Alph Seeker Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 QUOTE Of course, STC was allegedly doing opium when he wrote it... Yes, it's said that the poem was created from an opiate-derived dream. Hmmm...dreaming, then awaking, sauntering down to the kitchen, rubbing eyes, serious case of the munchies, Coleridge sees the honeydew, sits down with slice in one hand, writing implement in the other and pens Kubla Kahn. Centuries later, Neil Peart, perhaps impaired to some degree himself...no allegations here, merely surmising, of course...sits down to the typewriter, "Best of Coleridge Works" in one hand, his own slice of melon in the other and thinks, "hey, Breakfast, Break Fast - now THAT I can work with!" "But first I need a glass of milk. Mmmm...Paradise" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edie Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 QUOTE (Ancient Ways @ Oct 16 2008, 12:31 AM) QUOTE (Alph Seeker @ Oct 15 2008, 12:42 PM) However -- In my opinion, I don't think Neil intended any double entendre or creative reference to the 'Honey dew' line in Xanadu (such s breaking fast and breakfast.) why do you seem convinced that breakfast is so different that break fast? if you have slept all night you have essentially fasted and your morning meal is the "breaking" of this fast. when the doctor wants to test your fasting blood sugar levels they tell you not to eat after midnight. Breakfast is clearly derived from "break fast" so it's not really word play is it? It's probably more a choice of words so the line still scans when he uses "I have dined on honeydew" and "Break my fast on honeydew" in different choruses. "I'll have honeydew for breakfast" doesn't scan or sound poetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvgeddy05 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 QUOTE (Marathonist @ Oct 15 2008, 07:49 PM) God, this thread is starting to get a bit heated, ain't it? Gotta luv it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liddybuck01 Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 QUOTE (Alph Seeker @ Oct 15 2008, 12:39 PM) QUOTE And I'd be willing to bet that all of us, or almost all of us, did know it was based on the Coleridge poem. Ok, maybe I should have said "some" instead of "many." Neither of us can claim any real number anyway. My post was not intended to imply that you or "us" as collective forum members or guests (who do read this board and may know very little about Rush - are seeking to learn more) do not know about the poem. Pretty sure some do not, so I offer up the fact for anyone who did not. Some do, some do not. As to credit, not my place to give it. Maybe talk to Henry Paulson? you are right. i had no idea where this came from. i figured a book or something. i'm still not sure what xanadu means or who kubla khan is. i don't think that makes me dumb or anything, it just means i never learned these things in school. not my fault. and i've only become interested in them since becoming a Rush fan. that's why i was asking about possible books to explain what all these songs are about. even tom sawyer i'm not quite sure about and i know that's a popular book. i just never read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 QUOTE (liddybuck01 @ Oct 18 2008, 11:50 AM) QUOTE (Alph Seeker @ Oct 15 2008, 12:39 PM) QUOTE And I'd be willing to bet that all of us, or almost all of us, did know it was based on the Coleridge poem. Ok, maybe I should have said "some" instead of "many." Neither of us can claim any real number anyway. My post was not intended to imply that you or "us" as collective forum members or guests (who do read this board and may know very little about Rush - are seeking to learn more) do not know about the poem. Pretty sure some do not, so I offer up the fact for anyone who did not. Some do, some do not. As to credit, not my place to give it. Maybe talk to Henry Paulson? you are right. i had no idea where this came from. i figured a book or something. i'm still not sure what xanadu means or who kubla khan is. i don't think that makes me dumb or anything, it just means i never learned these things in school. not my fault. and i've only become interested in them since becoming a Rush fan. that's why i was asking about possible books to explain what all these songs are about. even tom sawyer i'm not quite sure about and i know that's a popular book. i just never read it. Wow I'm not saying that not knowing anything about the above makes you dumb per se, but I do struggle with the idea that anyone with any inclination to read or to have any natural curiosity at all couldn't know anything at all about them. I mean, I'm not exactly an expert myself or anything, but (without googling) I knew that Kublai Khan was a mediaeval Mongolian emperor and that Xanadu was his summer palace Similarly, I'm not sure I know anyone who hasn't read Tom Sawyer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanadu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kublai_Khan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_sawyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liddybuck01 Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 i would read books if i knew which ones to get! lol yeah, both high schools i attended did not teach me anything really useful. my eglish classes were pretty basic. i'm even surpirsed we never read tom sawyer. what bothered me about the classes was the fact that we would spend a whole month reading one book. rediculous! one week per book, i say. but there was nothing i could do about it. and i didn't attend regular college, went to a specialty school, so no literary education there. i'm sure if i wasn't a Rush fan i would have no use for this stuff anyways. i mean, it's interesting to learn about, but it's nothing that i absolutely need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 QUOTE (liddybuck01 @ Oct 18 2008, 01:27 PM) i would read books if i knew which ones to get! lol yeah, both high schools i attended did not teach me anything really useful. my eglish classes were pretty basic. i'm even surpirsed we never read tom sawyer. what bothered me about the classes was the fact that we would spend a whole month reading one book. rediculous! one week per book, i say. but there was nothing i could do about it. and i didn't attend regular college, went to a specialty school, so no literary education there. i'm sure if i wasn't a Rush fan i would have no use for this stuff anyways. i mean, it's interesting to learn about, but it's nothing that i absolutely need to know. Actually, I never read these books/poems at school either, but that wasn't really my point. I was more amazed that there were people who hadn't read these at all or indeed even heard of them. I thought that they were staples of literature and that, school curriculum or not, just about everybody would have read them as a matter of course. Without trying to sound overly critical, I am a little saddened by your stance on how "neccessary" it is to read books such as the above mentioned. I myself have no practical "use" on a day-to-day basis for these works, but fine poetry and prose feeds the soul, lifts the spirits and broadens the mind. I thoroughly recommend you try the above mentioned as a starting point. If Rush has served no other purpose than to introduce you to writings of that calibre, then I would say thats more than good enough.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liddybuck01 Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 i would love to be able to sit down and read a book. but honestly i can't find the time. i work two jobs so when i get time to myself i want to relax, and that has never included a good book. hell, i still haven't finished contents under pressure! i'm not against reading, though. so when i get the time, whether that's soon or years from now, i will get to it. i was disappointed in high school. i would've loved to read all of the classics. one class i had we didn't even read the whole books. there was parts of books in a big book. it was so horrible. i would get into the story and then never finish it. becoming a Rush fan has definitely opened my eyes to how dumb i am! haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fridge Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 QUOTE (liddybuck01 @ Oct 18 2008, 03:20 PM) becoming a Rush fan has definitely opened my eyes to how dumb i am! haha I hope you don't think I was insinuating you were dumb, as that certainly wasn't the case. I was just thinking that it was sad that some people weren't exposed to literature like this at an early age. I can relate to the lack of time issue, as there seems to be far to many claims on mine just now, but time soent reading is nearly always time well spent. I just wish I could do it more often nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liddybuck01 Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 no no i'm not insulted at all. i know how smart and/or dumb i am so it's all good! haha and i think the education system here is to blame. i don't get spending so long talking about one book when we should've been reading one each week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaye Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Liddybuck, you may also like to have a look at this page on the Power Windows site. It tells you the inspirations behind Rush's songs from books, mythology, etc. Could be useful as a starting point if you want to learn about the subject of any song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liddybuck01 Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 thanks for that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weakly Criminal Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 QUOTE (King Troll @ Oct 15 2008, 02:45 PM) QUOTE (Marathonist @ Oct 14 2008, 09:05 PM) I do not like melon. So I'll skip breakfast rather than eat honeydew. I think you'll find that Honeydew is a sugar rich secretion that comes out of the arse-end of aphids, and is much beloved by ants. I would wager that this is the Honeydew that Coleridge was writing about. The only melons you get in Mummerset are to be found on the wenches serving flagons of foaming ale and scrumpy. King Troll Educational and Annoying So you don't eat honey? Granted it's regurgitated rather than excreted, but still. Bee vomit is some seriously tasty stuff. As to the song, I've never thought that Peart was saying much beyond the original intention of the poem. The insanity of self aggrandizement is the point I get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 QUOTE (liddybuck01 @ Oct 18 2008, 09:31 AM) no no i'm not insulted at all. i know how smart and/or dumb i am so it's all good! haha and i think the education system here is to blame. i don't get spending so long talking about one book when we should've been reading one each week. Ever try reading at home? But I get your point about scchool dragging things out. Get on with it already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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