How many times
Do we tire of all the little battles
Threaten to call it quits
Tempted to cut and run
How many times
Do we weather out the stormy evenings
Long to slam the front door
Drive away into the setting sun
Keep going on till dawn
How many times must another line be drawn
We could be down and gone
But we hold on
How many times
Do we chaff against the repetition
Straining against the faith
Measured out in coffee breaks
How many times
Do we swallow our ambition
Long to give up the same old way
Find another road to take
Keep holding on so long
Cause theres a chance that we might not be so wrong
We could be down and gone
But we hold on
How many times
Do we wonder if it's even worth it
Theres got to be some other way
Way to get me through the day
Keep going on till dawn
How many times must another line be drawn
We could be down and gone
Waiting for the winds of change
To sweep the clouds away
Waiting for the rainbow's end
To cast its gold your way
Countless ways, you pass the days
Waiting for someone to call
And turn your world around
Looking for an answer
To the question you have found
Looking for an open door
Whoa, you don't get something for nothing
You can't have freedom for free
You won't get wise
With the sleep still in your eyes
No matter what your dream might be
No, you don't get something for nothing
You can't have freedom for free
You won't get wise
With the sleep still in your eyes
No matter what your dream might be
What you own is your own kingdom
What you do is your own glory
What you love is your own power
What you live is your own story
In your head is the answer
Let it guide you along
Let your heart be the anchor
And the beat of your song
Oh, you don't get something for nothing
You can't have freedom for free, no
Whoa, you don't get something for nothing
Unstable condition
A symptom of life
In mental and environmental change
Atmospheric disturbance
The feverish flux
Of human interface and interchange
The impulse is pure
Sometimes our circuits get shorted
By external interference
Signals get crossed
And the balance distorted
By internal incoherence
A tired mind become a shape-shifter
Everybody need a mood lifter
Everybody need reverse polarity
Everybody got mixed feelings
About the function and the form
Everybody got to deviate from the norm
An ounce of perception
A pound of obscure
Process information at half speed
Pause, rewind, replay
Warm memory chip
Random sample, hold the one you need
Leave out the fiction
The fact is, this friction
Will only be worn by persistence
Leave out conditions
Courageous convictions
Will drag the dream into existence
A tired mind become a shape-shifter
Everybody need a soft filter
Everybody need reverse polarity
Everybody got mixed feelings
About the function and the form
Well, I see you standin' there
With your finger in the air
Everything we do, you wanna leave it up to you
Who do you think you are?
You think you are a star?
Tryin' to run the town
Always tryin' to put us down
Well, you think that you're right
You think you're out of sight
Tell me something, mister
Why'd you have to make us so uptight?
Well, you say you've been tryin'
You know that you're lyin'
I think you need some groovin'
Who do you think you're foolin', now?
Well, you better start changin'
Your life needs rearrangin'
You better do some talkin'
Or you better do some walkin' now
Yeah, you think that you're right
You think you're out of sight
Tell me something, mister
Why'd you have to make us so uptight?
I know what you're doing
All that you been doin' wrong
I don't know what you're feelin'
Oh, but you been feelin' long
Well, you think that you're right
Tell me something, mister
Stratospheric traces of our transitory flight
Trails of condensation held
In narrow paths of white
The sun is turning black
The world is turning gray
All the stars fade from the night
The oceans drain away
Horizon to horizon
Memory written on the wind
Fading away like an hourglass, grain by grain
Swept away like voices in a hurricane
In a vapor trail
Atmospheric phases make the transitory last
Vaporize the memories that freeze the fading past
Silence all the song birds
Stilled by the killing frost
Forests burn to ashes
Everything is lost
Washed away like footprints in the rain
The angels' share
The secrets of their universe
It's seldom fair
Partly blessing, partly curse
All those things we cannot know
We dream, we hypothesize
Maybe these are secrets shared by those
Watching from the sky
If we are only members of the human race
No supernatural beings from a supernatural place
If you can't solve the problem Come and tell me to my face
The angels' share
All the human mysteries
There is no prayer
To the thieves of celestial history
The myth of perfect reason
We're forgotten at birth
It's a kind of clandestine conspiracy
A seraphin joke of eternity
If we are only members of the human race
No supernatural beings from a supernatural place
If you can't solve the problem Come and tell me to my face
All those things we cannot know
We dream, we hypothesize
Maybe these are secrets shared by those
Watching from the side
If we are only members of the human race
No supernatural beings from a supernatural place
When they turn the pages of history
When these days have passed long ago
Will they read of us with sadness
For the seeds that we let grow?
We turned our gaze
From the castles in the distance
Eyes cast down
On the path of least resistance
Cities full of hatred, fear and lies
Withered hearts and cruel, tormented eyes
Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise
Beating down the multitude and
Scoffing at the wise
The hypocrites are slandering
The sacred Halls of Truth
Ancient nobles showering
Their bitterness on youth
Can't we find the minds that made us strong?
Can't we learn to feel what's right
And what's wrong?
What's wrong?
Cities full of hatred, fear and lies
Withered hearts and cruel, tormented eyes
Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise
Beating down the multitude and
Scoffing at the wise
Can't we raise our eyes and make a start?
Can't we find the minds to lead us
And the meek shall inherit the earth
We've taken care of everything the words you hear, the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
It's one for all and all for one we work together, common sons
Never need to wonder how or why
We are the priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the priests, of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within these walls
Look around at this world we've made equality our stock in trade
Come and join the brotherhood of man
Oh, what a nice, contented world let the banners be unfurled
Hold the Red Star proudly high in hand
We are the priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the priests, of the Temples of Syrinx
The night is black without a moon
The air is thick and still
The vigilantes gather on
The lonely, torchlit hill
Features distorted, in the flickering light
Faces are twisted and grotesque
Silent and stern in the sweltering night
Mob moves like demons possessed
Quiet in conscience, calm in their right
Confident their ways are best
The righteous rise with burning eyes
Of hatred and ill-will
Madmen fed on fear and lies
To beat and burn and kill
They say there are strangers who threaten us
Our immigrants and infidels
They say there is strangeness too dangerous
In our theaters and bookstore shelves
Those who know what's best for us
Must rise and save us from ourselves
Quick to judge, quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
I've gone flying, trying to meet you
You've been hiding, riding me to a state
Like this
Give me that window to,
Give me that window to,
Give me that window to the world
We are sailing, flailing through the ether
You've been trailing, failing me with you're
View of bliss
Give me that window to,
Give me that window to,
Give me that window to the world
A little more than this,
A little less than that
You've got magic in your hands
You've conspired, inspired me to
Find a place like this
Give me that window to'
Give me that window to'
Polarize me
Sensitize me
Criticize me
Civilize me
Compensate me
Animate me
Complicate me
Elevate me
Goddess in my garden
Sister in my soul
Angel in my armor
Actress in my role
Daughter of a demon lover
Empress of the hidden face
Priestess of the pagan mother
Ancient queen of inner space
Spirit in my psyche
Double in my role
Alter in my image
Struggle for control
Mistress of the dark unconscious
Mermaid of the lunar sea
Daughter of the great enchantress
Sister to the boy inside of me
My counterpart, my foolish heart
A man must learn to rule his tender part
A warming trend, a gentle friend
A man must build a fortress to defend
A secret face, a touch of grace
A man must learn to give a little space
A peaceful state, a submissive trait
A man must learn to gently dominate
Polarize me
Sensitize me
Criticize me
Civilize me
Compensate me
Animate me
Complicate me
Like a shipwrecked mariner adrift on an unknown sea
Clinging to the wreckage of the lost ship Fantasy
I'm a castaway, stranded in a desolate land
I can see the footprints in the virtual sand
Net boy, net girl
Send your signal 'round the world
Let your fingers walk and talk
And set you free
Net boy, net girl
Send your impulse 'round the world
Put your message in a modem
And throw it in the Cyber Sea
Astronauts in the weightlessness of pixellated space
Exchange graffiti with a disembodied race
I can save the universe in a grain of sand
I can hold the future in my virtual hand
Let's dance tonight
To a virtual song
Press this key
And you can play along
Let's fly tonight
On our virtual wings
Press this key
To see amazing things
Like a pair of vagabonds who wave between two passing trains
Or the glimpse of a woman's smile through a window in the rain
I can smell her perfume
I can taste her lips
I can feel the voltage from her fingertips
Net boy, net girl
Instrumental
The city crouches, steaming
In the early morning half-light
The sun is still a rumor
And the night is still a threat
Slipping through the dark streets
And the echoes and the shadows
Something stirs behind me
And my palms begin to sweat
Sometimes I freeze - until the light comes
Sometimes I fly - into the night
Sometimes I fight - against the darkness
Sometimes I'm wrong - sometimes I'm right
Coiled for the spring
Or caught like a creature in the headlights
Into a desperate panic
Or a tempest of blind fury
Like a cornered beast
Or a conquering hero
The menace threatens, closing
And I'm frozen in the shadows
I'm not prepared to run away
And I'm not prepared to fight
I can't stand to reason
Or surrender to a reflex
I will trust my instincts
Or surrender to my fright
Sometimes we freeze - until the light comes
Sometimes we're wrong - and sometimes we're right
Sometimes we fight - against the darkness
Sometimes we fly - into the night
Blood running cold
Mind going down into a dark night
Of a desperate panic
Or a tempest of blind fury
Like a cornered beast
Or a conquering hero
Sometimes I freeze
Sometimes I fight
Sometimes I fly
Into the night
¡¡
(Drum Solo)
When the dragons grow too mighty
To slay with pen or sword
I grow weary of the battle
And the storm I walk toward
When all around is madness
And there's no safe port in view
I long to turn my path homeward
To stop a while with you
When life becomes as barren
And as cold as winter skies
There's a beacon in the darkness
In a distant pair of eyes
In vain to search for honor
In vain to search for truth
But these things can still be given
Pack up all those phantoms
Shoulder that invisible load
Keep on riding North and West
Haunting that wilderness road
Like a ghost rider
Carry all those phantoms
Through bitter wind and stormy skies
From the desert to the mountain
From the lowest low to the highest high
Like a ghost rider
Keep on riding North and West
Then circle South and East
Show me beauty but there is no peace
For the ghost rider
Shadows on the road behind
Shadows on the road ahead
Nothing can stop you now
There's a shadow on the road behind
There's a shadow on the road ahead
Nothing can stop you now
Sunrise in the mirror
Lightens that invisible load
Riding on a nameless quest
Haunting that wilderness road
Like a ghost rider
Just an escape artist
Racing against the night
A wandering hermit
Racing toward the light
From the white sands
To the canyon lands
To the redwood stands
To the barren lands
Sunrise on the road behind
Sunset on the road ahead
There's nothing to stop you now
Girl before the mirror
Appraises her disguise
Child become a mother
Tries to fix her eyes
No more of his excuses
It has to be today
She can keep her fantasy
If she can get away
Paint her name on a one-way street
Painted cheeks with angry heat
Wounded pride on painted eyes
Paint the night with battle cries
All puffed up with vanity
We see what we want to see
To the beautiful and the wise
The mirror always lies
Boy before the mirror
Checks his camouflage
Polishes his armor
And the charger in the garage
No more lame excuses
It has to be tonight
He can take the princess
If he can take the fight
Pound the drums with martial beat
Pound the streets with marching feet
Wounded pride, distorted eyes
Paint the night with battle cries
All puffed up with vanity
We see what we want to see
To the powerful and the wise
The mirror always lies
Boys and girls together
Mistake conceit for pride
Ambition for illusion
Dreams for self-delusion
Girls and boys together
See what it is we lack
Boys and girls together
Let's paint the mirror black
Midway hawkers calling
'Try your luck with me'
Merry-go-round wheezing
The same old melody
A thousand ten cent wonders
Who could ask for more
A pocketful of silver
The key to heaven's door
Lakeside Park
Willows in the breeze
Lakeside Park
So many memories
Laughing rides
Midway lights
Shining stars on summer nights
Days of barefoot freedom
Racing with the waves
Nights of starlit secrets
Crackling driftwood flames
Drinking by the lighthouse
Smoking on the pier
Still we saw the magic
Was fading every year
Everyone would gather
On the twenty-fourth of May
Sitting in the sand
To watch the fireworks display
Dancing fires on the beach
Singing songs together...
Though it's just a memory
Music by Geddy Lee and Neil Peart
Instrumental
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
The night is black
Without a moon
The air is thick, and still
The vigilantes gather on
The lonely torchlit hill
Features distorted in the flickering light
The faces are twisted and grotesque
Silent and stern in the sweltering night
The mob moves like demons possessed
Quiet in conscience, calm in their right ---
Confident their ways are best
The righteous rise
With burning eyes
Of hatred and ill-will
Madmen fed on fear and lies
To beat, and burn, and kill
They say there are strangers, who threaten us
In our immigrants and infidels
They say there is strangeness, too dangerous
In our theatres and bookstore shelves
That those who know what's best for us ---
Must rise and save us from ourselves
Quick to judge
Quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
And fear
Walk hand in hand
(Part IV, "Gangster of Boats" Trilogy)
Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
Instrumental
Time and motion
Wind and sun and rain
Days connect like boxcars in a train
Fill them up with precious cargo
Squeeze in all that you can find
Spontaneous elation
And the long enduring kind
Time and motion
Flesh and blood and fire
Lives connect in webs of gold and razor wire
Spin a thread of precious contact
Squeeze in all that you can find
Spontaneous relations
And the long enduring kind
The mighty ocean
Dances with the moon
The silent forest
Echoes with the loon
Time and motion
Live and love and dream
Eyes connect like interstellar beams
Superman in super nature
Needs all the comfort he can find
Spontaneous emotion
Love is born with lightning bolts
Electro-magnetic force
Burning skin and fireworks
A storm on a raging course
Like a force of nature
Love can fade with the stars at dawn
Sometimes it takes all your strength
Just to keep holding on
At the speed of love
A radiance that travels
At the speed of love
My heart goes out to you
Love is born with solar flares
From two magnetic poles
It moves towards a higher plane
Where two halves make two wholes
Like a force of nature
Love shines in many forms
One night we are bathed in light
One day carried away in the storms
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster
Than the speed of love
My heart goes out to you
We don't have to talk
We don't even have to touch
I can feel your presence
In the silence that we share
Got to keep moving
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster
Than the speed of love
Got to keep on shining
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster
Than the speed of love
At the speed of love
A radiance that travels
At the speed of love
And the meek shall inherit the earth...
We've taken care of everything
The words you hear, the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
It's one for all, all for one
We work together, common sons
Never need to wonder how or why
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers
Fill the hollowed halls
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life
Are held within our walls
Look around this world we made
Equality our stock in trade
Come and join the brotherhood of man
Oh what a wide contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the red star proudly high in hand
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers
Fill the hollowed halls
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life
Are held within our walls
Things crawl in the darkness
That imagination spins
Needles at your nerve ends
Crawl like spiders on your skin
Pounding in your temples
And a surge of adrenaline
Every muscle tense to fence the enemy within
I'm not giving in to security under pressure
I'm not missing out on the promise of adventure
I'm not giving up on implausible dreams
Experience to extremes
Experience to extremes...
Suspicious-looking stranger
Flashes you a dangerous grin
Shadows across your window...
Was it only trees in the wind?
Every breath a static charge,
A tongue that tastes like tin
Steely-eyed outside to hide the enemy within
To you, is it movement or is it action?
Is it contact or just reaction?
And you...revolution or just resistance?
Is it living, or just existence?
Yeah, you! It takes a little more persistence
To get up and go the distance
Chorus
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way in...
Out of touch
With the weather and the wind direction
With the sunrise
And the phases of the moon
Out of touch
With life in the land of the loving
With the living night
And the darkness at high noon
You can never break the chain
There is never love without pain
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
Out of sync
With the rhythm of my own reactions
With the things that last
And the things that come apart
Out of sync
With love in the land of the living
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
A healing hand, a secret touch on the heart
There is never love without pain
Like the fly on the wheel, who says,
What a lot of dust we're raising.
Are you under the illusion
That you're part of this scheme?
Seems like a lifetime ago
You could look with pride
On your world of dreams
What is the meaning of this`?
And the stars look down
What are you trying to do?
And the stars look down
Was it something I said
And the stars look down
Like the rat in a maze who says
Watch me choose my own direction.
Are you under the illusion
The path is winding your way?
Are you surprised by confusion
When it leads you astray?
Have you lived a lifetime today -
Or do you feel like you just got carried away?
What is the meaning of this?
And the stars look down
What are you trying to do?
And the stars look down
Was it something I said?
And the stars look down
Something you'd like me to do?
And the stars look down
¡¡
Shapes of things before my eyes,
Just teach me to despise.
Will time make men more wise?
Here within my lonely frame,
My eyes just hurt my brain.
But will it seem the same?
Come tomorrow, will I be older?
Come tomorrow, may be a soldier.
Come tomorrow, may I be bolder than today?
Now the trees are almost green.
But will they still be seen?
When time and tide have been.
Fall into your passing hands.
Please don't destroy these lands.
Don't make them desert sands.
Soon I hope that I will find,
Thoughts deep within my mind.
When I was a boy I thought about the times I'd be a man
I'd sit inside a bottle and pretend that I was in a jam
In my lonely room I'd sit my mind in an ice cream cone
You can throw me if you wanna 'cause I'm a bone and I go
Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip, yeah!
If I don't start cryin' it's because that I have got no eyes
My father's in the fireplace and my dog lies hypnotized
Through a crack of light I was unable to find my way
Trapped inside a night but I'm a day and I go
Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip, yeah!
Sunlight dances through the leaves
Soft winds stir the sighing trees
Lying in the warm grass
Feel the sun upon your face
Eleven songs and endless nights
Sweet wine and soft relaxing lights
Time will never touch you
Here in this enchanted place
I've traveled now for many miles
It feels so good to see the smiles of
Friends who never left your mind
When you were far away
From the golden light of coming dawn
Till the twilight when the sun is gone
We treasure every season
And every passing day
You feel there's something calling you, you're wanting to return
To where the misty mountains rise and friendly fires burn
A place you can escape the world where the dark Lord cannot go
Peace of mind and sanctuary by loud water's flow
We feel the coming of a new day
Darkness gives way to light a new way
Stop here for a while until the world
The world calls you away
Yet you know I've had the feeling
Standing with my senses reeling
This is the place to grow old 'til
I reach my final day
You feel there's something calling you, you're wanting to return
To where the misty mountains rise and friendly fires burn
A place you can escape the world where the dark lord cannot go
I can learn to resist
Anything but temptation
I can learn to co-exist
With anything but pain
I can learn to compromise
Anything but my desires
I can learn to get along
With all the things I can't explain
I can learn to resist
Anything but frustration
I can learn to persist
With anything but aiming low
I can learn to close my eyes
To anything but injustice
I can learn to get along
With all the things I don't know
I can learn to resist
Anything but temptation
I can learn to co-exist
With anything but pain
I can learn to compromise
Anything but my desires
I can learn to get along
With all the things I can't explain
You can surrender
Without a prayer
But never really pray
Pray without surrender
You can fight
Fight without ever winning
But never ever win
Win without a fight
I can learn to close my eyes
To anything but injustice
I can learn to get along
With all the things I don't know
I can learn to close my eyes
To anything but injustice
I can learn to get along
I'm runnin' here, I'm runnin' there
I'm lookin' for a girl
'Cause there's nothin' I need, there's nothin' I want more
In the whole wide world
Well, I need it quick and I need it now
Before I start to fade away
That's why I'm searchin', that's why I'm lookin'
Each and ev'ry day
Ooh, I need some love
I said I need some love
Ooh yes, I need some love
This feelin' I can't rise above
Ooh, yeah, yeah
Well, I been hustlin' here, I been hustlin' there
I been searchin' for about a week
And I started feelin' this strange sensation
My knees are startin' gettin' weak
Well, I need what keeps a young man alive
I'm sayin' I need it now
I'm gonna get the message across to you
... "The massive grey walls of the Temples rise from the heart of every Federation city. I have always been awed by them, to think that every single facet of every life is regulated and directed from within! Our books, our music, our work and play are all looked after by the benevolent wisdom of the priests..."
We've taken care of everything
The words you hear the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
It's one for all and all for one
We work together common sons
Never need to wonder how or why
We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls
Look around this world we made
Equality our stock in trade
Come and join the Brotherhood of Man
Oh what a nice contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the Red Star proudly high in hand
We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls.
We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls.
Oh, hello, Mr. Soul, I dropped by to pick up a reason
For the thought that I caught that my head is the event of the season
Why in crowds just a trace of my face could seem so pleasin'
I'll cop out to the change, but a stranger is putting the tease on
I was down on a frown when the messenger brought me a letter
I was raised by the praise of a fan who said I upset her
Any girl in the world could have easily known me better
She said you're strange, but don't change, and I let her
In a while, will the smile on my face turn to plaster
Stick around while the clown who is sick does the trick of disaster
For the race of my head and my face is moving much faster
Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
Instrumental
So many things I think about
When I look far away
Things I know, things I wonder
Things I'd like to say
The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown
We suspend our disbelief
And we are not alone
Mystic rhythms
Capture my thoughts
Carry them away
Mysteries of night, escape the light of day
Mystic rhythms
Under northern lights
Or the African sun
Primitive things stir the hearts of everyone
We sometimes catch a window
A glimpse of what's beyond
Was it just imagination
Stringing us along?
More things than are dreamed about
Unseen and unexplained
We suspend our disbelief
And we are entertained
Mystic rhythms
Capture my thoughts
Carry them away
Nature seems to spin a supernatural way
Mystic rhythms
Under city lights
Or a canopy of stars
We feel the powers and we wonder what they are
Mystic rhythms
Capture my thoughts
Carry them away
Mysteries of night, escape the light of day
Mystic rhythms
Under northern lights
Or a canopy of stars
We feel the push and pull of restless rhythms from afar
Sweet memories
Flashing very quickly by
Reminding me
And giving me a reason why
I know that
My goal is more than a thought
I'll be there
When I teach what I've been taught
And I've been taught...
You know we've told you before
But you didn't hear us then
So you still question why
No! You didn't listen again
You didn't listen again
Sweet memories
I never thought it would be like this
Reminding me
Just how close I came to missing
I know that
This is the way for me to go
You'll be there
When you know what I know
And I know...
You know we've told you before
But you didn't hear us then
So you still question why
No! You didn't listen again
Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
Instrumental
If we're so much the same like I always hear
Why such different fortunes and fates?
Some of us live in a cloud of fear
Some live behind iron gates
Why such different fortunes and fates?
Some are blessed and some are cursed
Some live behind iron gates
While others only see the worst
Some are blessed and some are cursed
The golden one or scarred from birth
While others only see the worst
Such a lot of pain on the earth
The golden one or scarred from birth
Somethings can never be changed
Such a lot of pain on this earth
It's somehow so badly arranged
Somethings can never be changed
Some reasons will never come clear
It's somehow so badly arranged
If we're so much the same like I always hear
Some are blessed and some are cursed
The golden one or scarred from birth
While others only see the worst
Such a lot of pain on the earth
The clouds prepare for battle
In the dark and brooding silence
Bruised and sullen storm clouds
Have the light of day obscured
Looming low and ominous
In twilight premature
Thunder heads are rumbling
In a distant overture...
All at once, the clouds are parted
Light streams down in bright unbroken beams...
Follow men's eyes as they look to the skies
Well, I can see what you mean
It just takes me longer
And I can feel what you feel
It just makes you stronger
I know, I know, I know
Oh, the feeling grows
I see, I see, I see
It's got to be
You can take me for a little while
You can take me, you can make me smile in the end
Well, I can do what you do
You just do it better
And I can cry like you cry
It just makes me sadder
Well, I can shine like you shine
It doesn't make me brighter
But if I think like you think
I looked in the mirror today
My eyes just didn't seem so bright
I've lost a few more hairs
I think I'm going bald
I think I'm going bald
Seems like only yesterday
We would sit and talk of dreams all night
Dreams of youth
And simple truths
Now we're so involved
So involved with life
Walk down vanity fair
Memory lane everywhere
Wall Street shuffles there
Dressed in flowing hair
Once we loved the flowers
Now we ask the price of the land
Once we would take water
But now it must be wine
Now we've been
And now we've seen
What price peace of mind
Take a piece of my mind
My life is slipping away
I'm aging every day
But even when I'm grey
I said I played this song so many times before
That the melody keeps repeating
Growin' new ideas, flowing chords and notes
Like a mountain river bleeding
Well, I say as I look back all the thoughts I've had
They reflect just what I'm learning
Yes, you know that the hardest part
Yes, I say it is to stay on top, on top of a world forever churning
Well, you say you're there, but I can see that your eyes are glad
Well, do you see, can't you see, can't you see what I'm feeling?
Yes, I've seen your face before, why, I said I've seen it everywhere
Showing up to me without a scent revealing
Well, I said will it ever change?
Well yes Lord, I said, will it stay the same?
I'd surely like to know before it's over
Well, I said I played some, yes I said it won't be long
Won't be long before I've stop and play, play it over
You know I've, I've seen your face before
Is it ever gonna, ever gonna change again?
Oh, oh, I've, I've been in one place too long
Is it ever gonna, ever gonna change again?
You know I've, I've seen your face before
Is it ever gonna, ever gonna change again?
Oh, oh I've, I've been in one place too long
Half the world hates
What half the world does every day
Half the world waits
While half gets on with it anyway
Half the world lives
Half the world makes
Half the world gives
While the other half takes
Half the world is
Half the world was
Half the world thinks
While the other half does
Half the world talks
With half a mind on what they say
Half the world walks
With half a mind to run away
Half the world lies
Half the world learns
Half the world flies
As half the world turns
Half the world cries
Half the world laughs
Half the world tries
To be the other half
Half of us divided
Like a torn-up photograph
Half of us are trying
To reach the other half
Half the world cares
While half the world is wasting the day
Half the world shares
You turn my head
I spin my wheels
Running on empty
You know how that feels
I'm on a roll now
Or is it a slide?
Can't be too careful
With that dangerous pride
If I could only reach that dial inside
And turn it up
Face up...Face up or you can only back down
Face up...Hit the target or you better hit the ground
Face up...There's still time to turn the game around
Face up...Turn it up
Or turn that wild card down
Face up...Turn it up
Don't complain
Don't explain
I don't think my new resolve
Can stand the strain
I'm in a groove now
Or is it a rut?
I need some feedback
But all the lines are cut
I get so angry, but I keep my mouth shut
And turn it up
You get all squeezed up inside
Like the days were carved in stone
You get all wired up inside
And it's bad to be alone
You can go out, you can take a ride
And when you get out on your own
You get all smoothed out inside
And it's good to be alone
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
I. (Prelude)
When our weary world was young
The struggle of the ancients first began
The gods of love and reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of man
They battled through the ages
But still neither force would yield
The people were divided
Every soul a battlefield
Every soul a battlefield
II. (Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom)
I bring truth and understanding
I bring wit, and wisdom fair
Precious gifts beyond compare
We can build a world of wonder
I can make you all aware
I will find you food and shelter
Show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm
You can live in grace and comfort
In the world that you transform
The people were delighted
Coming forth to claim their prize
They ran to build their cities
And converse among the wise
But one day the streets fell silent
Yet they knew not what was wrong
The urge to build these fine things
Seemed not to be so strong
The wise men were consulted
And the bridge of death was crossed
In quest of Dionysus
To find out what they had lost
III. (Dionysus: Bringer of Love)
I bring love to give you solace
In the darkness of the night
In the heart's eternal light
You need only trust your feelings
Only love can steer you right
I bring laughter, I bring music
I bring joy and I bring tears
I will soothe your primal fears
Throw off those chains of reason
And your prison disappears
The cities were abandoned
And the forests echoed song
They danced and lived as brothers
They knew love could not be wrong
Food and wine they had aplenty
And they slept beneath the stars
The people were contented
And the gods watched from afar
But the winter fell upon them
And it caught them unprepared
Bringing wolves and cold starvation
And the hearts of men despaired
IV. (Armageddon: The Battle of Heart and Mind)
The universe divided
As the heart and mind collided
With the people left unguided
For so many troubled years
In a cloud of doubts and fears
Their world was torn asunder
Into hollow hemispheres
Some fought themselves, some fought each other
Most just followed one another
Lost and aimless like their brothers
For their hearts were so unclear
And the truth could not appear
Their spirits were divided
Into blinded hemispheres
Some who did not fight
Brought tales of old to light
My Rocinante sailed by night
On her final flight
To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force
We set our course
Spiralled through that timeless space
To this immortal place
V. (Cygnus: Bringer of Balance)
I have memory and awareness
But I have no shape or form
As a disembodied spirit
I am dead and yet unborn
I have passed into olympus
As was told in tales of old
To the city of immortals
Marble white and purest gold
I see the gods in battle rage on high
Thunderbolts across the sky
I cannot move, I cannot hide
I feel a silent scream begin inside
Then all at once the chaos ceased
A stillness fell, a sudden peace
The warriors felt my silent cry
And stayed their struggle, mystified
Apollo was atonished
Dionysus thought me mad
But they heard my story further
And they wondered, and were sad
Looking down from Olympus
On a world of doubt and fear
Its surface splintered
Into sorry hemispheres
They sat a while in silence
Then they turned at last to me
We will call you Cygnus,
The God of balance you shall be
VI. (The Sphere: A Kind of Dream)
We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim
Let the truth of love be lighted
Let the love of truth shine clear
Sensibility
Armed with sense and liberty
With the heart and mind united
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart
Book One ---- The Voyage
Prologue
In the constellation of Cygnus
There lurks a mysterious, invisible force
The Black Hole
Of Cygnus X-1
Six Stars of the Northern Cross
In mourning for their sister's loss
In a final flash of glory
Nevermore to grace the night....
1
Invisible
To telescopic eye
Infinity
The star that would not die
All who dare
To cross her course
Are swallowed by
A fearsome force
Through the void
To be destroyed
Or is there something more?
Atomized ---- at the core
Or through the Astral Door ----
To soar....
2
I set a course just east of Lyra
And northwest of Pegasus
Flew into the light of Deneb
Sailed across the Milky Way
On my ship, the 'Rocinante'
Wheeling through the galaxies,
Headed for the heart of Cygnus
Headlong into mystery
The x-ray is her siren song
My ship cannot resist her long
Nearer to my deadly goal
Until the Black Hole ----
Gains control....
3
Spinning, whirling,
Still descending
Like a spiral sea,
Unending
Sound and fury
Drowns my heart
Every nerve
Is torn apart....
To be continued
Signal transmitted
Message received
Reaction making impact
Invisibly
Elemental telepathy
Exchange of energy
Reaction making contact
Mysteriously
Eye to I
Reaction burning hotter
Two to one
Reflection on the water
H to O
No flow without the other
Oh but how
Do they make contact
With one another?
Electricity? Biology?
Seems to me it's Chemistry
Emotion transmitted
Emotion received
Music in the abstract
Positively
Elemental empathy
A change of synergy
Music making contact
Naturally
One, two, three
Add without subtraction
Sound on sound
Multiplied reaction
H to O
No flow without the other
Oh, but how
Do we make contact
Trick of the light
Or just
A loss of perspective
Flaw in the grand plan
Just
The way it is
Looks good from a distance
The closer I come
It...
Becomes more daunting
These moments will pass
Still
Halfway up the hill
My fingers may bleed
But I’ve got to get there
Still
Standing on the hill
My spirit’s released
But I’ve got to get there
Lost in an abstract thought
Dazed and distracted
Winded yet still I’m caught
With a fragment of doubt
Slowed by reflection
These moments will pass
Still
Halfway up the hill
My fingers may bleed
But I’ve got to get there
Still
Standing on the hill
My spirit’s released
But I’ve got to get there
It’s just confusion
An illusion
Easily overdone
Here comes resolution
Absolution
It’s not an illusion
Not a fiction
Easily overcome
Here comes revolution
Absolution
Trick of the light
Or just
Too much perspective
Looks good from a distance
The closer I come
Becomes more daunting
These moments will pass
![Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians [ 2008 JAPAN ]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130804053204im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zLckHHc25ww/default.jpg "Tokyo Opera City May 21, 2008.")
