LeaveMyThingAlone Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Neil has written some great lyrics (Limelight, 2112,Red Barchetta), some bad lyrics (Most of Test for Echo LOL) and some lyrics that to this day have me wondering what the hell he's talking about Here are my top songs I just don't get 1. Presto 2. Chain Lightning 3. Time and Motion 4. Ceiling Unlimited 5. Beneath, Between, and Behind I don't mind some though provoking lyrics here and there but those top 5 are a bit much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Sawyer Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 BBB is about the USA and how it has fallen from its initial standards and dream. I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USB Connector Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Dog years, it confuses the hell out of me that Neil would steal a poem written by a first grade student. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 QUOTE (USB Connector @ Oct 7 2011, 04:03 PM) Dog years, it confuses the hell out of me that Neil would steal a poem written by a first grade student. Maybe he didn't steal it. Maybe Neil wrote it when he was in first grade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liddybuck01 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 none that i can think of right off the top of my head, but yes, many of them. i'm not that bright. i always say i'm pretty dumb to be a Rush fan lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost In Xanadu Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 (edited) Chain lightning is awesome... it's about time with his daughter and how sharing an experience with someone makes it ever greater because of the memories. "I'm a weather fanatic - I really love weather, and I watch the weather and look for a good weatherman. And, one night I was watching it, and there are two incidents in that song that are synchronicity to one weather report, where the weatherman showed a picture of sun dogs, and described them, and they are just two little points of light that appear at sunset, often in the winter when the sky is clear and crystalline, and they are like little prisms, and they sit about ten degrees north and south of the setting sun, and they are just beautiful little diamonds of light, and often times there's a circle of light - one line, that connects them. So they are a really beautiful natural phenomenon, and I love the name too. 'Sun dogs' just has a great sound to it. And in that same weather forecast, the weatherman announced a meteor shower that night, and so my daughter and I went out on the lake in the middle of the night and watched this meteor shower. So the whole idea of the song was response and how people respond to things, and it's a thing I've found a lot in traveling around the world, too. It's not enough just to travel and see things. You have to respond to them - you have to feel them, and a lot of the thrust of that song is how things are transferred, like chain lightning or enthusiasm or energy or love are things that are contagious, and if someone feels them, they are easily transferrable to another person, or in the case of watching a meteor shower, it's made more special if there is someone else there. 'Reflected in another pair of eyes' is the idea that it's a wonderful thing already, just you and the meteor shower, but if there's someone else there with you to share it, then it multiplies, you know, it becomes exponentially a bigger experience, so response is a theme that recurs in several of the songs and was one of my probably dominant sub-themes in the writing." - Neil Peart, on the Rush - Profiled! CD Edited October 7, 2011 by Lost In Xanadu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly D Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 7 2011, 12:31 PM) Neil has written some great lyrics (Limelight, 2112,Red Barchetta), some bad lyrics (Most of Test for Echo LOL) and some lyrics that to this day have me wondering what the hell he's talking about Here are my top songs I just don't get 1. Presto 2. Chain Lightning 3. Time and Motion 4. Ceiling Unlimited 5. Beneath, Between, and Behind I don't mind some though provoking lyrics here and there but those top 5 are a bit much I'll post a reply to the ones that you posted but the lyrics to "War Paint" confuse the hell out of me. So many different interpretations! Anyone have any idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 QUOTE (Kelly D @ Oct 7 2011, 05:15 PM) QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 7 2011, 12:31 PM) Neil has written some great lyrics (Limelight, 2112,Red Barchetta), some bad lyrics (Most of Test for Echo LOL) and some lyrics that to this day have me wondering what the hell he's talking about Here are my top songs I just don't get 1. Presto 2. Chain Lightning 3. Time and Motion 4. Ceiling Unlimited 5. Beneath, Between, and Behind I don't mind some though provoking lyrics here and there but those top 5 are a bit much I'll post a reply to the ones that you posted but the lyrics to "War Paint" confuse the hell out of me. So many different interpretations! Anyone have any idea? I think War Paint refers to the masks and fake personas we wear because we are afraid to be ourselves or feel we have to conform to the expectations of others and society in general.(we see what we want to see) Great freakin lyrics on that one and yes I did think about it many times back in the day. Face Up kind of deals with the subject in a roundabout way as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I can't believe I'm the first one to mention Good News First. Those lyrics just don't work. Sounds like incomplete fragments at times. Supposedly there were a lot more lyrics and it got whittled down and the end product wasn't quite done. Or that's what I remember hearing. And that's certainly how it sounds. Catchy, but it just doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly D Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (presto123 @ Oct 7 2011, 06:02 PM) QUOTE (Kelly D @ Oct 7 2011, 05:15 PM) QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 7 2011, 12:31 PM) Neil has written some great lyrics (Limelight, 2112,Red Barchetta), some bad lyrics (Most of Test for Echo LOL) and some lyrics that to this day have me wondering what the hell he's talking about Here are my top songs I just don't get 1. Presto 2. Chain Lightning 3. Time and Motion 4. Ceiling Unlimited 5. Beneath, Between, and Behind I don't mind some though provoking lyrics here and there but those top 5 are a bit much I'll post a reply to the ones that you posted but the lyrics to "War Paint" confuse the hell out of me. So many different interpretations! Anyone have any idea? I think War Paint refers to the masks and fake personas we wear because we are afraid to be ourselves or feel we have to conform to the expectations of others and society in general.(we see what we want to see) Great freakin lyrics on that one and yes I did think about it many times back in the day. Face Up kind of deals with the subject in a roundabout way as well. Yeah I s'pose what trips me up the most is that it seems at times that the lyrics are positive but then they spin into a negative interpretation. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good,bad,andrush Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (Lost In Xanadu @ Oct 7 2011, 04:10 PM) Chain lightning is awesome... it's about time with his daughter and how sharing an experience with someone makes it ever greater because of the memories. "I'm a weather fanatic - I really love weather, and I watch the weather and look for a good weatherman. And, one night I was watching it, and there are two incidents in that song that are synchronicity to one weather report, where the weatherman showed a picture of sun dogs, and described them, and they are just two little points of light that appear at sunset, often in the winter when the sky is clear and crystalline, and they are like little prisms, and they sit about ten degrees north and south of the setting sun, and they are just beautiful little diamonds of light, and often times there's a circle of light - one line, that connects them. So they are a really beautiful natural phenomenon, and I love the name too. 'Sun dogs' just has a great sound to it. And in that same weather forecast, the weatherman announced a meteor shower that night, and so my daughter and I went out on the lake in the middle of the night and watched this meteor shower. So the whole idea of the song was response and how people respond to things, and it's a thing I've found a lot in traveling around the world, too. It's not enough just to travel and see things. You have to respond to them - you have to feel them, and a lot of the thrust of that song is how things are transferred, like chain lightning or enthusiasm or energy or love are things that are contagious, and if someone feels them, they are easily transferrable to another person, or in the case of watching a meteor shower, it's made more special if there is someone else there. 'Reflected in another pair of eyes' is the idea that it's a wonderful thing already, just you and the meteor shower, but if there's someone else there with you to share it, then it multiplies, you know, it becomes exponentially a bigger experience, so response is a theme that recurs in several of the songs and was one of my probably dominant sub-themes in the writing." - Neil Peart, on the Rush - Profiled! CD Chain Lightning is one of my all time favorite songs, and not just rush. But while it seems like such a happy song it makes me so f***ing sad. It's just a super happy song but when I hear it, I see Neil with his daughter just staring off at these sun dogs and it makes me so sad to know what Neil went through. And I'm in a similar scenario...one of my best friends gave into drugs and we used to do everything together, always staring at the weather together, "reflecting" things in another pair of eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clem Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 never really got what he meant by: "dreamers learn to hide in the gutter, and then look at the cars" or whatever. from "The Pass" Clem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clem Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 7 2011, 12:31 PM) Neil has written some great lyrics (Limelight, 2112,Red Barchetta), some bad lyrics (Most of Test for Echo LOL) and some lyrics that to this day have me wondering what the hell he's talking about Here are my top songs I just don't get 1. Presto 2. Chain Lightning 3. Time and Motion 4. Ceiling Unlimited 5. Beneath, Between, and Behind I don't mind some though provoking lyrics here and there but those top 5 are a bit much I really like the lyrics to Presto. Although I confess I'm not sure what exactly he's talking about entirely. I kind of interpret the whole song as random observations, and although he's not a believer in the supernatural, every now and then you have to wonder about certain phenomena (similar to "Mystic Rhythms"). I also always liked the line "I radiate more heat than light", which I always took to mean "I can find a lot of things wrong and complain, but I don't necessarily have answers nor wisdom". For what it's worth. clem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowItIs Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (Good @ bad,andrush,Oct 7 2011, 07:30 PM) QUOTE (Lost In Xanadu @ Oct 7 2011, 04:10 PM) Chain lightning is awesome... it's about time with his daughter and how sharing an experience with someone makes it ever greater because of the memories. "I'm a weather fanatic - I really love weather, and I watch the weather and look for a good weatherman. And, one night I was watching it, and there are two incidents in that song that are synchronicity to one weather report, where the weatherman showed a picture of sun dogs, and described them, and they are just two little points of light that appear at sunset, often in the winter when the sky is clear and crystalline, and they are like little prisms, and they sit about ten degrees north and south of the setting sun, and they are just beautiful little diamonds of light, and often times there's a circle of light - one line, that connects them. So they are a really beautiful natural phenomenon, and I love the name too. 'Sun dogs' just has a great sound to it. And in that same weather forecast, the weatherman announced a meteor shower that night, and so my daughter and I went out on the lake in the middle of the night and watched this meteor shower. So the whole idea of the song was response and how people respond to things, and it's a thing I've found a lot in traveling around the world, too. It's not enough just to travel and see things. You have to respond to them - you have to feel them, and a lot of the thrust of that song is how things are transferred, like chain lightning or enthusiasm or energy or love are things that are contagious, and if someone feels them, they are easily transferrable to another person, or in the case of watching a meteor shower, it's made more special if there is someone else there. 'Reflected in another pair of eyes' is the idea that it's a wonderful thing already, just you and the meteor shower, but if there's someone else there with you to share it, then it multiplies, you know, it becomes exponentially a bigger experience, so response is a theme that recurs in several of the songs and was one of my probably dominant sub-themes in the writing." - Neil Peart, on the Rush - Profiled! CD Chain Lightning is one of my all time favorite songs, and not just rush. But while it seems like such a happy song it makes me so f***ing sad. It's just a super happy song but when I hear it, I see Neil with his daughter just staring off at these sun dogs and it makes me so sad to know what Neil went through. And I'm in a similar scenario...one of my best friends gave into drugs and we used to do everything together, always staring at the weather together, "reflecting" things in another pair of eyes. It's a bittersweet song for me, too. But I do understand it. I also understand Presto to be about emotions and dealing with the past. The symbolism of the frozen garden and deep water are dead giveaways. As far as "more heat than light" that refers to something (or someone) who generates a lot of emotions but little actual understanding. For example, if a discussion or debate generates more heat than light, it causes anger or intense reaction but doesn't clarify anything. I can't think of any lyrics that I don't at least understand a little - even Dog Years. I knew what he was trying to do there but it just didn't gel. Goobs did hit on one that I don't fully understand in Good News First. Edited October 8, 2011 by HowItIs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbomb106 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (clem @ Oct 7 2011, 11:05 PM) never really got what he meant by: "dreamers learn to hide in the gutter, and then look at the cars" or whatever. from "The Pass" Clem I always thought it was "...dreamers tend to look at the cause" until I read the lyrics. Somehow, IMO, what I heard makes more sense. I'd think dreamers might focus more on the reason for something than...you know, cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 "All of us do time in the gutter...dreamers turn to look at the cars" I think refers to when you are at your lowest point(gutter) find the least bit of positive or hope to grasp onto.(look at the cars rather than wallow in your situation) That seems to coincide with the anti-suicide message as well. Man when Neil is at his best lyrically it is something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (Kelly D @ Oct 7 2011, 09:20 PM) QUOTE (presto123 @ Oct 7 2011, 06:02 PM) QUOTE (Kelly D @ Oct 7 2011, 05:15 PM) QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 7 2011, 12:31 PM) Neil has written some great lyrics (Limelight, 2112,Red Barchetta), some bad lyrics (Most of Test for Echo LOL) and some lyrics that to this day have me wondering what the hell he's talking about Here are my top songs I just don't get 1. Presto 2. Chain Lightning 3. Time and Motion 4. Ceiling Unlimited 5. Beneath, Between, and Behind I don't mind some though provoking lyrics here and there but those top 5 are a bit much I'll post a reply to the ones that you posted but the lyrics to "War Paint" confuse the hell out of me. So many different interpretations! Anyone have any idea? I think War Paint refers to the masks and fake personas we wear because we are afraid to be ourselves or feel we have to conform to the expectations of others and society in general.(we see what we want to see) Great freakin lyrics on that one and yes I did think about it many times back in the day. Face Up kind of deals with the subject in a roundabout way as well. Yeah I s'pose what trips me up the most is that it seems at times that the lyrics are positive but then they spin into a negative interpretation. . . I think he's talking about low self esteem issues. The positive you are talking about is how people build themselves up to be better than others(she can keep her fantasy if she can get away)(mistake conceit for pride) because they don't like themselves. The negative you're talking about(wounded pride on painted eyes...fill the night with battle cries) is a result of our fantasy or self delusion not matching up with reality. Our whole identity is tied up in fantasy because we don't like ourselves or don't feel worthy at heart. Paint the mirror black refers to be your real self and not your puffed up vanity self.(who you tell yourself you are or pretend to be) I can relate to this song personally. My whole self esteem has always been tied to having to be really good at something or most things I attempt. But that drive in some ways all stems from lack of self worth.(see what it is we lack) Wow my brain hurts now. I hope I at least got in the ballpark of what Neil was trying to convey. I wish I could discuss it personally with him(yeah right LOL) because it is one of my favs lyrically by Neil. Edited October 8, 2011 by presto123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethOfSyrinx Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Kid Gloves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Sawyer Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (BethOfSyrinx @ Oct 8 2011, 07:51 AM) Kid Gloves. I think that one's partly about trying to understand kids' behavior from an adult's perspective. Also, I think the main point is how hard it is to fit in and be popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenken Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (clem @ Oct 7 2011, 10:05 PM) never really got what he meant by: "dreamers learn to hide in the gutter, and then look at the cars" or whatever. from "The Pass" Clem Easy one. Sometimes life will leave you in the gutter, feeling like all is lost and not going anywhere in life. But the positive ones, the dreamers, look at the cars driving by, which is a metaphor for people who are doing things, going places. A lot of his lyrics are pretty easy to figure out if you dont get too hung up on the actual words in the literal sense of what they actually mean, you have to think about what cars do for you. Neil uses metaphors a lot, like many writers do. It's just more interesting than saying what you really mean in plain english. He also uses 2 things that are similar to keep some continuity. The gutter and cars, both involving streets, streets are pathways to destinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxster Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly D Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (presto123 @ Oct 8 2011, 02:51 AM) QUOTE (Kelly D @ Oct 7 2011, 09:20 PM) QUOTE (presto123 @ Oct 7 2011, 06:02 PM) QUOTE (Kelly D @ Oct 7 2011, 05:15 PM) QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 7 2011, 12:31 PM) Neil has written some great lyrics (Limelight, 2112,Red Barchetta), some bad lyrics (Most of Test for Echo LOL) and some lyrics that to this day have me wondering what the hell he's talking about Here are my top songs I just don't get 1. Presto 2. Chain Lightning 3. Time and Motion 4. Ceiling Unlimited 5. Beneath, Between, and Behind I don't mind some though provoking lyrics here and there but those top 5 are a bit much I'll post a reply to the ones that you posted but the lyrics to "War Paint" confuse the hell out of me. So many different interpretations! Anyone have any idea? I think War Paint refers to the masks and fake personas we wear because we are afraid to be ourselves or feel we have to conform to the expectations of others and society in general.(we see what we want to see) Great freakin lyrics on that one and yes I did think about it many times back in the day. Face Up kind of deals with the subject in a roundabout way as well. Yeah I s'pose what trips me up the most is that it seems at times that the lyrics are positive but then they spin into a negative interpretation. . . I think he's talking about low self esteem issues. The positive you are talking about is how people build themselves up to be better than others(she can keep her fantasy if she can get away)(mistake conceit for pride) because they don't like themselves. The negative you're talking about(wounded pride on painted eyes...fill the night with battle cries) is a result of our fantasy or self delusion not matching up with reality. Our whole identity is tied up in fantasy because we don't like ourselves or don't feel worthy at heart. Paint the mirror black refers to be your real self and not your puffed up vanity self.(who you tell yourself you are or pretend to be) I can relate to this song personally. My whole self esteem has always been tied to having to be really good at something or most things I attempt. But that drive in some ways all stems from lack of self worth.(see what it is we lack) Wow my brain hurts now. I hope I at least got in the ballpark of what Neil was trying to convey. I wish I could discuss it personally with him(yeah right LOL) because it is one of my favs lyrically by Neil. Nice!!! Thanks so much- that makes so much more sense to me now. I'm glad your brain hurts too They're not easy lyrics to explicate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly D Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 7 2011, 12:31 PM) 3. Time and Motion I believe "Time and Motion"'s lyrics are about how days can slip away from you if you don't make like Ferris Bueller and stop and appreciate life once in a while. Also, on the other hand, it seems like an overall marvel at how people's lives connect and stay connected over long periods of time. Sound about right? I've never really thought about it before. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly D Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (BethOfSyrinx @ Oct 8 2011, 06:51 AM) Kid Gloves. "Kid Gloves" is an awesome interpretation of the tribulations that kids (mostly boys from that I can discern) have to deal with in childhood- peer pressure, mostly. It's similar to "Subdivisions" in theme- a sister song if you will. . . the "be cool or be cast out" mentality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielmclark Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 7 2011, 11:31 AM) Neil has written some great lyrics (Limelight, 2112,Red Barchetta), some bad lyrics (Most of Test for Echo LOL) and some lyrics that to this day have me wondering what the hell he's talking about Here are my top songs I just don't get 1. Presto 2. Chain Lightning 3. Time and Motion 4. Ceiling Unlimited 5. Beneath, Between, and Behind I don't mind some though provoking lyrics here and there but those top 5 are a bit much Oh, easy. 1. Presto is about magic. 2. Chain Lightning is a reference to video games, where chain guns and lightning weapons are very common. 3. Time and Motion is about going on a boat cruise, where you're constantly in motion and it takes a long time to get anywhere. 4. Ceiling Unlimited is about a house that Neil used to live in that didn't have a roof. 5. Beneath, Between & Behind is sexual in nature. I won't explain further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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