Closer To The Heart lyrics

[Timbale]

Closer To The Heart is one of those Rush songs that I don't think about very much - of their "big hits" it is probably my least favourite.  I can enjoy the ESL version when I am listening to that record...but I find Geddy's vocal on the studio version is kind of affected and a little annoying to me.

 

Consequently, I never really think about the lyrics that much.  They always kinda just seemed serviceable and "fine"...but not that interesting or outstanding.  The other day I was watching the live version from ESL...and I started to think that the lyrics are actually quite good.  There is something about the phrasing of the lines, I think, that has always made the last two lines of each verse (the title of the song) sort of stand alone...like they're not really connected to the lines that come before it. They just sort of sound like their own thing.   But really, in each verse, the 3rd and 4th lines are the same thought - they are essentially the same sentence.  

 

It's written, and I think more importantly, sung, like this:

 

The blacksmith and the artist
Reflect it in their art
They forge their creativity
Closer to the heart
Yes closer to the heart

 

But really, the intention is:

 

The blacksmith and the artist
Reflect it in their art
They forge their creativity closer to the heart
Yes closer to the heart

 

This might be an obvious thing...but I'm not sure I ever really thought that through before...and for me it makes the song more meaningful.  I actually think it's a pretty good lyric.  Perhaps it could be said it's sort of a failure of the phrasing that the title seems disconnected from the other lines in the verse, I don't know...but it has made me re-assess this song and enjoy it more.

[Fridge]

Can I have the last two minutes of my life back please?

[Timbale]

38 minutes ago, Fridge said:

Can I have the last two minutes of my life back please?

Always nice to chat about Rush with fellow fans - such an enjoyable community to be part of.  The three band members are so revered by their fan base for being thoughtful and kind people - you can really see that reflected in the people that love the band.

[goose]

Always good to read  appreciation for CTTH, a song that seems to be dismissed by many.  I love the lyrics, and you are dead on regarding how they are best read

 

I agree with Neil that the things we accomplish in life are most meaningful when done from a good place...from the heart

[Timbale]

16 minutes ago, goose said:

Always good to read  appreciation for CTTH, a song that seems to be dismissed by many.  I love the lyrics, and you are dead on regarding how they are best read

 

I agree with Neil that the things we accomplish in life are most meaningful when done from a good place...from the heart

It also really struck me, (again, perhaps obvious, but I had kinda dismissed the lyrics, or not given them the attention that I give a lot of other Rush songs) that they are very...inclusive, I guess.  

 

"blacksmith and the artist" and "philosophers and plowmen".  They are all given equal standing in the song - it is quite egalitarian.  I would even venture to say that it is a tiny bit of a turn away from the Randian influence that he showed just one album before. 

[laughedatbytime]

4 hours ago, Timbale said:

It also really struck me, (again, perhaps obvious, but I had kinda dismissed the lyrics, or not given them the attention that I give a lot of other Rush songs) that they are very...inclusive, I guess.  

 

"blacksmith and the artist" and "philosophers and plowmen".  They are all given equal standing in the song - it is quite egalitarian.  I would even venture to say that it is a tiny bit of a turn away from the Randian influence that he showed just one album before. 

I don't think, at the time of AFTK, Neil considered the role of philosophers and plough men to be equal in society, just that both should do them to the best of their ability.

[zepphead]

I haven't delved that deeply into the lyrics tbh ..... to me it's just a damn fine song.

[JARG]

10 hours ago, laughedatbytime said:

I don't think, at the time of AFTK, Neil considered the role of philosophers and plough men to be equal in society, just that both should do them to the best of their ability.

 

I agree. That each should do their part doesn't necessarily mean he thought those "parts" were equal.

[chemistry1973]

10 minutes ago, JARG said:

 

I agree. That each should do their part doesn't necessarily mean he thought those "parts" were equal.

Me too though he might also say that it’s irrelevant whether these jobs were ‘equal’ or not.

[laughedatbytime]

23 minutes ago, JARG said:

 

I agree. That each should do their part doesn't necessarily mean he thought those "parts" were equal.

At least he didn't say "place" instead of "part"...

[Timbale]

I agree - perhaps “equal” was the wrong word to use. He IS saying that all have a part to play…and that putting care into their individual efforts is the best way forward. I dig that message. 

[Fridge]

17 hours ago, Timbale said:

Always nice to chat about Rush with fellow fans - such an enjoyable community to be part of.  The three band members are so revered by their fan base for being thoughtful and kind people - you can really see that reflected in the people that love the band.

[JARG]

I've always wondered how many of the lines in the song were written by Talbot vs. Peart.

[Bahamas]

Nice to see a re-visit of song lyrics, for the sake of the words and phrases chosen, the whole backstory of Neil putting together ideas and Geddy choosing/feeling parts of them - and then back to writing again. Happened so many times! And having read somewhere how Neil would have a whole shelf of scrap books of ideas with sticky notes and literary references, sometimes waiting for permission to use published writing or other times just something noted on the side of the road during a trip.

 

And I think Geddy's voice is brilliant. Interesting to hear Closer To The Heart not being one of a fan's favourites but for me it is always in the upper group of loved songs. Pretty powerful tune, I think.

 

[BigMontanaSKY]

I personally love the song, thanks for starting the discussion!!!!!

[Timbale]

On 5/8/2023 at 7:30 PM, Bahamas said:

Nice to see a re-visit of song lyrics, for the sake of the words and phrases chosen, the whole backstory of Neil putting together ideas and Geddy choosing/feeling parts of them - and then back to writing again. Happened so many times! And having read somewhere how Neil would have a whole shelf of scrap books of ideas with sticky notes and literary references, sometimes waiting for permission to use published writing or other times just something noted on the side of the road during a trip.

 

And I think Geddy's voice is brilliant. Interesting to hear Closer To The Heart not being one of a fan's favourites but for me it is always in the upper group of loved songs. Pretty powerful tune, I think.

 

 

I remember in elementary school, classmates, particularly girls, making fun of me for loving Rush.  I can remember at some point telling one of them that Rush was from our hometown...and they couldn't believe it!  They were certain, given Geddy's voice, that they were British.  They cited Closer To The Heart as the example...that there was no way that was a Canadian accent!  I find that funny now....BUT...for me, songs from around this era, the songs on Farewell in particular... he does have a sort of odd affectation to his enunciation that puts me off a bit... and of course we're talking a classic album with a handful of classic songs.  But this is totally why for me the ESL version of Closer To The Heart is WAY more enjoyable to listen to - his vocal is great on that track - the best he ever performed it, probably.