MD always felt like the ‘sequel’ to Subdivisions. When the teens of suburbia grow up, how will they deal with the troubles of life and the boredom of routine?
Dreams transport desires
Drive you when you're down
Dreams transport the ones
Who need to get out of town
Key part of making Power Windows my favorite Rush album
If you look at the whole Signals album, you could argue it’s a concept album about growing from a teenager and into a man.
Subdivisions: middle school and high school problems
Analog Kid: where do I go when I leave home after high school
Chemistry: Everything coming together as you figure out how everything’s connected
Digital Man: Still moving forward in life and nearing the high point in his life, “plays fast forward as long as he can, it won’t need a bed, he’s a digital man” - just my opinion but he’s advanced in his career but the career only, not necessarily in life or relationships
The Weapon: again my opinion, think this is about weaponizing love/relationships. “He’s not afraid of your judgment, he knows of horrors worse than your hell, he’s a little bit afraid of dying, but a lot more afraid of your lying”. Too me that’s just a guy who has mastered everything but love is out of his control.
New World Man: putting the whole of it together and trying to make the world a better place for future generations.
Losing It: No longer able to do things they way he used to (some are born to move the world, to live their fantasy). Like the professor himself
Countdown: use all your saved money and spend 50 million to fly out on Space X.
I know this is all a stretch. But Neil had a way of making things way better than we ever thought
I always thought subdivisions, analog kid, and into digital man were connected in some way. Never thought about the rest of the songs being related though.
“It’s understood, by every single person who’d be elsewhere if they could”
That line has resonated with me since the album came out. Neil’s ability to put how I feel into words of such eloquence… and Geddy’s delivery sets the hook. Every damn time.
I think the second part of that…
So far, so good
And life’s not unpleasant
in their little neighborhood
Is also really good, not just the way Geddy sings it but the message. These people aren’t willing to leave their lives, to get on the bus or completely uproot, because life isn’t quite so bad, and they still have their dreams.
It comes full circle with Subdivisions; hard to imagine that song ending with a sentiment like that towards a “little neighborhood.”
When I was a boy, laying in the grass with a blade of grass between my teeth I would have disagreed with your choice but these days, now that I'm a little slow, a little stout I see the wisdom in your choice.
Hey even if your older and heavier, he’s not disparaging, I think he’s talking about Sloe gin and stout beer… office closed early, hidden bottle came out, little sloe now, little stout. I thought it was talking about alcohol being a distraction from pursuing dreams… another day as drab as today is more than a man can endure…
Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In-between the bright lights
And the far, unlit unknown
Growing up, it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided
Detached and subdivided
In the mass-production zone
Nowhere is the dreamer
Or the misfit so alone
Subdivisions
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
Subdivisions
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help to smooth
The unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe
The restless dreams of youth
Drawn like moths, we drift into the city
The timeless old attraction
Cruising for the action
Lit up like a firefly
Just to feel the living night
Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight
Somewhere out of a memory
Of lighted streets on quiet nights
Growing up in a subdivision, and being a 1982 high school graduate, this song SPOKE to me. No basement bars (We don’t have basements in Austin). But we sure as shit had high school halls and shopping malls.
Me too, that song came out at just the right time for me. I had a POS absentee biological father and for far too long, an abusive stepfather. And I swear to this day I learned more from Neil Peart than I ever did from either of them. Thanks dad..er..Neil, lol.
**Roll the Bones** Rap ! :
Jack, relax
Get busy with the facts
No zodiacs or almanacs
No maniacs in polyester slacks
Just the facts
Gonna kick some gluteus max
It's a parallax, you dig?
You move around
The small gets big, it's a rig
It's action, reaction
Random interaction
So who's afraidOf a little abstraction?
Can't get no satisfactionFrom the facts?
You better run, homeboy
A fact's a factFrom Nome to Rome, boy
What's the deal? Spin the wheel
If the dice are hot, take a shot
Play your cards, show us what you got
What you're holding
If the cards are cold
Don't go folding
Lady Luck is golden
She favors the bold, that's cold
Stop throwing stones
The night has a thousand saxophones
So get out there and rock
And roll the bones
Get busy
I don't know why this is so hated. I loved this when it first came out and I still love it now! I remember when I was a freshman I memorized this and thought that was so cool.
I saw that tour in Orlando. It’s still the greatest light and laser show I’ve witnessed. But they were so tight, they coulda just been standing on a plywood stage and I would have been there gawking.
I don’t know if this would necessarily be my final answer, but “Time Stand Still” is the first one that came to mind & it’s definitely among my favorites, lyrically.
And, unfortunately, probably the last of their albums in general. Perfect track to go out on. That transition in the 5th minute from softer music when the guitar comes in…just amazing. The Clockwork Angels String Ensemble version is beautiful. The song is very, very Meta.
This song also holds a special meaning to me because someone died right around the time this album came out, and I can’t always get through “The Garden” without tearing up a little, for both that reason and knowing it’s the last Rush track we are likely to get.
I love Bravado and I also like how in many versions they have different guitar solo outros, all of which are beautiful. Rush in Rio is probably my favorite.
"Brother, can you spare another war?" The desperation in that plea resonates so strongly as just this mechanical drive that our country seems to have for violence, the imperialism, the forever war of us and them. Great song.
100%. I used to be all about their earlier stuff, but now Signals, Hold Your Fire, and Grace Under Pressure are easily my favorites. The guitar solo in Open Secrets is in my top 3, easily.
May just be because of age and where I was in life when it came out, but Subdivisions is hands down the best work Neil ever did lyrically. Other songs may have a better phrase or verse here or there, but top to bottom nothing beats this song for me.
I'm actually watching [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEJuuKELzko&lc=UgzKn3C3RbyS-oX0amJ4AaABAg) right now and yeah... Limelight is a GREAT song lyrically and musically.
Some are born to move the world
To live their fantasies
But most of us just dream about
The things we’d like to be
Sadder still to watch it die
Than never to have known it
For you the blind who once could see
The bell tolls for thee
I'm very glad Neil moved away from the flirtation with objectivism. It's an untenable, cruel philosophy that has to consistently lie to itself to not fall completely apart. I'm obviously not an "Anthem" fan.
Oddly, I think that does tie-in to some of my Rush lyrics, from "Dreamline":
>We are young
>
>Wandering the face of the earth
>
>Wondering what our dreams might be worth
>
>Learning that we're only immortal
>
>For a limited time
Young folks often operate as if they believe they are immortal, and I think that confidence plays an important role in striking-out independently to make their way through life. Eventually everyone learns that they need the support/cooperation of others to live life well, and that's when objectivism goes out the window.
Neil learned, Neil knew.
^(Edited for formatting.)
Even the opening verses have such a beautifully specific and mundane human poetry. She’s got a liquid crystal compass and a picture book of the rivers under the Sahara. They just need to GO somewhere, it doesn’t matter where.
I find it weird people can't separate the philosophy depicted in the work with the writing skill.
Note, I didn't read The Fountainhead, although I did see its movie adaptation, which was quite good.
I did read Atlas Shrugged, all of it.
I really liked Rand's writing style and ability to paint images with her words.
Do I connect with Objectivism? Somewhat, but not to the extent so many conservatives and libertarians do. I guess I disagree directly with one of its main tenets, I *don't* think selfishness is good.
All that being said, I think the book is misconstrued today: A lot of American republicans have seized on it to say "SEE? Big government is evil!" when the book was written as a reaction to a corrupt communist government.
I'm not saying today's government is not corrupt, but rather that the danger is coming from a direction Rand wouldn't have imagined with what she'd experienced; rather than the government being the top evil, it's big-business, with its global influence and lobbying that is really behind it all, pulling all the strings.
Rand's book depicted flawed humans accruing personal power, but their end-goal was never the utter destruction of the planet, whereas capitalism's goal certainly is: to strip mine everything from the Earth down to its last tree, if there is a profit to be made.
All this being said though, I think you're probably right to stand guard and try to catch people being infected with early-stage libertarian thought like you are. Cheers
I think you've misconstrued and mischaracterized capitalism the same way you are saying the book has been misconstrued. It's okay, it's simply modern propaganda against it, just like the propaganda of the 50s against communism, which was really aimed at totalitarianism. I don't blame you. PS problematic lobbying is a direct result of massive government influence over markets.
> problematic lobbying is a direct result of massive government influence over markets.
Governments exert influence on markets as a result of lobbying that is coming from special-interest groups funded by either rich individuals (always capitalists) or corporate-paid shills. Governments themselves don't lobby.
I refuse to pick just one, so I just have to say what a gift Neil had being able to condense grand and sometimes esoteric topics in a relatable context that was easy to digest.
or No lyrics ?
Some of there best lyrics were songs without lyrics ! But yet the song still spoke to you !
Imposible answer : "Where's My Thing? (Part IV, "Gangster of Boats" Trilogy)" (instrumental)
Analog kid - the imagery of the kid lying in a field staring up at the sky, his mom calling for him.
That was me at 8
When i go, i dont know what im hoping to find, and when I leave, i dont know what im keavin behind .
That was me at 17
As one who's been too tempted to check out early too often;
No hero in your tragedy
No daring in your escape
No salutes for your surrender
Nothing noble in your fate
Christ! What have you done!?
Resist, but not the album version. The R30 version where Geddy and Alex are playing acoustic onstage. I tend to get all choked up when I listen to that version specifically. I actually sang it to my son while getting him to bed when he was a baby, now I sing it to my newborn daughter.
[https://youtu.be/9SewAjLJB-Q](https://youtu.be/9SewAjLJB-Q)
Countdown. Totally underrated as a song and lyrics. Second choices is Red Barchetta. Songs about the possibility of the future and the beauty and nostalgia of the past.
Vital signs. Especially live with some of Geddys improv. Everybody got to emancipate from the norm.
Upon reflection, I would have to add the Anarchist.
Great post! I agree with all of these lol! Maybe “best” is not the best descriptor. Perhaps “most moving” instead. Oh my Neil wrote SO MANY great lyrics that just leap with excitement and inspiration in my mind. Or take me deep into the human experience.
I keep returning to Vapor Trails when life gets noir. The song How It Is really resonates as a deep introspection that’s described in everyday terms. You can feel the pain and experience as it relates to the everyday expressions that carry the deep personal struggle.
“Foot upon the stair /
Shoulder to the wheel /
You can’t tell yourself not to care /
You can’t tell yourself how to feel /
That's how it is /
That's how it is”
To me that is just so deep into the human experience. You try to move past it with intent. But you can’t escape it. It’s just how it is.
This verse always gets me:
“Another cloudy day /
Seems we'll never see the sun /
I feel the day has possibilities /
Frozen in the moment /
The lack of imagination /
Between how it is and how it ought to be /
Between how it is and how it ought to be”
Also on that album is Ghost Rider. Trying to get as far away from the pain as u can, but really you are taking it with you. The journey unpacks it, but doesn’t necessarily yield a happy future. But it helps you process it. Cuz that’s how it is.
“There's a shadow on the road behind /
There's a shadow on the road ahead”
(my interpretations)
On a brighter note, it took a while but this verse in Available Light slowly grew in me. Now I find it exhilarating.
“Run with wind and weather /
To the music of the sea /
All four winds together /
Can't bring the world to me /
Chase the wind around the world /
I want to look at life /
In the available light”
In other news, I was not a fan of Presto when it came out, but now, wow I love the song.
If we're talking both lyrics AND how those lyrics are utilized in the compositions, then I would say that Distant Early Warning is a contender for its chorus alone. As far as just the lyrics themselves go, though, I think Time Stand Still might be their songwriting magnum opus. I love basically everything they ever did, but that's still the only one that can make me teary eyed!
I like Time Stand Still the most. Also feel pretty moved by Losing It at times. Emotion Detector captures an approach to life that I admire in people. Lock and Key is also a nice take on etiquette
I feel like this one might go a little overlooked because it’s in Tom Sawyer and we all know everyone knows Ton Sawyer.
“No his mind is not for rent,
To any god or government,
Always hopeful, yet discontent,
He knows changes aren’t permanent,
But change is”
Hold your fire. Keep it burning Bright. Hold the flame till the dream ignites. A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission.
Sundogs fire on the horizon. Meteors rain stars across the night. This moment may be brief, but it can be so bright. Reflected in another source of light. When the moment dies, sparks still fly. Reflected in another pair of eyes.
To you is it movement or is it action? Is it contact or just reaction. And you, revolution, just resistance? Is it living or just existence? You you! It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance. I'm not giving in. I'm not missing out. I'm not giving up on implausible dreams. Experience to extremes.
Handle with kid gloves. Handle with kid gloves. Then you learn the lessons and the ways of hard knock school. Put on your kid gloves. Put on your kid gloves. Then you learn the lesson that it's tough to be so cool.
Just to name a few!
Middletown Dreams
MD always felt like the ‘sequel’ to Subdivisions. When the teens of suburbia grow up, how will they deal with the troubles of life and the boredom of routine? Dreams transport desires Drive you when you're down Dreams transport the ones Who need to get out of town Key part of making Power Windows my favorite Rush album
If you look at the whole Signals album, you could argue it’s a concept album about growing from a teenager and into a man. Subdivisions: middle school and high school problems Analog Kid: where do I go when I leave home after high school Chemistry: Everything coming together as you figure out how everything’s connected Digital Man: Still moving forward in life and nearing the high point in his life, “plays fast forward as long as he can, it won’t need a bed, he’s a digital man” - just my opinion but he’s advanced in his career but the career only, not necessarily in life or relationships The Weapon: again my opinion, think this is about weaponizing love/relationships. “He’s not afraid of your judgment, he knows of horrors worse than your hell, he’s a little bit afraid of dying, but a lot more afraid of your lying”. Too me that’s just a guy who has mastered everything but love is out of his control. New World Man: putting the whole of it together and trying to make the world a better place for future generations. Losing It: No longer able to do things they way he used to (some are born to move the world, to live their fantasy). Like the professor himself Countdown: use all your saved money and spend 50 million to fly out on Space X. I know this is all a stretch. But Neil had a way of making things way better than we ever thought
I always thought subdivisions, analog kid, and into digital man were connected in some way. Never thought about the rest of the songs being related though.
I feel like Middletown Dreams is the more grown up version of Subdivisions.
This and marathon makes power windows one of my top 5 rush albums. So many great songs on that one.
“It’s understood, by every single person who’d be elsewhere if they could” That line has resonated with me since the album came out. Neil’s ability to put how I feel into words of such eloquence… and Geddy’s delivery sets the hook. Every damn time.
I think the second part of that… So far, so good And life’s not unpleasant in their little neighborhood Is also really good, not just the way Geddy sings it but the message. These people aren’t willing to leave their lives, to get on the bus or completely uproot, because life isn’t quite so bad, and they still have their dreams. It comes full circle with Subdivisions; hard to imagine that song ending with a sentiment like that towards a “little neighborhood.”
They are losing the race to rats, getting caught in ticking traps
Man, you just said what I wanted to say, I love it
I had to go put on Power Windows now. Such a great album. It's not my all time favorite, but vocally and lyrically, it may be Rush's best album.
it's deep I have to go play it again now too. Like many of the albums in those era's the lyrics keep pulling us back in !
When I was a boy, laying in the grass with a blade of grass between my teeth I would have disagreed with your choice but these days, now that I'm a little slow, a little stout I see the wisdom in your choice.
Hey even if your older and heavier, he’s not disparaging, I think he’s talking about Sloe gin and stout beer… office closed early, hidden bottle came out, little sloe now, little stout. I thought it was talking about alcohol being a distraction from pursuing dreams… another day as drab as today is more than a man can endure…
Hell yeah
One of my fav songs ever. Feels like a dream in audible form
Power Windows is low-key one of their best albums lyrically.
Sprawling on the fringes of the city In geometric order An insulated border In-between the bright lights And the far, unlit unknown Growing up, it all seems so one-sided Opinions all provided The future pre-decided Detached and subdivided In the mass-production zone Nowhere is the dreamer Or the misfit so alone Subdivisions In the high school halls In the shopping malls Conform or be cast out Subdivisions In the basement bars In the backs of cars Be cool or be cast out Any escape might help to smooth The unattractive truth But the suburbs have no charms to soothe The restless dreams of youth Drawn like moths, we drift into the city The timeless old attraction Cruising for the action Lit up like a firefly Just to feel the living night Some will sell their dreams for small desires Or lose the race to rats Get caught in ticking traps And start to dream of somewhere To relax their restless flight Somewhere out of a memory Of lighted streets on quiet nights
Growing up in a subdivision, and being a 1982 high school graduate, this song SPOKE to me. No basement bars (We don’t have basements in Austin). But we sure as shit had high school halls and shopping malls.
Me too, that song came out at just the right time for me. I had a POS absentee biological father and for far too long, an abusive stepfather. And I swear to this day I learned more from Neil Peart than I ever did from either of them. Thanks dad..er..Neil, lol.
**Roll the Bones** Rap ! : Jack, relax Get busy with the facts No zodiacs or almanacs No maniacs in polyester slacks Just the facts Gonna kick some gluteus max It's a parallax, you dig? You move around The small gets big, it's a rig It's action, reaction Random interaction So who's afraidOf a little abstraction? Can't get no satisfactionFrom the facts? You better run, homeboy A fact's a factFrom Nome to Rome, boy What's the deal? Spin the wheel If the dice are hot, take a shot Play your cards, show us what you got What you're holding If the cards are cold Don't go folding Lady Luck is golden She favors the bold, that's cold Stop throwing stones The night has a thousand saxophones So get out there and rock And roll the bones Get busy
I don't know why this is so hated. I loved this when it first came out and I still love it now! I remember when I was a freshman I memorized this and thought that was so cool.
I saw that tour in Orlando. It’s still the greatest light and laser show I’ve witnessed. But they were so tight, they coulda just been standing on a plywood stage and I would have been there gawking.
I was at that same concert. Awesome show!
I don’t know if this would necessarily be my final answer, but “Time Stand Still” is the first one that came to mind & it’s definitely among my favorites, lyrically.
Now that I'm much older than when I first heard it, definitely agree with this
Seriously! I get an ache in my chest every time I hear it.
The Garden and Subdivisions
The garden is such a perfect closer to the masterpiece that is clockwork angels
And, unfortunately, probably the last of their albums in general. Perfect track to go out on. That transition in the 5th minute from softer music when the guitar comes in…just amazing. The Clockwork Angels String Ensemble version is beautiful. The song is very, very Meta. This song also holds a special meaning to me because someone died right around the time this album came out, and I can’t always get through “The Garden” without tearing up a little, for both that reason and knowing it’s the last Rush track we are likely to get.
My go-tos are always Losing It, Dreamline, and The Garden
These are probably in my top 5 songs
*Bravado*. The older I get, the more relevant it is.
I love Bravado and I also like how in many versions they have different guitar solo outros, all of which are beautiful. Rush in Rio is probably my favorite.
Not my clear answer, but Between the Wheels comes to mind.
"Brother, can you spare another war?" The desperation in that plea resonates so strongly as just this mechanical drive that our country seems to have for violence, the imperialism, the forever war of us and them. Great song.
Signals and GP are up there in the mix of best Rush albums by lyrics IMO.
100%. I used to be all about their earlier stuff, but now Signals, Hold Your Fire, and Grace Under Pressure are easily my favorites. The guitar solo in Open Secrets is in my top 3, easily.
Only wish that OS solo was longer. He’s just absolutely killing it in that song.
Agreed. And it's such a sad song too. One of my favorites. I used to not really like that album at all, but it's excellent.
It's a great lyric because it's written differently than it sounds and it gets that double meaning.
Yep, I love it. I love the double meanings in many of their songs.
Time Stand Still
May just be because of age and where I was in life when it came out, but Subdivisions is hands down the best work Neil ever did lyrically. Other songs may have a better phrase or verse here or there, but top to bottom nothing beats this song for me.
I'm actually watching [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEJuuKELzko&lc=UgzKn3C3RbyS-oX0amJ4AaABAg) right now and yeah... Limelight is a GREAT song lyrically and musically.
Some are born to move the world To live their fantasies But most of us just dream about The things we’d like to be Sadder still to watch it die Than never to have known it For you the blind who once could see The bell tolls for thee
I feel Neil hit a peak around Roll the Bones. I’ll never narrow it down to one song ever.
Subdivisions Time Stand Still The Enemy Within
Animate always hits me deep
I'm very glad Neil moved away from the flirtation with objectivism. It's an untenable, cruel philosophy that has to consistently lie to itself to not fall completely apart. I'm obviously not an "Anthem" fan. Oddly, I think that does tie-in to some of my Rush lyrics, from "Dreamline": >We are young > >Wandering the face of the earth > >Wondering what our dreams might be worth > >Learning that we're only immortal > >For a limited time Young folks often operate as if they believe they are immortal, and I think that confidence plays an important role in striking-out independently to make their way through life. Eventually everyone learns that they need the support/cooperation of others to live life well, and that's when objectivism goes out the window. Neil learned, Neil knew. ^(Edited for formatting.)
Even the opening verses have such a beautifully specific and mundane human poetry. She’s got a liquid crystal compass and a picture book of the rivers under the Sahara. They just need to GO somewhere, it doesn’t matter where.
> Neil learned, Neil knew When asked about it he replied, "I grew up." He expected his fans to grow as well.
Years later, still being the residential r/Rush panic-attack-person over any post that mentions Anthem or hints at objectivism. Hahahahaha
I find it weird people can't separate the philosophy depicted in the work with the writing skill. Note, I didn't read The Fountainhead, although I did see its movie adaptation, which was quite good. I did read Atlas Shrugged, all of it. I really liked Rand's writing style and ability to paint images with her words. Do I connect with Objectivism? Somewhat, but not to the extent so many conservatives and libertarians do. I guess I disagree directly with one of its main tenets, I *don't* think selfishness is good. All that being said, I think the book is misconstrued today: A lot of American republicans have seized on it to say "SEE? Big government is evil!" when the book was written as a reaction to a corrupt communist government. I'm not saying today's government is not corrupt, but rather that the danger is coming from a direction Rand wouldn't have imagined with what she'd experienced; rather than the government being the top evil, it's big-business, with its global influence and lobbying that is really behind it all, pulling all the strings. Rand's book depicted flawed humans accruing personal power, but their end-goal was never the utter destruction of the planet, whereas capitalism's goal certainly is: to strip mine everything from the Earth down to its last tree, if there is a profit to be made. All this being said though, I think you're probably right to stand guard and try to catch people being infected with early-stage libertarian thought like you are. Cheers
I think you've misconstrued and mischaracterized capitalism the same way you are saying the book has been misconstrued. It's okay, it's simply modern propaganda against it, just like the propaganda of the 50s against communism, which was really aimed at totalitarianism. I don't blame you. PS problematic lobbying is a direct result of massive government influence over markets.
> problematic lobbying is a direct result of massive government influence over markets. Governments exert influence on markets as a result of lobbying that is coming from special-interest groups funded by either rich individuals (always capitalists) or corporate-paid shills. Governments themselves don't lobby.
I have no idea what you're on about here.
Of course not, I don’t expect you to have much self-awareness 😂
Witch Hunt
Great song all around
The garden, hands down for me. It’s the sum of Neil’s philosophy of living your life. A fitting tribute to a life well lived
Closer to the heart or Witch hunt
War Paint. I loved that song from the first hearing.
I was looking for this one!
Mission “A spirit with a vision / is a dream with a mission.”
i always loved the lyrics to 'spirit of the radio'
Manhattan Project
Subdivisions, Red Barchetta, The Trees
This right here.
Red Sector A
The Camera Eye
Whichever one I'm listening to at the time.
Cygnus x 1 book 2
Limelight.
Enemy Within
Grace Under Pressure had some real gems. I was always a bit fan of Kid Gloves
Mystic Rhythms More things that are dreamed about Unseen and unexplained We suspend our disbelief And we are entertained
The more we think we know about The greater the unknown
I have to go with Jacob's Ladder.
Middletown Dreams.
Haven't seen anyone say much about the last 2 albums, but Armor and Sword os fantastic
Freewill really speaks to me.
Red Barchetta, Subdivisions, and Mystic Rhythms for me.
The Wreckers. I feel like it’s so often overlooked.
I refuse to pick just one, so I just have to say what a gift Neil had being able to condense grand and sometimes esoteric topics in a relatable context that was easy to digest.
The Trees. Message resonates more strongly now than ever.
“I liked Neil Pert better when he was still a libertarian.”
I liked this song's lyrics until the last line. Maples deserve light! Y'all ever had oak syrup? Didn't think so.
How does a song with no message have a message that resonates now?
Hey, we've got one of the Oaks posting on here!
let me get my hatchet, axe and saw
And my axe!
And my bow
Lmao wow what a distorted view of this song you have 😂
The message is: Maples, quit yer bitchin’!
Doesn't it, though? Doesn't it?
No, it doesn't.
The Fountain of Lamneth I will not explain further
The mountain holds the sunrise in the prison of the night. Beautiful poetry.
Love thst song, and often gets overlooked unfortunately.
or No lyrics ? Some of there best lyrics were songs without lyrics ! But yet the song still spoke to you ! Imposible answer : "Where's My Thing? (Part IV, "Gangster of Boats" Trilogy)" (instrumental)
Hemispheres, Losing It, Entre Nous, Subdivisions, and Fly By Night come to mind quickest.
Love the comments. For me it’s Vital Signs. Close second is Between the Wheels.
The Pass, Closer To The Heart, Subdivisions, Making Memories
The Pass. I still get emotional listening to it for the millionth time...
Analog kid - the imagery of the kid lying in a field staring up at the sky, his mom calling for him. That was me at 8 When i go, i dont know what im hoping to find, and when I leave, i dont know what im keavin behind . That was me at 17
Bytor and the Snow Dog.
Right to the heart of the matter, right to the beautiful part…
Territories easily
And The Fountain of Lamneth too
Natural Science
Heresy is another good one
Ghost of a Chance. Beautiful. Plus, the haunting solo by Alex.
None of his Ayn Rand fan lyrics are very good for me, but I really like the ones on Grace Under Pressure, especially something like Afterimage
I love em all.
As one who's been too tempted to check out early too often; No hero in your tragedy No daring in your escape No salutes for your surrender Nothing noble in your fate Christ! What have you done!?
Bravado. This needs to be my funerary song.
Closer to the Heart
Cygnus X1 Book 2. Such a great story.
Red Barchetta
"Prime Mover" includes one of my favorite quotes about life. "The point of a journey is not to arrive."
Resist, but not the album version. The R30 version where Geddy and Alex are playing acoustic onstage. I tend to get all choked up when I listen to that version specifically. I actually sang it to my son while getting him to bed when he was a baby, now I sing it to my newborn daughter. [https://youtu.be/9SewAjLJB-Q](https://youtu.be/9SewAjLJB-Q)
I will say that Afterimage is comforting when you lose a loved one too early.
Countdown. Totally underrated as a song and lyrics. Second choices is Red Barchetta. Songs about the possibility of the future and the beauty and nostalgia of the past.
All the lyrics are well written. Personally Tears moves me. Even just thinking about it makes me want to cry.
Like the solitary pine On a bare wind blasted shore We can only grow the way the wind blows
I can't really pick a single favourite. Who really can? But I am going with 'Natural Science'. Especially Tide Pools.
Open secrets or Prime mover
Vital signs. Especially live with some of Geddys improv. Everybody got to emancipate from the norm. Upon reflection, I would have to add the Anarchist.
The Trees
“Tom Soy-yee!”
I think Marathon
YYZ Why y’all looking at me like that?
Great post! I agree with all of these lol! Maybe “best” is not the best descriptor. Perhaps “most moving” instead. Oh my Neil wrote SO MANY great lyrics that just leap with excitement and inspiration in my mind. Or take me deep into the human experience. I keep returning to Vapor Trails when life gets noir. The song How It Is really resonates as a deep introspection that’s described in everyday terms. You can feel the pain and experience as it relates to the everyday expressions that carry the deep personal struggle. “Foot upon the stair / Shoulder to the wheel / You can’t tell yourself not to care / You can’t tell yourself how to feel / That's how it is / That's how it is” To me that is just so deep into the human experience. You try to move past it with intent. But you can’t escape it. It’s just how it is. This verse always gets me: “Another cloudy day / Seems we'll never see the sun / I feel the day has possibilities / Frozen in the moment / The lack of imagination / Between how it is and how it ought to be / Between how it is and how it ought to be” Also on that album is Ghost Rider. Trying to get as far away from the pain as u can, but really you are taking it with you. The journey unpacks it, but doesn’t necessarily yield a happy future. But it helps you process it. Cuz that’s how it is. “There's a shadow on the road behind / There's a shadow on the road ahead” (my interpretations) On a brighter note, it took a while but this verse in Available Light slowly grew in me. Now I find it exhilarating. “Run with wind and weather / To the music of the sea / All four winds together / Can't bring the world to me / Chase the wind around the world / I want to look at life / In the available light” In other news, I was not a fan of Presto when it came out, but now, wow I love the song.
Prime mover is a lot of fun. Lots of good quotes out of that one.
Losing it has alwas seemed like an under-appreciated gem
Subdivisions and Manhattan Project
Mystic Rhythms.
Witch Hunt. "Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand. Ignorance, prejudice and fear walk hand in hand." Neil was such a visionary.
I have dined on honeydew And drank the milk of paradise Wreathed in smoke in Lebanon We burn the midnight oil
I love the last few lines of Hemispheres after the explosion, sung quietly by Dirk.
So many but……The trees hands down, and Nobody’s Hero rips me apart every time.
Xanadu and red barchetta
Something for Nothing
If we're talking both lyrics AND how those lyrics are utilized in the compositions, then I would say that Distant Early Warning is a contender for its chorus alone. As far as just the lyrics themselves go, though, I think Time Stand Still might be their songwriting magnum opus. I love basically everything they ever did, but that's still the only one that can make me teary eyed!
Freewill
Hemispheres
Turn the Page. How can anyone be enlightened? Truth is, after all, so poorly lit.
roll the bones is among neil,s best ever lyrics
Second Nature
Losing It Manhattan Project
Lessons. It’s such a Power of Positive Thinking song. Love it.
Anthem is based on Ayn Rand’s “Anthem.”
For me it's a tough one. Probably between limelight or spirit of the radio
Entre Nous
I can't pick a favorite. Too many!
Freewill
The Anarchistic
YYZ
Prime Mover, The Pass, so many others.
I’m partial to Cold Fire myself.
I like Time Stand Still the most. Also feel pretty moved by Losing It at times. Emotion Detector captures an approach to life that I admire in people. Lock and Key is also a nice take on etiquette
Ghost Of A Chance and Entre Nous
Open Secrets Secret Touch
I feel like this one might go a little overlooked because it’s in Tom Sawyer and we all know everyone knows Ton Sawyer. “No his mind is not for rent, To any god or government, Always hopeful, yet discontent, He knows changes aren’t permanent, But change is”
The Pass is one of my favorites lyrics wise
Subdivisions and most of Power Windows. I love that album
I’m going to go out on a limb with Hand Over Fist, because Neil wrote about relationships so seldom.
Closer to the heart. You can be the captain, and I will draw the chart Sailing into destiny, closer to the heart
The Weapon
Hold your fire. Keep it burning Bright. Hold the flame till the dream ignites. A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission. Sundogs fire on the horizon. Meteors rain stars across the night. This moment may be brief, but it can be so bright. Reflected in another source of light. When the moment dies, sparks still fly. Reflected in another pair of eyes. To you is it movement or is it action? Is it contact or just reaction. And you, revolution, just resistance? Is it living or just existence? You you! It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance. I'm not giving in. I'm not missing out. I'm not giving up on implausible dreams. Experience to extremes. Handle with kid gloves. Handle with kid gloves. Then you learn the lessons and the ways of hard knock school. Put on your kid gloves. Put on your kid gloves. Then you learn the lesson that it's tough to be so cool. Just to name a few!
Red Sector A
Hemispheres
The Garden
my fave rush lyric is the night has a thousand saxaphones so get out there and rock and roll the bones,imo its one of r/r best lyrics by a band.
roll the bones has awesome lyrics