The Open Door, track #12
Written By: Amy Lee and John LeCompt

LIVE @ VH1.com (mp3 rip from video) (http://evanescencereference.info/music/etc/All%20That%20I%27m%20Living%20For%20%28Live%20%40% 20VH1.com%29.mp3.zip)
R9GhLE0DyV8

The guitar opens this one up. It then makes place for the piano with a heavy riff. (We notice the reference to the previous album title Fallen, which has been carved onto our memories forever). Indisputably the 4th highlight of the album.

Credit for translation goes to julie.

From ToD news (http://www.evboard.com/showthread.php?t=31982) thread.



From Metal Edge Magazine:

The hard rocking “All That I’m Living For” focuses on the band itself. Its genesis came from a realization Lee had one say that her band was her life. “I don’t do anything else,” she says. “I’m writing for the band, touring for the band, doing an interview about the band, or thinking about the next thing I want to write. It’s my life, and I love it, but it’s a love/hate relationship.”


---

"All That I'm Living For"
An opening salvo of guitars keeps up the momentum, in spite of Lee's delicate delivery.
Amy Lee: I love that song. It feels really different for us. The lyrics are about my writing process-how I put the song together, why I do it, and how I'm trying to fix all the things that are wrong with me through music. The first line says, "Save me from the night again/ I can feel the separation from the living." It's always night time when I start writing, just as the dusk is setting.

Source: VH1 (http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1540914/story.jhtml)

--------
ALL THAT I'M LIVING FOR

All that I'm living for
all that I'm dying for
all that I can't ignore alone at night

I can feel the night beginning
separate me from the living
understanding me
after all I've seen
piecing every thought together
find the words to make me better
if I only knew how to pull myself apart

All that I'm living for
all that I'm dying for
all that I can't ignore alone at night
all that I'm wanted for
although I wanted more
lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me

I believe that dreams are sacred
take my darkest fears and play them
like a lullaby
like a reason why
like a play of my obsessions
make me understand the lesson
so I'll find myself
so I wont be lost again

All that I'm living for
all that I'm dying for
all that I can't ignore alone at night
all that I'm wanted for
although I wanted more
lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me

Guess I thought I'd have to change the world
to make you see me
to be the one
I could have run forever
but how for would I have come
without mourning your love?

All that I'm living for
all that I'm dying for
all that I can't ignore alone at night
all that I'm wanted for
although I wanted more
lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me

should it hurt to love you?
should I feel like I do?
should I lock the last open door-
my ghosts are gaining on me

This songs sounds like it'll be so amazing. I can't wait 'til I walk through the open door at Wal-Mart and buy this new CD.

so, ONLY john wrote this song? no help from Amy or anyone else?

lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me


we now know where the title of the album came from :mrgreen:

I thought it was a good thing the door was open.

This is one of my faves, it's catchy, yet deep. ;)

I think this is one of my favorite songs lyrically, even though Amy didn't write it (gasp!). I love how it ends. Nice job John :)

I think this is one of my favorite songs lyrically, even though Amy didn't write it (gasp!). I love how it ends. Nice job John :)
agreed.

John proved that he is an amazing writer and just how much he loves the band and how dedicated he is. Very well done LeCompt! :)

John, you're a genius.

I <3 this song

I love this song so much! Just everything...the melody and harmony...the lyrics....wow. *bows down*

John is a god!!! I love this song. Definitely one of my faves along with others. Was John really the only writer of this song or is he just the only one that is known for sure?

I'm pretty sure I remember Renee on ev.it saying John wrote the music and Amy wrote the lyrics.

I'm pretty sure I remember Renee on ev.it saying John wrote the music and Amy wrote the lyrics.
That's what I thought but I wasn't sure.

it says in the very first post that John wrote the lyrics. and in several articles it mentions it. In the canda interview John even says how much he loved writing it.

The neverending power of dreams. We can't just run away of ourselves. No matter how hard we try to presuade everybody that the past is over and we've forgotten it, it still exists. It comes at night in the dreams and we can't stop it.
I like the word play with the title of the album:
"lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me"
Amy said in some interviews that the open door is a symbol of her freedom to do what she wants with her life and music now (a little too free qoute, but you know what I mean) and we can't see that the ghosts are still alive and "nothing is really forgotten". Well nobody can delete the past. It's always there and the future must be built on its basis.

These lines always get me.

take my darkest fears and play them
like a lullaby

<3

One of the best on the album, it's really one of the highlights. I do love this song to pieces.

Favourite line,

all that I'm wanted for
although I wanted more

I think this is a definite candidate for a single. It's fuckin amazing!

very good job john!!:) its awesome. i think i smell a new single cookin!lol

Does the chorus remind anyone else of CMWYS's chorus?

I love this song! The opening is great, I feel it grabs you right from the beginning. Awesome riff, too. :) I can picture this being a possible single.

Guys, the lyrics were written by Amy alone - John wrote the guitars..;) ;) ;)

I'm excited to hear this one live and see the abrupt shifts between the fierce, guitar-backed vocals and the dreamy, tenebrous melodies. The softer parts of the song make for some of my favorite vocal moments on the CD, if there can be such a thing since they pretty much all rank high <3.

Part of me wants to extract the lines bearing the title of the song + the guitar and just leave the rest. =X

I'm excited to hear this one live and see the abrupt shifts between the fierce, guitar-backed vocals and the dreamy, tenebrous melodies. The softer parts of the song make for some of my favorite vocal moments on the CD, if there can be such a thing since they pretty much all rank high <3.

Totally agree.


piecing every thought together
find the words to make me better

I believe that dreams are sacred
take my darkest fears and play them

beautiful <3

That must be favourite song for the band and Amy.
And because of the fact that its about their lifes in genaral, somehow it makes it most powerful lyrics of the album, in my opp, cuz it must be right from the heart.

'all that I can't ignore alone at night', sounds sad in my ears. but it sounds also, c'est la vie. It sounds like 'life's ups and downs'.
'if I only knew how to pull myself apart', yeah and in that line seems a bit of sad.
(oh,man, i sound like i'm analysing the poem in a damn class. thats cuz i heavent heard tunes yet. the music is what it counts..)

'lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me'.
Yes, give me the core of the album. that line must be the core.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: But its unexpected. Lock the last open door -
I thought Its(album) about opening the closed door but its opposite - Close the open door. or wha?? well, sure thing, if the ghosts are gaining then lock the damn thing. And open it when is clear air.
'Lock the last open door'. Sound sad, cuz its darkness inside (but at least you would know where you stand at). But on the cover is the large open door with the plenty of light outside. so here-there.whats true whats not.
'take my darkest fears and play them
like a lullaby'. i have to agree to that.
'should I lock the last open door-
my ghosts are gaining on me'
yeah, lock the damn thing.:rolleyes:
wao, what a 'philosophical' comment. makes me. wtf.

This song gets stuk in my head. since it's new, I don't care, because I love the new material...but I'm gonna hate it in a few weeks. *ALL THAT I'M LIVIN' FOR! x 29000*

XP

lock the last open door-

i know how to get the album title.lol

wow, go john, i really like this track. gorgeous and hard rock! :) good blend

i know how to get the album title.lol

welcome to page 2 :rolleyes:

This is the song i keep going back to, i'm lovin' it! Musically and lyrically!

On the line "Lock the last open door , my ghosts are gaining on me" this is how I see it.

Since the beginning of the album we been progressing through amys troubles and expierences and now at this point shes gone through "the open door" ready to leave everything in the past, her ghosts behind.

Hope that makes sense, its just a rough mix of thoughts I have on this song.

I agree with Ghetto to a degree - the softer verses had me in disbelief. I never even knew Amy could sing like that. The lady's got a voice.

Though I love the softer parts of the song, I kind of love the guitars in this song as well, there's something about it, and I think maybe the song would feel incomplete if I heard, say, an edited version of it, with just the soft parts.

Plus, some amazing lyrics in this one.

I can feel the night beginning
separate me from the living

I'm in love with this bit. It sounds amazing. It's sort of Fallen-ish, which I love.

The Open Door, track #12
Written By: John LeCompt

The guitar opens this one up. It then makes place for the piano with a heavy riff. (We notice the reference to the previous album title Fallen, which has been carved onto our memories forever). Indisputably the 4th highlight of the album.

Credit for translation goes to julie.

This is one of the many song threads I'd love to go on an editing rampage on. *pleads to be a forum co-mod* I believe the translation was off because there's no reference to Fallen in this, unless I'm missing something. There's obviously the reference to The Open Door, though. I remember there was confusion about which album was being referenced when the article was first translated.

This is becoming one of my favorites off the album, lyrically and vocally. AND I GUESS MUSICALLY, especially the strings in the beginning that lead into the song. (It's so easy to concentrate just on Amy's singing.) What I find a little ironic is that the inspiration for the song came from Amy, but John wrote it. *wonders how that works* And with Amy lacking credits for co-writing, I'm impressed that he was able to write something that resonated with her like this.

She should consider allowing him to write (more) for the next album. =X We're taking baby steps towards full band participation. ;) Hopefully by then she'll have the Lose Control's and Cloud Nine's out of her system and will concentrate on the rocking/piano ballads. <3.

I really am in love with this song, from the first few seconds where it sounds so raw and desperate "all that I'm living for, all that I'm dying for, all that I can't ignore, alone at night" I love this. It starts out so in your face as if its a preview or present time. Then with the first verse it is as if its going back telling the story of the rawness that it began with. There is something so ultimately beautiful about the sound of her voice in this song. I love the riffs leading into the lighter touch of the strings in the verses. It's almost as if to get the meaning of the verses you would need to be so incredibly quiet and still so it would sink in. love love love :)

this is another favorite off the new album of mine. i don't care much for the chorus...but i still love it. the vocals just sound too layered but hey nothin we can do about it;)
i abolutely love the verses
"i can feel the night beginning...etc"
man i love it...props to john. ii know he said he tried to keep in mind what evanescence meant to him. and these lyrics definatly have the evanescence vibe..lovin it.

This one kinda makes me go "eh." It's like "Sweet Sacrifice, Revisited." I like it on its own, but with the whole album it doesn't stand out, and it doesn't grab me.

I love the main part in this song :) i'm tallking about chorus:) i love the melody and Amy's voice the vocal is great for the song's sound:)

This song is growing on me, and like most of you said, Amy Lee has a strong beautiful song, and she surprises me everytime! I'm loving this song. :) Great job, Amy! You rule!

I like these parts!

I can feel the night beginning
separate me from the living

and


I believe that dreams are sacred
take my darkest fears and play them
like a lullaby
like a reason why
like a play of my obsessions
make me understand the lesson
so I'll find myself
so I wont be lost again

Just superb. This song has the best lyrics on this album. It is true it doesnt grab you when you listen it for the first time, but after a while it ROCKS!
Only lithium had a WOW effect on me, but the other songs like this one had a "damn this song is prety good" effect.

After knowing what this one's about her writing process, i love it even more.:D

I noticed that the part when amy sings>
all that I'm wanted for
although I wanted more
lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me

The guitar's sound is similar to Did My Time from Korn in the part>

I am the one who chose my path
I am the one who couldn't last
I feel the life pulled from me
I feel the anger changing me

It just my thoughts...What do you think guys?

I noticed that the part when amy sings>
all that I'm wanted for
although I wanted more
lock the last open door- my ghosts are gaining on me

The guitar's sound is similar to Did My Time from Korn in the part>

I am the one who chose my path
I am the one who couldn't last
I feel the life pulled from me
I feel the anger changing me

It just my thoughts...What do you think guys?
Yeah, but the notes and measures are backwards...almost mirrored to Did My Time. It sounds sick though. Really heavy.

darklies2 (http://www.evboard.com/showthread.php?p=1007761#post1007761) posted a link to a video of Amy and John doing an unplugged performance of ATILF on VH1.

All That I'm Living For - Live @ VH1 (mms://66.77.76.85/7/643/15807/v001/mtvnshrdstor.download.akamai.com/8646/_!/mtvi/bands/e/evanescence/live_at/la_ev_all_that_im_living_for_live_full_416.wmv?aut h=caCbub3dgdBctbRb2aAd4bCcDdIcSdjb7aw-bfeW03-dHa-vDJztF&aifp=v1)

Sweet action, thanks for the link!

BLECH! That piano parts looks and sounds so easy that its driving me nuts that I can't see what she is playing long enough to fully figure it out. :(

I'd have never pictured this as a song. I love the beginning, but the "softness" was unexpected. It's going to take me a while to learn this song. I'll wait for the booklet to learn the lyrics.

Hello excellent rocking driving song! I like this one the best after several full listens I think. Gonna be great live in 14 days

Awesome job John, the lyrics rock!! :)
I love how this song is about the band, and how it's like their everything....
:mrgreen:

darklies2 (http://www.evboard.com/showthread.php?p=1007761#post1007761) posted a link to a video of Amy and John doing an unplugged performance of ATILF on VH1.

All That I'm Living For - Live @ VH1 (mms://66.77.76.85/7/643/15807/v001/mtvnshrdstor.download.akamai.com/8646/_!/mtvi/bands/e/evanescence/live_at/la_ev_all_that_im_living_for_live_full_416.wmv?aut h=caCbub3dgdBctbRb2aAd4bCcDdIcSdjb7aw-bfeW03-dHa-vDJztF&aifp=v1)
This link doesn't work for me... just a blank page..

darklies2 (http://www.evboard.com/showthread.php?p=1007761#post1007761) posted a link to a video of Amy and John doing an unplugged performance of ATILF on VH1.

All That I'm Living For - Live @ VH1 (mms://66.77.76.85/7/643/15807/v001/mtvnshrdstor.download.akamai.com/8646/_!/mtvi/bands/e/evanescence/live_at/la_ev_all_that_im_living_for_live_full_416.wmv?aut h=caCbub3dgdBctbRb2aAd4bCcDdIcSdjb7aw-bfeW03-dHa-vDJztF&aifp=v1)

Aggg, my computer's being annoying and I couldn't watch the video. Now I'm mad....heh....

Okay anyway....

All That I'm Living For I think is my favorite song...I dunno...Sweet Sacrifice is close, but I love them all.

When I first listened to it I was like "Wow, this is AMAZING!" I love the chours to this song and then how it gets slower.

Overall, I love it!

When I first heard this, I got a little excited about the rockin' start and then got a little disappointed that it mellowed out. And I got a little thrown off by the chords in the beginning that mirror the beginning of Seether's 'Gasoline' (it's the same chord, I swear!). But now I really like it :) I like the lyrics a lot (and I'm not usually one to notice lyrics first), and the more mellow-ish atmosphere of the song gives it color and adds to the mental picture I get of how the band's/Amy's creative process works.

And the acoustic version of it freaking rocks. I love it. :)

And I got a little thrown off by the chords in the beginning that mirror the beginning of Seether's 'Gasoline' (it's the same chord, I swear!).

I never noticed that before.

I believe it is the same chord.

I love this song and the acoustic version pwnz

Amy's vocals annoy me a lot during the chorus, but the verses make up for it. I need to watch the Vh1 performance.

I like this song a lot. It was the inspiration for my (fairly crappily executed) signature. :D

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3341/pacmansigsl7.jpg

That is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time XD

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3341/pacmansigsl7.jpg

That is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time XD

LMAO

best.sig.EVER.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3341/pacmansigsl7.jpg

I have to agree, AWESOME signature :mrgreen:

The acoustic VH1 version is strange to listen to at first lol I was so used to those heavy guitars at the intro

Amy's vocals annoy me a lot during the chorus, but the verses make up for it. I need to watch the Vh1 performance.

I feel the exact same way!!! This song has actually grown on me a lot, and I appreciate it a lot more now (and even think it could make it as a radio single) but initially I thought, "What a stupid, annoying chorus".

Amy Lee: I love that song. It feels really different for us. The lyrics are about my writing process-how I put the song together, why I do it, and how I'm trying to fix all the things that are wrong with me through music. The first line says, "Save me from the night again/ I can feel the separation from the living." It's always night time when I start writing, just as the dusk is setting.


"Save me from the night again/ I can feel the separation from the living." Obviously the words were changed...which means there's a demo version that's who-knows-how different from the original one...which means us EvBoarders might get our hands on it one day...

I think she does the same thing for the explination in Cloud Nine. I really want to hear these demos.

I love this song, Espically the chorus is catchy, this song makes me hyper, one of the best on TOD.

"Save me from the night again/ I can feel the separation from the living." Obviously the words were changed...which means there's a demo version that's who-knows-how different from the original one...which means us EvBoarders might get our hands on it one day...

I think she does the same thing for the explination in Cloud Nine. I really want to hear these demos.
Or maybe she just didn't quote exactly the lyrics and was just explaining the meaning of the song... That's what I think.

I love this song. One of the first that stand out from the beginning, and after having it in acoustic it's even better!

I have to say I am a fan of that pacman signature too. It made me laugh out loud for sure.
There's only one thing you can really say about this song...
John kicks ass with that riff.

What a great song!! After i heard the acoustic version i like it even more!! Is just that the acoustic version is amazing especially in the end of the song Amy is amazing so emotional!!

I perfer the Acoustic verison..It's prettier

I perfer the Acoustic verison..It's prettier
same. It's not bad though but the band seemed to drown Amy's vocals out. I had to listen really carefully to hear the "should it hurt to love you..." part.

Thanks to orgo's movie , everytime I hear "ALL THAT I'M DYING FOR" I start laughing and have to skip this one.
I think that's going to be the memory that is attached to this song for me. :p

The chorus in this song initially made me think of The Rasmus...
But after a couple more listens, I love this song. I think it's really a different angle for Ev...it hints of a song which has been worked on a lot to put across the message perfectly.
I know the lyrics describe Amy's writing process, the darkness she buries herself in to get her inspiration, but I think they can also be applied to therapy...somebody seeing a therapist, and being scared of the experience, but fighting desperately to decide what's wrong with them and sort themselves out:

'I believe that dreams are sacred, take my darkest fears and play them like a lullaby...
Like a play of my obsessions, make me understand the lesson
So I'll find myself...so I won't be lost again.'

That makes me think of sitting in the chair, deciding what to confide in your therapist.

Something else I noticed was the lyric: 'But how far would I have come without mourning your love?' I thought that was interesting because it echoes the lyric in 'Taking Over Me:' 'You saw me mourning my love for you and touched my hand,' which John also worked on. I think it's a strange kind of expression and one I don't entirely get. Does it mean, mourning a love which no longer exists, or mourning the fact that one's in love because the relationship is painful? It's ambiguous to me, and I'm interested to hear anyone else's thoughts.

Love Gail
xxx

Something else I noticed was the lyric: 'But how far would I have come without mourning your love?' I thought that was interesting because it echoes the lyric in 'Taking Over Me:' 'You saw me mourning my love for you and touched my hand,' which John also worked on.

I noticed this as well. I'm still not sure if I think it's cute that the two songs are linked together like that, or if it's annoying. :p

Does anyone else get reminded of Kingdom Hearts when listening to this song?
Because i do; "Lock the last open door my ghosts are gaining on me" perfect.
When i first heard TOD this was my favourite song, and i was kinda sad they decided against making it a single. :\

Or maybe she just didn't quote exactly the lyrics and was just explaining the meaning of the song... That's what I think.

I love this song. One of the first that stand out from the beginning, and after having it in acoustic it's even better!
I think that too.
And the interviewer mistook that for the real lyrics.

This song is the one which makes me wanna rock in the beginning! ! It's one of the best ones of Amy!

I like it at the begining when she sings All That I'm Living For loads of times its so powerful.

when this song kicks in i really feel like fucking breaking shit....seriously....I love this song