walk Beside You

Album: Octavarium (2005)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about always being there for someone. "I walk beside you" is saying I'll back you up in your decisions and support you. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Chris - Plainfield, IN
  • Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci wrote the lyric. Along with drummer Mike Portnoy, he wrote most of the lyrics for the band, although lead singer James LaBrie wrote the words to the Octavarium track "Sacrificed Sons," which deals with 9/11.

    "I Walk Beside You" is one of the more accessible Dream Theater songs, running just 4:29 (very short by their standards) with a standard pop song structure and a straightforward lyric about interpersonal relations. After their previous album, the metal-heavy Train of Thought, they wanted to put some songs on Octavarium that could get airplay. This one sounds as close to U2 as Dream Theater would ever come.

Comments: 1

  • Marco from Guatemala, GuatemalaJohn Petrucci wrote the lyrics and I think it´s an uplifting and beautiful song
see more comments

Editor's Picks

When Rock Belonged To Michelob

When Rock Belonged To MichelobSong Writing

Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.

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."

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?