As grey traces of dawn tinge the eastern sky, the three travelers, men of Willowdale, emerge from the forest shadow.
Fording the River Dawn, they turn south, journeying into the dark and forbidding lands of the necromancer Even now the intensity of his dread power can be felt, weakening the body and saddening the heart
Ultimately they will become empty, mindless spectres... stripped of will and soul, only their thirst for freedom gives them hunger for vengeance...
oh you like Rush, huh? then here's one you've got to listen to. an epic song, lyrics/storyline written by Neil Peart (drummer). this song is a testament to progressive rock at its highest level.
the composition is brilliant, cinematic, symbolizing each stage of the story. this song is relevent here especially because it's very philosophical, as you'll observe in the lyrics below (i think saully would love it). there is one correction to be made, though: it was prometheus who gave fire to man, not apollo. we'll let this mistake go though because Peart wasn't a greek historian or mythologist. the contrast between apollo and dionysus is perfect done, though. you'll see that without each, man remains incomplete.
an interesting question, for me, is what cygnus is (other than the constellation) in the song; the bringer of balance. in another album they reference cygnus X-1, in which a blackhole exists. could this be the bringer of balance- the black hole? anyway, this song is a masterpiece.
[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
[II. Apollo / Dionysus]
[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
[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
[III. 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
[IV. 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 astonished 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'
[V. 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 in a single Perfect Sphere
wait! it's the protagonist that become cygnus! it was the moment the gods heard his cry that their war ceased. profoundly moved (maybe even embarrassed?) by this, they made him the god of balance. oh man, there is incredible subtext here. i am positively giddy. man must become a god incarnate... a synthesis of the olympian gods. don't you see?!
our gift from the gods is our responsibility and the power that comes with it.
i haven't listened to this song in over fifteen years, and thanks to you, barracuda, i've just had a breakthrough.
whoa. check this out. apparently the protagonist flies into the blackhole, and through that hole in space/time he becomes disembodied. it is here that he realizes he's in olympus. this is where he sees the gods in battle, and everything follows from there.
alright now listen to this one but after book 2, hemispheres. everything is connected man; you'll see the references of the ship Rocinante, above. my italics added.
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
discovering the blackhole
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
approach and entrance
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
the passage through; strange space/time distortion; violent transformation
Spinning, whirling Still descending Like a spiral sea Unending
(in double time! wtf! this is madness!)
Sound and fury Drowns my heart Every nerve Is torn apart
physical body destroyed; enter olympus (see Hemispheres Book 2)
Last edited by Zoot Allures on Wed Feb 14, 2018 8:37 pm; edited 5 times in total
we're on a roll, B. might as well keep going. eventually i'll compile all these posts into a Rush thread. this song is called Natural Science. my italics.
genesis of life in the oceans; monomeric and polymeric life evolves in pools
When the ebbing tide retreats Along the rocky shoreline It leaves a trail of tidal pools In a short-lived galaxy Each microcosmic planet A complete society
A simple kind mirror To reflect upon our own All the busy little creatures Chasing out their destinies Living in their pools They soon forget about the sea
extraordinary complexity evolves
Wheels within wheels In a spiral array A pattern so grand and complex Time after time We lose sight of the way Our causes can't see their effects
creation event > the present
A quantum leap forward In time and space The universe learned to expand
The mess and the magic Triumphant and tragic A mechanized world, out of hand
modern man; scientific skepticism; techne; digital age, etc.
Computerized clinic For superior cynics Who dance to a synthetic band
In their own image Their world is fashioned No wonder they don't understand
Wheels within wheels In a spiral array A pattern so grand and complex Time after time We lose sight of the way Our causes can't see their effects
enlightenment; resolution
Science, like nature Must also be tamed With a view towards its preservation Given the same State of integrity It will surely serve us well
Art as expression, Not as market campaigns Will still capture our imaginations Given the same State of integrity It will surely help us along
The most endangered species The honest man Will still survive annihilation Forming a world State of integrity Sensitive, open and strong
process of eternal recurrence; new genesis
Wave after wave Will flow with the tide And bury the world as it does Tide after tide Will flow and recede Leaving life to go on As it was
Tobes of Hades, lit by flickering torchlight The netherworld is gathered in the glare Prince By-Tor takes the cavern to the north light The sign of Eth is rising in the air
By-Tor, knight of darkness Centurion of evil, devil's prince!
Across the River Styx, out of the lamplight His nemesis is waiting at the gate The Snow Dog, ermine glowing in the damp night Coal-black eyes shimmering with hate
By-Tor and the Snow Dog Square for battle, let the fray begin!
1:46: the battle- guitar 1 (snow dog) and guitar 2 (by-tor) duel
The battle's over and the dust is clearing Disciples of the Snow Dog sound the knell Rejoicing echoes as the dawn is nearing By-Tor, in defeat, retreats to Hell
Snow Dog is victorious! The land of the Overworld is saved again
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!
There is unrest in the forest There is trouble with the trees For the maples want more sunlight And the oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples And they're quite convinced they're right They say the oaks are just too lofty And they grab up all the light But the oaks can't help their feelings If they like the way they're made And they wonder why the maples Can't be happy in their shade?
There is trouble in the forest And the creatures all have fled As the maples scream 'oppression!' And the oaks, just shake their heads
2:53: 10/4 meter.....nice!
So the maples formed a union And demanded equal rights 'The oaks are just too greedy We will make them give us light' Now there's no more oak oppression For they passed a noble law And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, Axe,and saw
Last edited by Zoot Allures on Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:15 pm; edited 2 times in total
who writes songs like this? i thought every song had to be about falling in/out of love, or bustin' caps at dem niggas, or waving your hands in the air like you just don't care, or how miserable/angry you are.
once upon a time musicians and the music they made actually had some creativity and substance. i know, right? wtf happened?
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... I'm going bald
I think I'm goin' 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'll still be grey my way
The clouds prepare for battle In the dark and brooding silence Bruised and sullen stormclouds Have the light of day obscured Looming low and ominous In twilight premature Thunderheads are rumbling In a distant overture
All at once, The clouds are parted Light streams down In bright unbroken beams
4:55- alternate 6/4 and 7/4 meters... work, neil! (drummer). see if you can stay with him....
Follow men’s eyes As they look to the skies The shifting shafts of shining Weave the fabric of their dreams
i have only one objection. i don't like the reference to national socialism and the KKK as examples of unreasonable discrimination (like the witchhunts). i say this because racial and cultural tensions and conflicts are VERY REAL, unlike the problems created by witches, which are largely imaginary or harmless.
am i worried about an integrated society? nah. it will work itself out; for whatever reasons why almost a third of the black population in this country is either on welfare or in prison, the country demonstrates its strength by being able to incorporate these degenerate elements into it without losing its vigor. waste and decay are always part of the process of social evolution. the question is whether or not a social organism can continue to progress when parts of it are sick. for all intents and purposes, the U.S. is doing okay even with almost one third of its thirteen percent black population being parasites.
and those people who are seduced by such degenerate culture? they don't matter. the fact that were were seduced indicates their lack of cultural integrity in the first place.
at the same time, white trash redneck organizations like the KKK are a joke... not because of what they stand for, but because the people in them are seldom any better than the people they despise. the color of a piece of useless shit is not always brown, figuratively speaking.
but i digress. this is the Rush thread, not the sociology thread.
oh wait. it's never explicitly mentioned that The Snow Dog is good, only that he's the nemesis of By-Tor, so being beaten by The Snow Dog wouldn't necessarily make By-Tor good. well it could but not because he was beaten by a 'good' enemy... there's a difference.
i dunno. maybe being beaten by a dog in general was enough to cause By-Tor to really question his opinion about himself. i mean how bad-ass can you be if you get beaten by a dog, right? a dragon or a minotaur or a cyclops, sure, but a dog?
The Snow Dog is no ordinary dog, though. i dunno. hard to say what By-Tor was thinking when he changed from a bad guy to a good guy.
they're asked about Permanent Waves, the album that followed Hemispheres.
Neil explains the difficulty in writing Hemispheres, and the decision to stop writing textured, conceptual pieces... focusing more on writing single songs for the following albums. Geddy agrees, saying Hemispheres took a lot out of em.
when asked if the band thought the music industry was digressing back to minimal rock-n-roll, Geddy says 'there's certainly some bands that have gone back to basics, but those are the bands that can't do anything but play basics.'
when asked if they could go see a band, who would they see, Geddy replies 'i'd go see Yes in a second.'
Geddy and Alex admit that Neil is the better lyrics writer, while Neil admits Geddy and Alex are better at writing the music. three peas in a pod.
and what's the deal with Alex's hair? it's not even 1985 yet!
i've heard rock journalists and critics say that Neil's one of the greatest rock drummers. i'm not sure if these journalists are aware of what's going on here. in the genre of 'rock', there is nobody greater than Neil Peart. this is not a debate. you ask any rock drummer and they will admit this, personally. this isn't ringo star or charlie watts or nick mason or phil rudd on the skins here, people.
(i will exclude the drummers that Zappa used, but Zappa's music was only marginally rock-n-roll)
look at his old ass... still gettin' it.
and look! somewhere else in the world a little Neil is just starting out...
you won't believe what i found. a 2112 comic book of the album. i was just getting ready to throw together a post for the album myself and i came across this. i simply can't compete with this.
2112 is one of their older concept albums. briefly, the story line is like this: a futuristic dystopian society on a planet given to the meek, by the solar federation, eventually becomes ruled by priests. one of it's citizens discovers an acoustic guitar hidden behind a waterfall by someone from the elder race, and brings it before the priests. the priests, who suppress any form of creative art not sanctioned by the law, reject it. after returning home he has a dream in which he is confronted by an oracle, who tells him the history of the elder race that left the planet long ago. finally the citizen despairs and leaves the city, retreating to his secret place. after all hope is lost, he contemplates his death...
then, all of a sudden, fighter jets dispatched by transport ships hovering above the planet, descend from the skies, attacking the city and its defenses. a fleet has come to destroy the priests and take back control of the planet. the elder race has returned!
(FULL SCREEN VIEW REQUIRED)
attention all pilots of the solar federation
we have assumed control...
*standing ovation!!!!*
Last edited by Zoot Allures on Fri Feb 16, 2018 9:11 pm; edited 3 times in total
Home
Portal
Latest images
Search
Register
Log in
