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The Pass


barney_rebel

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Discuss.

 

This song grew on me big time, and once again from the VT tour. Listening to RiR now and this song is gonna stick in my head for the rest of the night (fitting how they move right into Bravado BTW, since we discussed the two songs have similarities).

 

The lyrics are powerful - dark, but yet still uplifting. The end lyrics "Christ what have you done?" just hits you like a brick wall. The verses themself have a good flow and then it's an abrupt ending.

 

The bass is simple but yet powerful as well. The chords at the beginning are just fabulous - I swear it almost sounds like someone weeping.

 

A friend of mine and a big Rush fan said his friend witnessed a suicide when that song was popular. So - it's a song that is really dear to him.

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QUOTE (barney_rebel @ Nov 19 2004, 04:02 PM)
Discuss.

This song grew on me big time, and once again from the VT tour. Listening to RiR now and this song is gonna stick in my head for the rest of the night (fitting how they move right into Bravado BTW, since we discussed the two songs have similarities).

The lyrics are powerful - dark, but yet still uplifting. The end lyrics "Christ what have you done?" just hits you like a brick wall. The verses themself have a good flow and then it's an abrupt ending.

The bass is simple but yet powerful as well. The chords at the beginning are just fabulous - I swear it almost sounds like someone weeping.

A friend of mine and a big Rush fan said his friend witnessed a suicide when that song was popular. So - it's a song that is really dear to him.

Do you have the video for this? If not, let me know and I will flip it to you...

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The Pass was the first song on Presto to really stick in my mind and, for a long time, it was my favourite (until replaced by Red Tide).

 

So, what do I love about it?

 

First of all, I think it is, perhaps, the most emotive song on Presto. Much as I love the album, I think it feels rather cold and impersonal. P/G has a similar quality but rises above Presto with a chilling intensity that is lacking here. Secondly, there seems to be a wonderful simplicity to the song. Although I love the complexity that Rush bring to their song writing, there are times when simplicity is the best option and The Pass showcases this in abundance.

 

However, most of all, I think the song struck a chord in me that has been re-awakened recently.

 

A couple of years before Presto was released, a good friend of mine (he taught me how to play guitar and was in a local band I admired very much) committed suicide. This affected me very deeply as I saw him only days before he hooked a hose to the exhaust of his car. I was at work at the time and was unable to speak to him and, in the days following his death, I often wondered if I would have been able to say the one thing that would have prevented this.

 

To jump forward to this year, suicide has been in the news a great deal due to a man who committed suicide by parking his car on a level crossing when a train was due. This resulted in seven fatalities among the train's passengers, two of whom were children. It also highlighted the air of acceptance that has grown up around suicide.

 

While I accept that there are a proportion of suicides that are caused by a deep depression, many could be prevented if societies attitude to the act was not so understanding.

 

I may not be putting this clearly, but the rise in suicide is, in part, due to the increased herd instinct and copycat culture that has taken hold of society in recent years.

 

As Neil says to the suicide in The Pass:

 

'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?'

 

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QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Nov 19 2004, 04:02 PM)
QUOTE (barney_rebel @ Nov 19 2004, 04:02 PM)
Discuss.

This song grew on me big time, and once again from the VT tour.  Listening to RiR now and this song is gonna stick in my head for the rest of the night (fitting how they move right into Bravado BTW, since we discussed the two songs have similarities).

The lyrics are powerful - dark, but yet still uplifting.  The end lyrics "Christ what have you done?"  just hits you like a brick wall.  The verses themself have a good flow and then it's an abrupt ending.

The bass is simple but yet powerful as well.  The chords at the beginning are just fabulous - I swear it almost sounds like someone weeping.

A friend of mine and a big Rush fan said his friend witnessed a suicide when that song was popular.  So - it's a song that is really dear to him.

Do you have the video for this? If not, let me know and I will flip it to you...

I didn't know they had a video for this song. How do you send videos? Through email? I tried sending someone a video but it's to big. sad.gif

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QUOTE (barney_rebel @ Nov 19 2004, 04:02 PM)

The end lyrics "Christ what have you done?"  just hits you like a brick wall.

OK, I always wondered. When he says "Christ what have you done" Is he asking Christ what he has done as if he's blaming Christ for suicide? Or, Is he saying "Christ, what have you done, as in asking the person why they killed themselves?

 

I'm not sure if anyone really know this answer besides maybe Neil or maybe Geddy. I think he's saying "CHRIST, what have you done" as in asking the person why they killed themselves but I'm not really sure. What does everyone else think about this?

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I think you're right there indy.

 

If you look at Neil's lyrics, they do tend to border between and agnostic and atheistic viewpoint. In light of this, I find it highly unlikely that the question would directed towards an entity whose existence is treated in a very ambiguous manner through other lyrics.

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QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Nov 19 2004, 11:03 PM)
While I accept that there are a proportion of suicides that are caused by a deep depression, many could be prevented if societies attitude to the act was not so understanding.

I may not be putting this clearly, but the rise in suicide is, in part, due to the increased herd instinct and copycat culture that has taken hold of society in recent years.

As Neil says to the suicide in The Pass:

'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?'

I think you're on the button there Slaine. My area (Donegal in North West Ireland) is in a strange position. Politically, we're in the Republic of Ireland, but geographically we're North of Belfast. It's a predominantly rural area, and suicide is and has been a major problem.

 

The phenomenon of copycat suicide is noticeable. If one person in an area commits suicide, there will often be two or three more within a five to ten mile radius within a month. I think it's a matter of a depressed and repressed youth seeing someone they know commit suicide, assume that person had the life of Reilly, and then say "If he couldn't make it, what chance have I?".

 

If only men would talk more and get away from the "I drank fifteen pints and screwed five women" macho bollocks that so many come out with, this wouldn't be a problem. I'm convinced some men actually commit suicide because they believe the bullshit others come out with and that heightens their feelings of inadequacy. It's a major problem here, and represents the downside of our cheerful pint drinking culture. I could go on a rant here, but to quote my current alter ego Luther Billis - "You get the picture".

 

I love the stanza

 

"It's not as if this barricade blocks the only road,

it's not as if you're all alone in wanting to explode"

 

It says it all. The tragedy of suicide is so often, it's based on a blindness, a myopic refusal to see beyond the barricade. It's reminiscent of the REM song "Everbody Hurts", but IMO Neil puts it much better.

 

It's a despair I know. I was almost there once, but thankfully, I examined the barricade and saw the way around. Others haven't been so lucky.

 

Good call on this one Barney, peace to all.

 

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QUOTE (madra sneachta @ Nov 19 2004, 08:05 PM)

I think you're on the button there Slaine. My area (Donegal in North West Ireland) is in a strange position. Politically, we're in the Republic of Ireland, but geographically we're North of Belfast. It's a predominantly rural area, and suicide is and has been a major problem.

The phenomenon of copycat suicide is noticeable. If one person in an area commits suicide, there will often be two or three more within a five to ten mile radius within a month. I think it's a matter of a depressed and repressed youth seeing someone they know commit suicide, assume that person had the life of Reilly, and then say "If he couldn't make it, what chance have I?".

If only men would talk more and get away from the "I drank fifteen pints and screwed five women" macho bollocks that so many come out with, this wouldn't be a problem. I'm convinced some men actually commit suicide because they believe the bullshit others come out with and that heightens their feelings of inadequacy. It's a major problem here, and represents the downside of our cheerful pint drinking culture. I could go on a rant here, but to quote my current alter ego Luther Billis - "You get the picture".

I love the stanza

"It's not as if this barricade blocks the only road,
it's not as if you're all alone in wanting to explode"

It says it all. The tragedy of suicide is so often, it's based on a blindness, a myopic refusal to see beyond the barricade. It's reminiscent of the REM song "Everbody Hurts", but IMO Neil puts it much better.

It's a despair I know. I was almost there once, but thankfully, I examined the barricade and saw the way around. Others haven't been so lucky.

Good call on this one Barney, peace to all.

Thank you for posting, Madra....

 

suicide is a very difficult subject for me. It's hit close to home several times.

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QUOTE (RushRevisited @ Nov 19 2004, 02:02 PM)
QUOTE (barney_rebel @ Nov 19 2004, 04:02 PM)
Discuss.

This song grew on me big time, and once again from the VT tour.  Listening to RiR now and this song is gonna stick in my head for the rest of the night (fitting how they move right into Bravado BTW, since we discussed the two songs have similarities).

The lyrics are powerful - dark, but yet still uplifting.  The end lyrics "Christ what have you done?"  just hits you like a brick wall.  The verses themself have a good flow and then it's an abrupt ending.

The bass is simple but yet powerful as well.  The chords at the beginning are just fabulous - I swear it almost sounds like someone weeping.

A friend of mine and a big Rush fan said his friend witnessed a suicide when that song was popular.  So - it's a song that is really dear to him.

Do you have the video for this? If not, let me know and I will flip it to you...

I have that Vid and I have to say its really cool...seems like my everyday life.....well kinda...lol laugh.gif

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Personally from my own experience, I dont think copycat suicide really is the root of the problem. While it may be true that the act of one person my spur another push himself over the edge, there is definatly something very very wrong happening to the person that would lead them to this decision. A happy person isnt going to all of the sudden decide to commit suicide just because he has heard someone else has. Suicide isnt simply a means of not looking trying to look beyond the barriers that you face, it is not being able to look beyond them. It is being in a place so unbearable, that you are trying desperatly to get to anywhere where you dont have to feel that way anymore. Sometimes, that can seem to be the only option. I dont know how much the factor of society acceptance over suicide plays a role in it, but for that person I doubt highly that is what they are worrying over.

 

As for the christ reference, I have heard this a million times over and it always seems to be misinterpreted. The word christ is simply being used as an expression of extreme feeling to be placed with the rest of the sentence. "Golly, what have you done" doesnt seem to have the same ring now does it?

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I think there is some truth in what you say. maybe 'copycat-suicide' isn't the correct term as it tends to belittle the condition and the suffering of the person involved.

 

The point I was trying to make, and the way I interpret the lyrics to The Pass, goes a little deeper.

 

When I talk about the copycat culture, its more a case of the way suicide is accepted as a viable means of solving the problem. I don't condem suicides as, having suffered from depression myself, I have some understanding of how bleak and hopeless the world can seem and how death can appear inviting as an end to suffering.

 

On the other hand, I don't condone suicide either. To my mind, a human life is too precious to be thrown away. That is also why I am a pacifist and one of the reasons I'm against the death penalty, but this is not the place for that discussion.

 

What I am trying to say is that a number of people, at the bleakest moment of their lives, will see others take their own lives. And seeing this, they will take that option themselves, rather than exploring other options (difficult and damn near impossible they may be) because society today has accepted suicide.

 

There have been times when I have thought about it. When it would have been easy to give up the fight but one thing kept me going. The fact that suicide affects more than the individual who performs the act.

 

Not only do those left behind have to deal with the grief af a loved ones passing, there is also a degree of guilt. I mentioned in my earlier post that a friend of mine took his own life. Looking back, its incredible how guilty I felt at the time because I couldn't find the time to talk to him for five minutes. In all probability, I would not have have made any difference to his decision. But, then again, I may have.

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I agree Slaine, suicide truely is a very selfish act, and all that it does is transfer the pain you are feeling onto those who you have left behind. People who are on the verge of this will try to rationalize it to make it seem ok for themselves to make the act, it is seen as a quick fix to a problem that seems impossible to tackle. Sometimes though the only way a person can overcome the depression is to hit rock bottom, because once you get there, there is only up. People who are under this kind of depression dont always gain the ability to hit this point as they are trying desperatly to keep away from it, and therefore never get the chance to look up. This is how suicide can enter in to thier minds as a viable alternative.
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I contemplated it before when I was at a low point in my life. I scared my own self from the thoughts that were going through my head. I ended up going to therapy, I only went 2 times and that's all I needed. The first thing the therapist asked me was.....Did you ever think of the way you was planning on doing it? I said yes, then she said that's the most serious cases, she said a lot of people contemplate it and never get to the point where they think of the way they could do it.

 

Well, I know 3 people personally that did do it. I knew their families and how bad it hurt them after it was too late(and it hurt me also of course) and they wish they would have known it so they could have done something about it before it was too late. To be honest, if I wouldn't have seen the pain it caused the families then I may have done it. So me seeing it happen and what it did to the family is probably what kept me from doing it. If that makes any sense. I'm a pacifist also like our buddy slaine, I was more worried about the pain I would cause after it was said and done, so without seeing first hand just how bad it hurt the ones left behind, I just may not be here today. wink.gif

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Thanks for that personal post Indy, I can definatly understand that reasoning for deciding against it. I likewise was at a similar low point in my life, but I never have recieved any therapy for it. If I had, I am sure the therapist would have found me at that case as well. What turned me against deciding to do it though was failing at my attempt. Once I realized just how low I had gotten myself, I understood that if I didnt do something to fix myself and realize where I was going wrong, thats exactly where I was gonna end up. Moving out of my living situation at the time to CA and adopting a willingness to try to find what i was hiding from has brought me a long way from that point.

 

Tell you the truth, I had recently been to a funeral for a friend who had wrapped himself around a tree while drag racing and saw first hand the hurt it caused thier family and so many people. I felt very guilty for being there, because for all their suffering, I still couldnt put aside my problems from my mind. I still acted humble and helped console the pains of my other friends, but at the time, mine was more important. Seeing them didnt really have that same effect on me, though in my defense I was young and in hindsite very selfcentered for that reaction.

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The truth is that the human race, on the whole, is a very selfish group. Our own personal pain can seem so overwhelming that everything else is far too trivial to bother with anyone or anything else. It sad to say, but I really think it is true. And, as has been said, suicide is this selfishness taken to extremes.

 

I think one of the things I like about The Pass is that it does convey the utter waste of suicide. It shows that suicide solves nothing as is simply the premature end of a life in most cases (I'm not including terminal illness/severe pain situations here).

 

I cannot think of a song that could be better used in any sort of campaign aimed at lowereing suicide statistics.

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QUOTE (barney_rebel @ Nov 20 2004, 10:17 AM)
"The World I Know" By Collective Soul is along the same lines.

One of my favorite songs. So much feeling in that one, just a beautiful tune!

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I wasn't able to respond yesterday when I first saw this thread start. And now, it's been so amazingly responded to that there is little more to offer.

 

To me, this song is probably the deepest and most emotional song in Rush's history. The lyrics, which have been covered so much here.... are perfectly written. My favorite line other than what Madra quoted is "Electrical storm in your veins". There's something about those 5 words that speak volumes. My other favorite line is "Don't turn your back and slam the door on me". The way it echoes and fades at the end........ wow.

 

What I'd also like to point out is the emotion through the music. Rush, as a band, has learned over the years to invoke such emotion through their music especially with how they arrange it around the lyric. This song, to me, is their most powerful example.

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I agree with you there. One of the things I've always loved about Neil's lyrics is how you can apply them to a personal situation - no matter how far away from his intended meaning they are, you can always find a frame of relevance for yourself.

 

The Pass is a classic example of this, as is Afterimage. For me at any rate.

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QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Nov 20 2004, 02:06 PM)
I agree with you there. One of the things I've always loved about Neil's lyrics is how you can apply them to a personal situation - no matter how far away from his intended meaning they are, you can always find a frame of relevance for yourself.

The Pass is a classic example of this, as is Afterimage. For me at any rate.

You won't hear any arguements from me smile.gif

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