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Some thoughts on The Anarchist


CygnusGal
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QUOTE (theredtamasrule @ Jul 10 2012, 07:13 PM)
QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jul 10 2012, 05:40 PM)
Thanks for that clarification. Yes, those experiences have certainly colored Neil's views, there can be no way they would not.

I try not to be Neil's psychoanalyst when listening to his lyrics. However, when on BU2B there is the line:

 

The price of what we're winning / is the same as what we've lost

 

I can't help but to think of his situation; lost his wife and daughter now he has a wife and daughter. I don't know or try to infer he means that overtly but it's there in my interpretation.

 

Oh, and the Anarchist just f***ing kills. Great song. 1022.gif

The price of what we're winning...

 

That line has had me scratching my head since I heard it. You might be right (I can't think of another explanation), but it's an odd line in an otherwise straightforward song...

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I find that every time I think that Neil is pulling from some deep personal feelings in his lyrics, most often I read or listen to an interview that the biggest influence seems to come from books he reads that intrigue him about humanity in general. It seems he first pulls from writings that then speak to him about his life.

 

Just an observation.

 

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Big yes.gif to the last several posts. It certainly has to always be in one's subconscious when something like this happens, even 15 years later.

 

When I first heard ... the price of winning is the same as what we've lost... after reading "Ghost Rider" I had the same thought as theredtamasrule. And, who knows, maybe we're on target there.

 

And it's in the song because it's in the book. But is it in the song because it's in the book and stuck with him for the reasons we've mentioned?

 

Makes you think. But not too much. One must balance that with 1022.gif wink.gif

 

 

 

 

CygnusGal... well met. hug2.gif

Edited by HowItIs
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QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jul 11 2012, 03:37 AM)
Big  yes.gif  to the last several posts. It certainly has to always be in one's subconscious when something like this happens, even 15 years later.

When I first heard ... the price of winning is the same as what we've lost... after reading "Ghost Rider" I had the same thought as theredtamasrule. And, who knows, maybe we're on target there.

And it's in the song because it's in the book. But is it in the song because it's in the book and stuck with him for the reasons we've mentioned?

Makes you think. But not too much. One must balance that with  1022.gif  wink.gif




CygnusGal... well met.  hug2.gif

Thanks HowItIs hug2.gif back to you. smile.gif

 

Kind of like Bravado (we will pay the price, but we will not count the cost - one of Neil's more beautiful lines, imo) Yes, I like this discussion very much and the last several posters have been very good.

 

Some things I noticed today:

 

"Will there be world enough and time for me to sing that song" (not my song, that song) "A voice that's been silent for so long" (never has sung any song, or at least not in a very long time).

 

As noted previously by Pedro, @ around 3:24 (...seeking blind through flesh and bone), Neil goes dah-dah-dah-dah (what do you lack?). The next line is "find the blood inside this stone". The Anarchist - hard as stone, dares you to find blood.

 

The Anarchist says "I plan my vengeance on my own - and I was always alone" Does he mean vengeance planned by only by himself or vengeance planned on his own people (I believe the latter).

 

I note a *huge* bomb of anger explodes at ~5:08 (start of Alex's solo) - huge bass pedal.

 

I suppose we'll have to wait for the book to find the origins of his anger (orphaned?, early promise that somehow died?). Other than when he's introduced, throws around clockwork detonators and that he likes going to carnivals, we don't know a whole lot about The Anarchist. We know what he says, but as I've stated previously, I don't believe him. He's disconnected from himself and what he thinks he "lacks", he really envies, and what he sees as a malevolent "cage" ultimately will be what saves the protagonist. The protagonist is overwhelmed by The Anarchist (as is most of the album - on the cover) and feels his effects through out his life, until the revelation of BU2B2, the resolution of Wish Them Well and the ultimate conclusion of The Garden.

 

In that regard, The Anarchist could be a metaphor for the evil in the world one sees when coming of age, but still lacking the maturity to know what it actually means (there are evil people in the world but I was BU2B so I couldn't be rooked by them - not me...).

 

I remember when I was in my 20s and 30s and thought that way, too. We've all had (or will have Wreckers in our lives).

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QUOTE (spock @ Jul 10 2012, 07:39 PM)
QUOTE (theredtamasrule @ Jul 10 2012, 07:13 PM)
QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jul 10 2012, 05:40 PM)
Thanks for that clarification. Yes, those experiences have certainly colored Neil's views, there can be no way they would not.

I try not to be Neil's psychoanalyst when listening to his lyrics. However, when on BU2B there is the line:

 

The price of what we're winning / is the same as what we've lost

 

I can't help but to think of his situation; lost his wife and daughter now he has a wife and daughter. I don't know or try to infer he means that overtly but it's there in my interpretation.

 

Oh, and the Anarchist just f***ing kills. Great song. 1022.gif

The price of what we're winning...

 

That line has had me scratching my head since I heard it. You might be right (I can't think of another explanation), but it's an odd line in an otherwise straightforward song...

The protagonist realizes that, for every positive thing he experiences under the Watchmaker's rule, something else is 'lost' (i.e., the motivation for the story is his wanting to leave the ordered, peaceful but uneventful life he has been brought up with).

Edited by internetexplorer
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I hope I can add something to this discussion, as "The Anarchist" resonates strongly with me, as do a lot of the Rush repertoire, lyrically speaking. "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage," for me, are all the things that I didn't get to do growing up, and all the subsequent mistakes that I've made in my 20s, and continue to make. My anger about that, personally speaking, missing all those things (that everyone else got to do) is the cage (of anger) that grows around me ... and the world IS painted black, through my eyes ... it IS really hard for me to smile(people think I am angry, all the time, and are always telling me to smile). Another line I love is, "For all those years I had to get along," a powerful summary of my life growing up. I really relate to this song.

 

The trick is, as the album teaches us, is to let it go, and "just wish them well," because "the hours tick away, the cells tick away," and "hope is what remains to be seen." Neil has been able to let it go ... I wish I could grow up and let it go, too.

 

 

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Adding more heat than light here, but I have to say that the very end of The Anarchist sounds EXACTLY like a (musical) explosion. I've heard other artists try to mimic an explosion but somehow (IMO) it really works at the end of that song! More brilliance from the Best Band in the Galaxy (all four quadrants!)
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This is a good thread and it's cool to read how lyrics speak to everyone in their own way. I started another thread titled Rush Interviews that has a link to a 45 minute interview with Neil where he reads the intros to each song and explains alot of what he was thinking when he wrote them. Probably the best interview I've listened to.

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I relate to this song.

 

When I look at the the people around me I see "their smiles and their diamonds, their happiness and love" and it makes me very angry. I'm pretty alone, I feel different from most people, and I'm kind of an asshole without fully realizing it. I feel like I missed out on it all growing up.

 

"The lenses inside of me that paint the world black" I understand what that means.

 

Lyrically speaking, this is one of Rush's finest efforts. Definitely one of the most close to home for me.

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I just wonder what the book will reveal about The Anarchist that we don't know from the album.

 

One possibility that keeps running through my mind is that he is quite possibly The Watchmaker's brother.. or perhaps twin brother... or somehow otherwise related.

 

He could be the child that his parents shunned while The Watchmaker was the one they lavished with all their gifts, love and praise.

 

 

I guess we'll find out in early September.

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QUOTE (spock @ Jul 10 2012, 07:39 PM)
QUOTE (theredtamasrule @ Jul 10 2012, 07:13 PM)
QUOTE (HowItIs @ Jul 10 2012, 05:40 PM)
Thanks for that clarification. Yes, those experiences have certainly colored Neil's views, there can be no way they would not.

I try not to be Neil's psychoanalyst when listening to his lyrics. However, when on BU2B there is the line:

 

The price of what we're winning / is the same as what we've lost

 

I can't help but to think of his situation; lost his wife and daughter now he has a wife and daughter. I don't know or try to infer he means that overtly but it's there in my interpretation.

 

Oh, and the Anarchist just f***ing kills. Great song. 1022.gif

The price of what we're winning...

 

That line has had me scratching my head since I heard it. You might be right (I can't think of another explanation), but it's an odd line in an otherwise straightforward song...

Back to BU2B, I have interpreted the line "The price of what we're winning, is the same as what we've lost" as follows. Those devoting their time (i.e. the price) to gain access (winning) to what they believe is the after life are actually giving up their time (i.e. the loss) in their current lives.

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QUOTE (Running Rebel @ Jul 12 2012, 03:40 PM)

Again, one of the things I love about Rush. One thing leads to another and then another..

It just hit me when you wrote that, but in The Secret Agent there was a character, one of the anarchist conspirators who wore an overcoat that concealed the bombs and his name was "The Professor" laugh.gif

Oh that Neil, haha.

But the novel was one of the first, if not the first about terrorism and anarchists as well. Neil alludes to things often and I think this is one of them, namely that we should have learned, that society should have learned that terrorism and killing innocent people isn't the answer and yet we see it around the world over 100 years later all too often.

Also, we know enough about human nature that living with severe hatred of other human beings and society such as the anarchist does is probably not the best way to live your life. (sarcasm intended)

The personal heartbreaks and tragedy in the story make it one of the all time classics, and yet I fear that in a hundred years someone will be writing the story all over again. History endlessly repeating itself.

So to sum up Neil's point of view on the topic- Dumbass humans just won't get it. We are fragile, emotional, easily led, not as bright as we think and full of biases that are hard to break.

And yet what choice do we have? Time is the infinite jest and we the smartest thing to do is make the best of it. Love and respect are a measure, that you are doing it right.

The Professor! laugh.gif

 

 

Your last two paragraphs are excellent. goodpost.gif

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QUOTE (Dscrapre @ Jul 12 2012, 12:20 AM)
I relate to this song.

When I look at the the people around me I see "their smiles and their diamonds, their happiness and love" and it makes me very angry. I'm pretty alone, I feel different from most people, and I'm kind of an asshole without fully realizing it. I feel like I missed out on it all growing up.

"The lenses inside of me that paint the world black" I understand what that means.

Lyrically speaking, this is one of Rush's finest efforts. Definitely one of the most close to home for me.

goodpost.gif Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. Be cool.

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QUOTE (GeddyLeefan2112 @ Jul 13 2012, 10:01 AM)
I can relate to parts of The Anarchist. "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage" really resonates deeply with me.

I think that's kind of the point. Aren't we all lacking? Don't we all want more? None of us can stop "thinking big" in our own way. You just can't let it make you angry and bitter. Appreciate the good things. Keep hope.

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It also occurred to me today that The Anarchist's reaction to what has happened to him - whatever made him so angry - is the polar opposite of Owen Hardy's eventual philosophy in Wish Them Well.
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QUOTE (Snaked @ Jul 7 2012, 11:04 AM)
QUOTE (circumstantial tree @ Jul 7 2012, 10:37 AM)
This is definitely one of my faves. I've noticed similarities musically to Prime Mover. I start humming this song but it ends up being Prime Mover, then I realized some of the notes were very similar.

That's because there is a connection between C.A. and Prime Mover.

I'm very surprised it isn't getting discussed more... I've tried a couple times to bring it up but people don't seem interested.

Must've missed your earlier attempts, but I've had the very same thoughts! trink39.gif

Lots of interesting parallels between PM and the Clockwork Angels story.

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QUOTE (Running Rebel @ Jul 13 2012, 03:44 PM)
QUOTE (GeddyLeefan2112 @ Jul 13 2012, 10:01 AM)
I can relate to parts of The Anarchist. "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage" really resonates deeply with me.

I think that's kind of the point. Aren't we all lacking? Don't we all want more? None of us can stop "thinking big" in our own way. You just can't let it make you angry and bitter. Appreciate the good things. Keep hope.

Interesting,

 

Don't give it much play. But I like you analogy. I will now. 2.gif

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Very interesting timing that this particular thread is on top. For the first time, I finally sat down and listened to the album twice while reading the lyrics and trying my best to understand the story from start to finish.

 

Up until now, I have appreciated Clockwork Angels strictly on a musical level and not really focusing on the lyrics (with the exception of BU2B, which I think is Neil''s most brilliant song)

 

I have always been a huge Rush fan because of Rush the musicians, not Neil the lyricist, but I will say that this album and story is absolutely brilliant.

 

Reading through the 3 pages of this thread, I don't think I have the same in depth understanding of the story as CygnusGal, HowitIs or others who have posted, but this thread has helped me understand The Anarchist a little better, which may be the most confusing part of the story for me.

 

Neil has been very clear in interviews that this is NOT autobiographical, but I really wonder...many of the songs lyrics sound very autobiographical. Particularly BU2B, Caravan, The Garden, and Wish them Well. Even "A missing part of me that grows around me like a cage" sounds like Neil building the Wall between himself and his fans and strangers.

 

 

I have some questions to those that seem to have a better grasp of the lyrics and story than I do which I just started in another thread.

 

Good stuff...

 

 

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