SBF1's Rush lyrics of the Day

[STRONGBADF1]

The most impressive thing about Rush to me is the lyrics. It just amazes me how often Neil Peart paints a word picture that gets my mind thinking. I have been a huge Rush fan since about 1984 and what first attracted me the band was the hard rocking sound. Then it was the drums then over time I noticed how great the bass playing and guitar work was/is. The last thing that really knocked me over was the lyrical content. You might say "WELL DUH! what was he listening too?" but, I normally get attracted to music/songs/bands by the overall feel and try not to listen too deep at first. (Does the band/song have a certain cohesiveness???) Another words...just enjoy the music! Just listening is what it's all about but the depth of this bands artistry (not a word I use lightly) is just amazing. (rambling)

So anyway I'm going to post the words to Rush songs here from time to time because I feel the need to share them with all the AH's that may or may not enjoy Rush's music. This way the people who don't care for the sound of the band can get some exposure to some great lyrics.

-SBF1


ps feel free to join in as long as we keep it all Rush.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I'll start with my current sig.

"Circumstances"

A boy alone, so far from home
Endless rooftops from my window
I felt the gloom of empty rooms
On rainy afternoons
Sometimes in confusion
I felt so lost and disillusioned
Innocence gave me confidence
To go up against reality

[Chorus:]
All the same we take our chances
Laughed at by time
Tricked by circumstances
Plus ca change
Plus c'est la meme chose
The more that things change
The more they stay the same

Now I've gained some understanding
Of the only world that we see
Things that I once dreamed of
Have become reality
These walls that still surround me
Still contain the same old me
Just one more who's searching for
A world that ought to be

[Chorus]

 

[fast1]

the words felt negative to me but i guess looking at it positively, when you hear these lyrics, you would feel you are not alone in your problems

 

[Davemcc]

I've heard that Geddy Lee was a huge fan on Ayn Rand. You can see it in the lyrics, even in this song. The first stanza is in the past, i.e. the world as the character in the lyrics found it. At the end, the line "Things that I once dreamed of Have become reality" implies that character has managed to shape the world in his own image, just as the final line implies. "Just one more who's searching for A world that ought to be."

 

[jamie2112]

Neil is the man...I even have a Rush tattoo on the inside of my left arm....When my dad was a teacher he came into my room while I was listening to "The Trees" and he loved the lyrics so much he thought a class using Neils words as poetry...very cool........

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I've heard that Geddy Lee was a huge fan on Ayn Rand. You can see it in the lyrics, even in this song. The first stanza is in the past, i.e. the world as the character in the lyrics found it. At the end, the line "Things that I once dreamed of Have become reality" implies that character has managed to shape the world in his own image, just as the final line implies. "Just one more who's searching for A world that ought to be."

Hi Dave,

Neil Peart was/is the Ayn Rand. I don't know if Geddy Lee or Alex lifson are or not. Neil has always been an avid reader and is an author of novels also.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Doug

 

[STRONGBADF1]

the words felt negative to me but i guess looking at it positively, when you hear these lyrics, you would feel you are not alone in your problems

Neil's lyrics are more often than not from a optimistic view point. I would love to hear his thought's on this and many other songs.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Neil is the man...I even have a Rush tattoo on the inside of my left arm....When my dad was a teacher he came into my room while I was listening to "The Trees" and he loved the lyrics so much he thought a class using Neils words as poetry...very cool........

I knew it wouldn't take "jamie2112" long to find this thread!

 

[jamie2112]

I knew it wouldn't take "jamie2112" long to find this thread!

Nope I am a Rush fan and a deadhead from way back.....

 

[mazersteven]

"The Trees"

There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples
(And they're quite convinced they're right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade

There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe and saw

 

[STRONGBADF1]

There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the oaks just shake their heads

I love this part.

Thanks for adding Steven.

 

[mazersteven]

"The Larger Bowl"

If we're so much the same like I always hear
Why such different fortunes and fates?
Some of us live in a cloud of fear
Some live behind iron gates

Why such different fortunes and fates?
Some are blessed and some are cursed
Some live behind iron gates
While others only see the worst

Some are blessed and some are cursed
The golden one or scarred from birth
While others only see the worst
Such a lot of pain on the earth

The golden one or scarred from birth
Somethings can never be changed
Such a lot of pain on this earth
It's somehow so badly arranged

Somethings can never be changed
Some reasons will never come clear
It's somehow so badly arranged
If we're so much the same like I always hear

Some are blessed and some are cursed
The golden one or scarred from birth
While others only see the worst
Such a lot of pain on the earth

 

[mazersteven]

"Workin' them Angels"

Driving 'way to the east and into the past
History recedes in my rear view mirror
Carried away on a wave of music down a desert road

Memory humming at the heart of a factory town

All my life
I've been workin' them angels overtime
Riding and driving and living so close to the edge
Workin' them angels, workin' them angels
Workin' them angels overtime

Riding through the Range of Light to the wounded city
Filling my spirit with the wildest wish to fly
Taking the high road, taking that high road to the wounded city

Memory strumming at the heart of a moving picture

All this time I've been workin' them angels overtime
Riding and diving and flying just over the edge
Workin' them angels, workin' them angels
Workin' them angels overtime

Driving down the razor's edge 'tween the past and the future
Turn up the music and smile
Get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times

Memory drumming at the heart of an English winter
Memories beating at the heart of an African village

All this time I've been workin' them angels overtime
Riding and diving and living so close to the edge
Workin' them angels, workin' them angels
Workin' them angels
Workin' them angels overtime

Workin' them angels
Workin' them angels

 

[djreef]

Funny, I was just listening to Permanent Waves last night. Probably about the same time this thread started.

On another note, I've seen Rush like 6 times (starting with the Moving Pictures Tour), all without having ever bought a ticket, oddly enough. Awesome show every time.

DJ

 

[STRONGBADF1]

For Ric.

"Afterimage"

Suddenly, you were gone
From all the lives you left your mark upon

I remember
How we talked and drank into the misty dawn
I hear the voices

We ran by the water on the wet summer lawn
I see the footprints
I remember

I feel the way you would
I feel the way you would

Tried to believe but you know it's no good
This is something that just can't be understood

I remember
The shouts of joy skiing fast through the woods
I hear the echoes

I learned your love for life,
I feel the way that you would
I feel your presence
I remember

I feel the way you would
This just can't be understood...

 

[vizionut]

i guess these lyrics speak for themselves.

witch hunt

the night is back
without a moon
the air is thick and still
the vigilantes gather on
the lonely torch lit hill

features distorted in the flickering light
the faces are twisted and grotesque
silent and stern in the sweltering night
the mob moves like demons possessed
quiet in conscience, calm in their right
confident their ways are best

the righteous rise
with burning eyes
of hatred and ill-will
madmen fed on fear and lies
to beat and burn and kill

they say there are strangers who threaten us
in out immigrants and infidels
they say there is strangeness too dangerous
in our theaters and bookstore shelves
that those who know what's best for us
must rise and save us from ourselves

quick to judge
quick to anger
slow to understand
ignorance and prejudice
and fear walk hand in hand.....

 

[hillbill]

Great Thread

Awesome thread...RUSH RULE !!

 

[Audioholics]

"I knew he was different in his sexuality..."

OK, so not all their lyrics are stellar... lol. The chorus in that song (Nobody's Hero) is awesome, though - as is the overall lyric composition.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Good choice Clint!

One of my wifes favorites. (and she only tolerates Rush.)


"NOBODY'S HERO"

I knew he was different, in his sexuality
I went to his parties, as a straight minority
It never seemed a threat to my masculinity
He only introduced me to a wider reality

As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that he was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart
But he's nobody's ---

Hero --- saves a drowning child
Cures a wasting disease
Hero --- lands the crippled airplane
Solves great mysteries

Hero --- not the handsome actor
Who plays a hero's role
Hero --- not the glamor girl
Who'd love to sell her soul
If anybody's buying
NOBODY'S HERO

I didn't know the girl, but I knew her family
All their lives were shattered
in a nightmare of brutality
They try to carry on, try to bear the agony
Try to hold some faith
in the goodness of humanity

As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that she was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart
But she's nobody's ---

Hero --- the voice of reason
Against the howling mob
Hero --- the pride of purpose
In the unrewarding job

Hero --- not the champion player
Who plays the perfect game
Not the glamor boy
Who loves to sell his name
Everybody's buying
NOBODY'S HERO

As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that you were gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart

Hero

 

[gmichael]

Rush? Rush who?

Here are the lyrics to Cygnus X-1 Book Ii: Hemispheres. Take special note to the final paragraph. It sums it up nicely.




I. prelude
When our weary world was young
The struggle of the ancients first began
The gods of love and reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of man

They battled through the ages
But still neither force would yield
The people were divided
Every soul a battlefield ...

Ii. apollo: bringer of wisdom
i bring truth and understanding
I bring wit, and wisdom fair
Precious gifts beyond compare
We can build a world of wonder
I can make you all aware

i will find you food and shelter
Show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm
You can live in grace and comfort
In the world that you transform

The people were delighted
Coming forth to claim their prize
They ran to build their cities
And converse among the wise

But one day the streets fell silent
Yet they knew not what was wrong
The urge to build these fine things
Seemed not to be so strong

The wise men were consulted
And the bridge of death was crossed
In quest of dionysus
To find out what they had lost ...

Iii. dionysus: bringer of love
i bring love to give you solace
In the darkness of the night
In the hearts eternal light
You need only trust your feelings
Only love can steer you right

i bring laughter, I bring music
I bring joy and I bring tears
I will soothe your primal fears
Throw off those chains of reason
And your prison disappears

The cities were abandoned
And the forests echoed song
They danced and lived as brothers
They knew love could not be wrong

Food and wine they had aplenty
And they slept beneath the stars
The people were contented
And the gods watched from afar

But the winter fell upon them
And it caught them unprepared
Bringing wolves and cold starvation
And the hearts of men despaired ...

Iv. armageddon: the battle of heart and mind
The universe divided
As the heart and mind collided
With the people left unguided
For so many troubled years
In a cloud of doubts and fears
Their world was torn asunder
Into hollow hemispheres

Some fought themselves, some fought each other
Most just followed one another
Lost and aimless like their brothers
For their hearts were so unclear
And the truth could not appear
Their spirits were divided
Into blinded hemispheres

Some who did not figh
Brought tales of old to light
My rocinante sailed by night
On her final flight

To the heart of cygnus fearsome force
We set our course
Spiralled through that timeless space
To this immortal place

V. cygnus: bringer of balance
I have memory and awareness
But I have no shape or form
As a disembodied spirit
I am dead and yet unborn
I have passed into olympus
As was told in tales of old
To the city of immortals
Marble white and purest gold

I see the gods in battle rage on high
Thunderbolts across the sky
I cannot move, I cannot hide
I feel a silent scream begin inside

Then all at once the chaos ceased
A stillness fell, a sudden peace
The warriors felt my silent cry
And stayed their struggle, mystified

Apollo was atonished
Dionysus thought me mad
But they heard my story further
And they wondered, and were sad

Looking down from olympus
On a world of doubt and fear
Its surface splintered
Into sorry hemispheres

They sat a while in silence
Then they turned at last to me
we will call you cygnus,
The God of balance you shall be

The sphere: a kind of dream
We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim

Let the truth of love be lighted
Let the love of truth shine clear
Sensibility
Armed with sense and liberty
With the heart and mind united
In a single perfect sphere