So many hearts, so many years, so many people in this vale of tears,
But there is one you will meet again, in this endless duet of the dance,
Then the carriages come and the ladies descend with their dreams,
With the gloves and the mask, nothing is here what it seems;
One touch is all it takes, two hearts will meet again,
I will know you tonight when I see you at the Bal Masqué,
One touch is all it takes, two hearts will celebrate,
In the heat of the night, when I see you at the Bal Masqué;
Another face from another time, another place in another life,
Behind the mask is an open door to the someone that you've been before,
Then the music begins, and the colours are starting to change,
She comes in from the garden, I know that it's her right away;
One touch is all it takes, two hearts will meet again,
I will know you tonight when I see you at the Bal Masqué,
One touch is all it takes, two hearts will celebrate,
In the heat of the night, when I see you at the Bal Masqué,
At the Bal Masqué, at the Bal Masqué, at the Bal Masqué,
At the Bal Masqué, at the Bal Masqué, at the Bal Masqué,
So many hearts, so many years,
Another face from another time,
Another face in another life, at the Bal Masqué,
So many hearts, so many years.
"'Bal Masqué' arrived as an idea just around the phrase 'Bal Masqué', which... again, I have no idea where this one drifted from. But it's like a clue, a puzzle. And you say 'What does this mean?' I like 'Bal Masqué' and, as a French speaker, I obviously know what it means - it means 'masked ball' - but I was also drawn into the sort of Louis XV Court of Versailles feeling of the masked ball where you have these beautiful ladies descending from the carriages with their long gloves on and... I can almost see the little feet stepping on to the platform, coming off the carriages with the horses pulling and a footman reaching forward to help her down and walking into the grand ballroom and... these are very vivid images in my head. And, in those days, the idea of having a mask... most of the time, these were actually held on a sort of a stick in front of you so everybody had a pretty clear idea of who it was. But some of the gentleman would actually wear masks, so you couldn't really tell who anyone was - particularly strangers. And then I thought 'Well, now how do I develop this into a more solid idea and not just about one incident, maybe a few hundred years ago?' And it got me thinking that, again, like a point I made earlier, we will always find that soulmate from another time - and I am a strong believer in the fact that we have been here before, in different forms. And perhaps it's fanciable to suggest this but, 'What if? - again - 'the one that was our father or our mother or a lover or a brother or sister...', in previous lives you're constantly attracted back to, as the centuries go through. It is a very fanciable idea but in 'Bal Masqué, the second part is 'It doesn't matter who you are or where you are - I will recognise you the moment I see you or get near you.' As you'll hear, it's a very strong track with lots of driving electric guitars - and anybody who thinks that my music is quite simply quiet ballad stuff should have a good listen to 'Bal Masqué'"
