# List of songs recorded by Rush

This is a comprehensive list of compositions performed or recorded by the Canadian rock band Rush or its principal members Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart, including contributions made to other artists.

## List

| Song | Album | Year | Notes |
| "Losing Again" | Unreleased song | 1969 | Played by the band as early as February 1969; their first original tune. |
| "You Don't Love Me" | Unreleased song | 1969 | Played by the band as early as February 1969; a cover of a John Mayall's Bluesbreakers tune (remake of Willie Cobbs original) that featured then-keyboardist (and future brother-in-law of Geddy Lee) Lindy Young singing lead vocals. |
| "Living Loving Maid" | Unreleased song | 1969 | Played by the band as early as November 1969; a cover of the Led Zeppelin tune from the Led Zeppelin II album. Geddy Lee states the song was in Rush's setlist for a while during their early bar playing days, being one of the few Led Zeppelin tunes they attempted that wasn't too difficult for them to play at the time. |
| "Child Reborn" | Unreleased song | 1969 | Played by the band as early as November 1969; an original notable for its multiple time changes that seemed to guarantee a hostile reaction at high school dances. |
| "Feel So Good" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Keep in Line" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Love Light" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Marguerite" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Mike's Idea" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Morning Star" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Number One" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Run Willie Run" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. Southern R&B song about a young guy who's running from the law. |
| "Sing Guitar" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Slaughterhouse" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Tale" | Unreleased song | 1970 | Played by the band as early as September 1970. |
| "Not Fade Away" | Non-album single | 1973 | Drummer: John Rutsey; First single released; Buddy Holly cover; Alex Lifeson states the band used to play a really heavy version of this song during their early bar years, but toned it down a lot when this 1973 single was recorded for better commercial appeal. Originally planned for inclusion on Rush's debut album, but scrapped in the end. The song has not been released in any format since the initial 1973 Moon Records release. Allegedly only 500 copies of the single were pressed. |
| "You Can't Fight It" | Non-album single | 1973 | Drummer: John Rutsey; First original song released; B Side of Not Fade Away single; Music: Geddy Lee; Lyrics: John Rutsey; Played by the band as early as 1971. Originally planned for inclusion on Rush's debut album, but scrapped in the end. The song has not been released in any format since the initial 1973 Moon Records release. Allegedly only 500 copies of the single were pressed. |
| "Finding My Way" | Rush | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey |
| "Need Some Love" | Rush | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey |
| "Take a Friend" | Rush | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey |
| "Here Again" | Rush | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey; Lyrics: Alex Lifeson |
| "What You're Doing" | Rush | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey |
| "In the Mood" | Rush | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey |
| "Before and After" | Rush | 1974 | The band's first-ever suite, being of "Before" and "After", initially named "Before/After" on Lee's handwritten lyrics sheet; Drummer: John Rutsey |
| "Working Man" | Rush | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey; First song with US radio play (WMMS radio in Cleveland, Ohio) |
| "I've Been Runnin’" | R40 DVD / BD Box Set | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey; Previously unreleased early song, featured as bonus material on the 2014 compilation R40. Disk 6 Bonus Disk. Filmed during Spring 1974 at the Laura Secord Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. |
| "The Loser" | R40 DVD / BD Box Set | 1974 | Drummer: John Rutsey; Previously unreleased early song, featured as bonus material on the 2014 compilation R40. Disk 6 bonus disk. Filmed during Spring 1974 at the Laura Secord Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. |
| "Fancy Dancer" | Semi-official / RoIO releases | 1974 | Semi-officially released in 2011 as ABC 1974 - The First American Broadcast; circulated as bootleg releases since the year 2000; Recorded on 26 August 1974 at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio. Occasionally played during their debut album tour of 1974. Originally planned for inclusion on Fly by Night, but ultimately scrapped. About a love gone bad. |
| "Bad Boy" | Semi-official / RoIO releases | 1974 | Semi-officially released in 2011 as ABC 1974 - The First American Broadcast; circulated as bootleg releases since the year 2000; Recorded on 26 August 1974 at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio. Regularly played by the band during their debut album tour of 1974, and occasionally during the Fly By Night tour of 1975. Larry Williams cover. |
| "Garden Road" | Semi-official / RoIO releases | 1974 | Semi-officially released in 2011 as ABC 1974 - The First American Broadcast; circulated as bootleg releases since the year 2000; recorded on 26 August 1974 at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio. Played by band as early as 1970; Excerpt played at the very end of "Working Man" during the R40 Tour in 2015. Alludes to finding happiness with an early love. |
| "Anthem" | Fly by Night | 1975 | "...the name of our record company, which is Anthem Records in Canada, came from this song. Neil was in an Ayn Rand period, so he wrote the song about being very individual. We thought we were doing something that was different from everybody else." ~ Alex Lifeson |
| "Best I Can" | Fly by Night | 1975 | Played by band as early as 1974, prior to Neil Peart being a member, although Peart is the drummer on the studio release. |
| "Beneath, Between, and Behind" | Fly by Night | 1975 | First song co-written by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart |
| "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" | Fly by Night | 1975 | The band's first fantasy and science fiction epic track; I. At the Tobes of Hades; II. Across the Styx; III. Of the Battle (a. Challenge and Defiance, b. 7/4 War Furor, c. Aftermath, d. Hymn of Triumph); IV. Epilogue |
| "Fly by Night" | Fly By Night | 1975 | Considered the most pop-like piece on the album |
| "Making Memories" | Fly by Night | 1975 | Written on the road where the band got lost somewhere around Indiana. |
| "Rivendell" | Fly by Night | 1975 | Inspired by Rivendell, a fictional realm created by author J.R.R. Tolkien |
| "In the End" | Fly by Night | 1975 | A song about coming home after being on the road |
| "Bastille Day" | Caress of Steel | 1975 | Inspired by the storming of the Bastille in French history. |
| "I Think I'm Going Bald" | Caress of Steel | 1975 | Discusses aging. Neil Peart chose the title of the track based on Alex Lifeson always being worried about his potential hair loss. |
| "Lakeside Park" | Caress of Steel | 1975 | Inspired by an amusement park in Port Dalhousie, Ontario |
| "The Necromancer" | Caress of Steel | 1975 | I. Into the Darkness; II. Under the Shadow; III. Return of the Prince; Inspired by the fictional character Sauron from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien |
| "The Fountain of Lamneth" | Caress of Steel | 1975 | I. In the Valley; II. Didacts and Narpets; III. No One at the Bridge; IV. Panacea; V. Bacchus Plateau; VI. The Fountain |
| "2112" | 2112 | 1976 | I. "Overture"; II. "The Temples of Syrinx"; III. "Discovery"; IV. "Presentation"; V. "Oracle: The Dream"; VI. "Soliloquy"; VII. “Grand Finale" |
| "A Passage to Bangkok" | 2112 | 1976 | Inspired by A Passage to India by E. M. Forster, the song describes a dreamlike journey around the world in search of marijuana fields, with an allusion to Acapulco Gold. |
| "The Twilight Zone" | 2112 | 1976 | Inspired by The Twilight Zone television anthology series written and hosted by Rod Serling. |
| "Lessons" | 2112 | 1976 | Alex Lifeson has sole songwriting credit which is rare for the band. |
| "Tears" | 2112 | 1976 | Keyboards: Hugh Syme; Lyrics: Geddy Lee |
| "Something for Nothing" | 2112 | 1976 | Inspired by writing found on a building near Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California that read: "Freedom isn’t free". |
| "A Farewell to Kings" | A Farewell to Kings | 1977 | Title adapted from Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms. |
| "Xanadu" | A Farewell to Kings | 1977 | Inspired by the poem Kubla Khan written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge |
| "Closer to the Heart" | A Farewell to Kings | 1977 | Lyrics co-written by Neil Peart and Peter Talbot |
| "Cinderella Man" | A Farewell to Kings | 1977 | Inspired by Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. |
| "Madrigal" | A Farewell to Kings | 1977 | A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition |
| "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage" | A Farewell to Kings | 1977 | Inspired by a Time Magazine article on black holes. |
| "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" | Hemispheres | 1978 | I. "Prelude"; II. "Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom"; III. "Dionysus: Bringer of Love"; IV. "Armageddon: The Battle of Heart and Mind"; V. "Cygnus: Bringer of Balance"; VI. "The Sphere: A Kind of Dream" |
| "Circumstances" | Hemispheres | 1978 | Written by Neil Peart about his experience on his own at 18 years old in England. |
| "The Trees" | Hemispheres | 1978 | Inspired by Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax. |
| "La Villa Strangiato" | Hemispheres | 1978 | I. Buenos Nochus, Mein Froinds!; II. To sleep, perchance to dream...; III. Strangiato theme; IV. A Lerxst in Wonderland; V. Monsters!; VI. The Ghost of the Aragon; VII. Danforth and Pape; VIII. The Waltz of the Shreves; IX. Never turn your back on a Monster!; X. Monsters! (Reprise); XI. Strangiato theme (Reprise); XII. A Farewell to Things. An instrumental based on dreams of Alex Lifeson |
| "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" | Unreleased song | 1979 | Written for Permanent Waves, but ultimately scrapped at the last minute after all tracks were already completed. Loosely reworked into "Natural Science". Inspired by the 14th-century Arthurian poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Neil's original handwritten lyric sheet survives. |
| "The Spirit of Radio" | Permanent Waves | 1980 | Inspired by a slogan of Toronto radio station CFNY, which was the first station to play a Rush song over the air. |
| "Freewill" | Permanent Waves | 1980 | "[Musically], the song is a new thing for us in terms of time signatures. [The piece is mostly in 13/4.] We experiment a lot with time signatures. We work in nearly every one of them that I know of that's legitimate: all of the 5s, 7s, 9s, 11s, 13s, and combinations thereof." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Jacob's Ladder" | Permanent Waves | 1980 | Inspired by crepuscular rays, also known as Jacob's ladder. |
| "Entre Nous" | Permanent Waves | 1980 | French expression translated as "between us" |
| "Different Strings" | Permanent Waves | 1980 | Piano: Hugh Syme |
| "Natural Science" | Permanent Waves | 1980 | I. Tide Pools; II. Hyperspace; III. Permanent Waves |
| "Tom Sawyer" | Moving Pictures | 1981 | Co-written by Pye Dubois. Inspired by the fictional character Tom Sawyer created by Mark Twain; The quintessential Rush song. |
| "Red Barchetta" | Moving Pictures | 1981 | Inspired by 'A Nice Morning Drive', by Richard S. Foster |
| "YYZ" | Moving Pictures | 1981 | Inspired by the International Air Transport Association airport code for the Toronto Pearson International Airport; Pronounced Y-Y-Zed. |
| "Limelight" | Moving Pictures | 1981 | Inspired by the experience of being a touring musician. |
| "The Camera Eye" | Moving Pictures | 1981 | Comprises two movements, focusing on New York City and London, respectively. |
| "Witch Hunt" | Moving Pictures | 1981 | Fear: Part III |
| "Vital Signs" | Moving Pictures | 1981 | I. "+ Plus"; II. "÷ Divided By"; III. "="; IV. "− Minus"; V. "× Multiplied By"; VII. "= [Soft-Filter Alternate]"; Inspired by the language of electronics and computers. |
| "Broon's Bane" | Exit...Stage Left | 1981 | Guitar solo; Named after long-time producer Terry Brown whom the band had nicknamed "Broon". |
| "Subdivisions" | Signals | 1982 | About growing up in the suburbs. |
| "The Analog Kid" | Signals | 1982 | About growing up in the age of analog. |
| "Chemistry" | Signals | 1982 | First time all three of members of the band collaborated on the lyrics. |
| "Digital Man" | Signals | 1982 | "The digital man character was running in the fast lane, faster than life." ~ Neil Peart |
| "The Weapon" | Signals | 1982 | Fear: Part II |
| "New World Man" | Signals | 1982 | Billboard Hot 100 highest charting single for the band (#21; 30 Oct 1982) |
| "Losing It" | Signals | 1982 | Electric Violins: Ben Mink |
| "Countdown" | Signals | 1982 | Inspired by the STS-1 Space Shuttle flight. |
| "Distant Early Warning" | Grace Under Pressure | 1984 | Title refers to the systems that are part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. |
| "Afterimage" | Grace Under Pressure | 1984 | In memory of Robbie Whelan (a friend of the band) who died in a car accident near the studio where the band recorded the album. |
| "Red Sector A" | Grace Under Pressure | 1984 | Addresses imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps. |
| "The Enemy Within" | Grace Under Pressure | 1984 | Fear: Part I |
| "The Body Electric" | Grace Under Pressure | 1984 | Title derived from the poem I Sing the Body Electric by Walt Whitman and a novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury. |
| "Kid Gloves" | Grace Under Pressure | 1984 | "1983 was a tough year for us. The last tour was a grind, and everybody had been going through some changes. Before Peter [Henderson, the producer of Grace Under Pressure] we had a couple of other people in mind we wanted to work with [namely, Steve Lillywhite, producer of U2], but things got screwed up along the way and there was a bit of a panic. ‘Kid Gloves’ is our response to rolling with the punches during pressure." ~ Alex Lifeson |
| "Red Lenses" | Grace Under Pressure | 1984 | Song that uses alliteration regarding the word "red". |
| "Between the Wheels" | Grace Under Pressure | 1984 | "The idea of ‘Between the Wheels’ was really kind of the opposite of ‘Digital Man,’ where life goes faster than a person does." ~ Neil Peart |
| "The Big Money" | Power Windows | 1985 | Inspired by the U.S.A. trilogy book The Big Money written by John Dos Passos. |
| "Grand Designs" | Power Windows | 1985 | Inspired by the District of Columbia trilogy book The Grand Design written by John Dos Passos. |
| "Manhattan Project" | Power Windows | 1985 | Inspired by the Manhattan Project research and development project which produced the first atomic bombs. |
| "Marathon" | Power Windows | 1985 | "The song ‘is about the triumph of time and a kind of message to myself, because I think life is too short for all the things that I want to do. There's a self-admonition saying that life is long enough. You can do a lot, just don't burn yourself out too fast trying to do everything at once. ‘Marathon’ is a song about individual goals and trying to achieve them. And it's also about the old Chinese proverb: ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.'" ~ Neil Peart |
| "Territories" | Power Windows | 1985 | Inspired by New Territories in Hong Kong. |
| "Middletown Dreams" | Power Windows | 1985 | Inspired by writer Sherwood Anderson and painter Paul Gauguin. |
| "Emotion Detector" | Power Windows | 1985 | Originally intended to be a ballad. |
| "Mystic Rhythms" | Power Windows | 1985 | Inspired by astrology. |
| "Force Ten" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | Co-written by Pye Dubois. Inspired by the Beaufort scale wind speed rating. |
| "Time Stand Still" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | Vocals (additional): Aimee Mann |
| "Open Secrets" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | The lyric ‘That's not what I meant at all’ is from the T.S. Eliot poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. |
| "Second Nature" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | Articulates a moderating of Neil Peart's environmental goals over time (according to his book Roadshow). |
| "Prime Mover" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | Inspired by Aristotle and Plato. |
| "Lock and Key" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | Inspired by the killer instinct found in humanity. |
| "Mission" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | Inspired by the struggles of Vincent van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. |
| "Turn the Page" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | "I had a major problem with playing ‘Turn the Page’ live on tour. It's a very busy bass part, and the vocal part doesn't really relate to it very much. Eventually I got it, but it took a lot of practice." ~ Geddy Lee |
| "Tai Shan" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | Inspired by Mount Tai. |
| "High Water" | Hold Your Fire | 1987 | Inspired by mankind's evolution from water-dwelling creatures. |
| "The Rhythm Method" | A Show of Hands | 1989 | Drum solo |
| "Show Don't Tell" | Presto | 1989 | Neil Peart's voice is mixed in low in the background on the lines, "I will be the judge / Give the jury direction." |
| "Chain Lightning" | Presto | 1989 | "...the whole idea of the song was response and how people respond to things...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 transferable to another person,...‘Reflected in another pair of eyes’ is the idea that it's a wonderful thing already,...but if there's someone else there with you to share it, then it multiplies, you know, it becomes exponentially a bigger experience..." ~ Neil Peart |
| "The Pass" | Presto | 1989 | Speaks to the friends of those who have committed suicide. |
| "War Paint" | Presto | 1989 | Refers to cosmetic makeup and the psychological masks of youth. |
| "Scars" | Presto | 1989 | "I think it's part of everyone's experience that a certain record reflects a certain period of their life, and that's a pleasurable scar, you know, there's a mark left on you, a psychological fingerprint left by a very positive experience. And music is an easy one, but it translates to so many other parts of life where it's a given that, for instance, the sense of smell is one of the strongest forces in your memory, where a given smell will suddenly conjure up a whole time of your life, and again, it triggers another scar, it triggers another psychological imprint that was left by a pleasurable thing..." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Presto" | Presto | 1989 | "I had used ‘Presto’ in an ironic sense, in wishing that I had magic powers to make things right. And I really just liked the word." |
| "Superconductor" | Presto | 1989 | The line That's Entertainment! refers to the film on musicals with the same name. |
| "Anagram" | Presto | 1989 | Subtitled For Mongo as a tribute to the Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles which contains a scene when the character Bart calls out "Candygram for Mongo". |
| "Red Tide" | Presto | 1989 | Inspired by the phenomenon known as a Red tide. |
| "Hand Over Fist" | Presto | 1989 | Inspired by the game Rock-paper-scissors. |
| "Available Light" | Presto | 1989 | "On a tune like ‘Available Light,’ where the bass just provides some simple, low-end support, I'd rather play the keyboards and sing. It's just a question of what instrument will be rewarding to play from a player's point of view..." ~ Geddy Lee |
| "Dreamline" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | Inspired by The Trinity Paradox by Kevin Anderson. |
| "Bravado" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | "We will pay the price, but we will not count the cost" is a line from the book The Tidewater Tales by John Barth. |
| "Roll the Bones" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | Geddy Lee performs the rap section using a digitally lowered version of his voice. |
| "Face Up" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | Inspired by card games with a wild card option. |
| "Where's My Thing?" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | "Gangster of Boats" Trilogy: Part IV |
| "The Big Wheel" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | "...It's where I’ve looked for a universal of that trade-off between innocence and experience, and (The Big Wheel) certainly addresses that...." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Heresy" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | Inspired by the falling of the Berlin Wall. |
| "Ghost of a Chance" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | ...‘Ghost of a Chance’ fit right in with my overall theme of randomness and contingency and so on, but at the same time it was a chance for me to write about love in a different way, of saying, ‘Here are all these things that we go through in life and the people we meet, it's all by chance.... ~ Neil Peart |
| "Neurotica" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | "Some people can't deal with the world as it is, or themselves as they are, and feel powerless to change things—so they get all crazy. They waste away their lives in delusions, paranoia, aimless rage, and neuroses, and in the process they often make those around them miserable, too. Strained friendships, broken couples, warped children. I think they should all stop it." ~ Neil Peart |
| "You Bet Your Life" | Roll the Bones | 1991 | "I particularly like the lyrics in ‘You Bet Your Life.’ I wove together all the different religions and musical styles and everything. Those kinds of things are really fun and satisfying...." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Animate" | Counterparts | 1993 | Addresses man's anima as defined by Carl Jung. |
| "Stick It Out" | Counterparts | 1993 | "I love the riff. It's a great riff song. I love playing it, and it's a very bass-heavy song, which always makes me happy." ~ Geddy Lee |
| "Cut to the Chase" | Counterparts | 1993 | "Genius is the fire that lights itself." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Nobody's Hero" | Counterparts | 1993 | Orchestration: Michael Kamen; Inspired in part by the death of a friend of Neil Peart, named Ellis. |
| "Between Sun and Moon" | Counterparts | 1993 | Co-written by Pye Dubois. "Pete Townshend can make an acoustic sound so heavy and powerful. I’ve always admired that. On ‘Between Sun and Moon’ there's a musical bridge before the solo that's very Who-ish. I even throw Keith Richards in there. The song is really a tribute to the ’60s." ~ Alex Lifeson |
| "Alien Shore" | Counterparts | 1993 | The voice in the beginning of the song is Alex Lifeson holding his nostrils closed, saying 'out of my nose'. |
| "The Speed of Love" | Counterparts | 1993 | "...a song about love, about the subject of it....demythologizing, debunking." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Double Agent" | Counterparts | 1993 | "...it's one of the goofiest songs I think we’ve ever written, but I’m quite happy with the result. In its own way, I think it's an interesting little piece of lunacy." ~ Geddy Lee |
| "Leave That Thing Alone" | Counterparts | 1993 | "I think this is the best instrumental we've ever written." ~ Geddy Lee |
| "Cold Fire" | Counterparts | 1993 | "I had been inspired, I think, by a Paul Simon song, where I wanted to couch song lyrics in conversation—he said, she said, and all that. Simon has a song, maybe on Rhythm of the Saints, where it's in conversation." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Everyday Glory" | Counterparts | 1993 | "This song ended up being an analog-tape mix. For the last few years I’ve mixed only to digital, because I figured it was just a better tape recorder. But certain songs have a heavier midrange content, and on playback the analog recorder softens the midrange a bit, giving it a more likable sound." ~ Geddy Lee |
| "Test for Echo" | Test for Echo | 1996 | Co-written by Pye Dubois. "The lyrics give a video-view of this wacky world of ours and offers this tacit response: ‘Excuse me, does anybody else think this is weird? Am I weird?’ While the answer to those questions might be ‘Yes!’ it's good to know that you're not the only one, that you're not alone." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Driven" | Test for Echo | 1996 | "...is just from a bass player's point of view. I wrote that song with three tracks of bass. I brought it to Alex and said, ‘Here's the song; I did three tracks of bass, but I just did that to fill in for the guitar,’ and he said, ‘Let's keep it with the three basses.’ So, I said, ‘I love you.'" ~ Geddy Lee |
| "Half the World" | Test for Echo | 1996 | "...is one of our finest moments as songwriters as far as writing a concise song without being wimpy or syrupy. It's got a little bit of everything: nice melody, and yet it’s still aggressive. It’s hard for us to write that kind of song, really. You’d have to go back to ‘Closer to the Heart’ to find an example of that." |
| "The Color of Right" | Test for Echo | 1996 | Inspired by the legal term: colour of right. |
| "Time and Motion" | Test for Echo | 1996 | Inspire by music artists Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins. |
| "Totem" | Test for Echo | 1996 | "The choruses in ‘Totem’ are really interesting. I created a soundscape by using harmonics with a kind of Celtic melody over it that's quite distant. In the song, in terms of dynamics, it's a really beautiful shift." ~ Alex Lifeson |
| "Dog Years" | Test for Echo | 1996 | Inspired by the aging profile of dogs. |
| "Virtuality" | Test for Echo | 1996 | Inspired by the concept of virtual reality. |
| "Resist" | Test for Echo | 1996 | The instrument played at the beginning of the song is a hammer dulcimer. |
| "Limbo" | Test for Echo | 1996 | Instrumental with the inclusion of the line "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?" from the song Monster Mash by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers. |
| "Carve Away the Stone" | Test for Echo | 1996 | Inspired by Sisyphus. |
| "The Rhythm Method 1997" | Different Stages | 1998 | Drum solo |
| "One Little Victory" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | "We fiddled with the order of the songs on Vapor Trails right up until the last minute. However, we never doubted which song would open the album, for "One Little Victory" made such an uncompromising announcement: "They’re ba-a-a-ack!"" ~ Neil Peart |
| "Ceiling Unlimited" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Inspired by the weather and aeronautical term referring to the height of the lowest obscuring cloud layer above the ground. |
| "Ghost Rider" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Based on the self-imposed exile of Neil Peart after losing both his daughter and wife within a 10-month period. |
| "Peaceable Kingdom" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Inspired by the Peaceable Kingdom series of paintings by Edward Hicks. Inspired by the 9/11 tragedy. |
| "The Stars Look Down" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Inspired by the title of a novel with the same name written by A. J. Cronin. |
| "How It Is" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | The line "foot upon the stair, shoulder to the wheel" was inspired by Thomas Wolfe. |
| "Vapor Trail" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Inspired by the long thin artificial clouds that sometimes form behind aircraft known as a contrail. |
| "Secret Touch" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | The line "secret touch on the heart" comes from Joseph Conrad’s Victory and "there is never love without pain" comes from Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. |
| "Earthshine" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Inspired by the reflected light phenomenon of earthshine. |
| "Sweet Miracle" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | "The lyrics I felt were very moving, and the melody just came out of me." ~ Geddy Lee |
| "Nocturne" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Inspired by the issue What Do Dreams Want? in the periodical Utne Reader. |
| "Freeze" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Fear: Part IV |
| "Out of the Cradle" | Vapor Trails | 2002 | Inspired by Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking by Walt Whitman. |
| "O Baterista" | Rush in Rio | 2003 | Drum solo Translates as "The Drummer" in Portuguese. |
| "Summertime Blues" | Feedback | 2004 | Eddie Cochran cover song from Neil Peart's early pre-Rush career reproduced for the album. |
| "Heart Full of Soul" | Feedback | 2004 | The Yardbirds cover song. |
| "For What It's Worth" | Feedback | 2004 | Buffalo Springfield cover song from Alex Lifeson's early pre-Rush career reproduced for the album. |
| "The Seeker" | Feedback | 2004 | The Who cover song. |
| "Mr. Soul" | Feedback | 2004 | Buffalo Springfield cover song from early Rush band reproduced for the album. |
| "Seven and Seven Is" | Feedback | 2004 | Love cover song. |
| "Shapes of Things" | Feedback | 2004 | The Yardbirds cover song from early Rush band reproduced for the album. |
| "Crossroads" | Feedback | 2004 | Robert Johnson cover song from Neil Peart's early pre-Rush career and early Rush band reproduced for the album. |
| "R30 Overture" | R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour | 2005 | I. "Finding My Way"; II. "Anthem"; III. "Bastille Day"; IV. "A Passage to Bangkok"; V. "Cygnus X-1"; VI. "Hemispheres: Prelude" |
| "Der Trommler" | R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour | 2005 | Drum solo; Translates as "The Drummer" in German. |
| "Far Cry" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | "It was almost like we already knew the song when we wrote it. We just played it. And that was really cool. That doesn't happen very often. We were high-fiving and the whole thing, because it's a relief when something like that happens, for sure." ~ Alex Lifeson |
| "Armor and Sword" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | "Spiritual yearnings are natural to many people and may give them solace or hope, but extremists of any kind are not content with faith as armor, they must forge it into a sword." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Workin' Them Angels" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | "I didn't think I was foolhardy or irresponsible, but a certain level of risk in life seemed worthwhile for the promised return—excitement and treasured experiences—and though I didn't really believe in ‘them angels,’ if I had them, I guessed I kept them pretty busy." ~ Neil Peart |
| "The Larger Bowl" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | Pantoum. |
| "Spindrift" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | Inspired by Robert Frost’s epitaph, "I had a lover's quarrel with the world." |
| "The Main Monkey Business" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | Title inspired by a conversation Geddy Lee had with his Polish mother. |
| "The Way the Wind Blows" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | Compares the way our views are shaped as children to the way trees are shaped by the force of the wind over the years. If we grow up with extremist, intolerant views among our parents and others who are influential in our lives, then we can expect our views to reflect that extremism and intolerance. |
| "Hope" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | Instrumental for twelve-string guitar performed by Alex Lifeson. |
| "Faithless" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | Strings: Ben Mink; "To me there were two kinds of faith: a good kind that could be protective and help people, and a bad kind that was militant and you wanted to kill people." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Bravest Face" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | We can never know reality beyond the surface, so accept reality as we see it and put on our bravest face. |
| "Good News First" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | "I kind of couch the lyrics in the traditional relationship song of a quarrel between two people, but, again, it's in fact me arguing with these whole masses of people who just happen to disagree with me." ~ Neil Peart |
| "Malignant Narcissism" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | Inspired by the antisocial personality disorder known as malignant narcissism. |
| "We Hold On" | Snakes & Arrows | 2007 | The line "measured out in coffee breaks" is from T.S. Eliot. |
| "De Slagwerker" | Snakes & Arrows Live | 2008 | Drum solo; Translates as "Drummer" in Dutch. |
| "Moto Perpetuo" | Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland | 2011 | Drum solo; Title is defined as a fast instrumental passage made up of notes of equal length. |
| "O'Malley's Break" | Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland | 2011 | Guitar solo |
| "Caravan" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Single released 2010; album released 2012; The line "In a world lit only by fire" comes from the title of a history of medieval times by William Manchester. |
| "BU2B" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Single released 2010; album released 2012; A soliloquy and pantoum. |
| "Clockwork Angels" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Contains a "bluesy bar band section" midway through the song. |
| "The Anarchist" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Strings arranged and conducted by David Campbell. |
| "Carnies" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Inspired by Robertson Davies and Herbert Gold. |
| "Halo Effect" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Strings arranged and conducted by David Campbell. |
| "Seven Cities of Gold" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Inspired by the myth of the Seven Cities of Gold. |
| "The Wreckers" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Strings arranged and conducted by David Campbell. |
| "Headlong Flight" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Inspired by Freddie Gruber. |
| "BU2B2" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Strings arranged and conducted by David Campbell. |
| "Wish Them Well" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | "We always loved the lyrics, but this was a tough song to figure out," ~ Alex Lifeson |
| "The Garden" | Clockwork Angels | 2012 | Strings arranged and conducted by David Campbell; Piano: Jason Sniderman |
| "Here It Is!" | Clockwork Angels Tour | 2013 | Drum solo |
| "Drumbastica" | Clockwork Angels Tour | 2013 | Drum solo; interlude during "Headlong Flight" |
| "Peke's Repose" | Clockwork Angels Tour | 2013 | Guitar solo; lead-in to "Halo Effect" |
| "The Percussor" | Clockwork Angels Tour | 2013 | Drum solo; I. "Binary Love Theme"; II. "Steambanger's Ball" |
| "The Story So Far" | R40 Live | 2015 | Drum solo; interlude during "Cygnus X-1" |

## Solo projects
### Alex Lifeson
#### Victor

| Song | Album | Year | Notes |
| "Don't Care" | Victor | 1996 | Vocals: Edwin; Drums: Blake Manning |
| "Promise" | Victor | 1996 | Vocals: Edwin; Drums: Blake Manning |
| "Start Today" | Victor | 1996 | Vocals: Dalbello; Drums: Blake Manning |
| "Mr. X" | Victor | 1996 | Bass: Peter Cardinali; Drums: Blake Manning |
| "At the End" | Victor | 1996 | Vocals: Edwin; Programming: Adrian Zivojinovich |
| "Sending Out a Warning" | Victor | 1996 | Vocals: Edwin; Drums: Blake Manning |
| "Shut Up Shuttin' Up" | Victor | 1996 | Bass: Peter Cardinali; Drums: Blake Manning |
| "Strip and Go Naked" | Victor | 1996 | Drums: Blake Manning |
| "The Big Dance" | Victor | 1996 | Vocals: Edwin; Bass: Les Claypool; Programming: Adrian Zivojinovich |
| "Victor" | Victor | 1996 | Bass: Peter Cardinali; Horns: Colleen Allen; Drums: Blake Manning; From collected poems of W.H. Auden |
| "I Am the Spirit" | Victor | 1996 | Vocals: Edwin; Drums: Blake Manning |

#### Lerxst Demo Archives

| Song | Album | Year | Notes |
| "Kroove" | Lerxst Demo Archives Pt 1 | 1996 | Instrumental; written and recorded in Lifeson’s home studio |
| "Banjo Bob" | Lerxst Demo Archives Pt 1 | 1999 | Instrumental; recorded at Lerxst Sound with Jim MacLellan |
| "Serbs" | Lerxst Demo Archives Pt 1 | 1999 | Instrumental; with Jim MacLellan |

#### Alex Lifeson

| Song | Album | Year | Notes | Ref. |
| "Kabul Blues (instrumental)" | Alex Lifeson | 2021 | Andy Curran (bass guitar) | |
| "Spy House (instrumental)" | Alex Lifeson | 2021 | Andy Curran (bass guitar); David Quinton Steinberg (drums) | |

#### Envy of None

| Song | Album | Year | Notes |
| "Never Said I Love You" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Shadow" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Look Inside" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Liar" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Spy House" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Dog's Life" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Kabul Blues" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Old Strings" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Dumb" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Enemy" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Western Sunset" | Envy of None | 2022 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Lethe River" | That Was Then, This Is Now EP | 2023 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "You'll Be Sorry" | That Was Then, This Is Now EP | 2023 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Dog's Life (Remix)" | That Was Then, This Is Now EP | 2023 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "Dumb (Der Dummkopf Remix)" | That Was Then, This Is Now EP | 2023 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |
| "That Was Then" | That Was Then, This Is Now EP | 2023 | Vocals: Maiah Wynne, Guitar: Alfio Annibalini, Bass: Andy Curran |

### Geddy Lee

| Song | Album | Year | Notes |
| "My Favorite Headache" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron |
| "The Present Tense" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron |
| "Window to the World" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron; Steel Guitar: Waylon Wall |
| "Working at Perfekt" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron; Cellos: John Friesen |
| "Runaway Train" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron |
| "The Angels' Share" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron |
| "Moving to Bohemia" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron |
| "Home on the Strange" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Jeremy Taggart |
| "Slipping" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron; Vocals (backward): Pappy Rosen |
| "Still" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron |
| "Grace to Grace" | My Favorite Headache | 2000 | Drums: Matt Cameron |
| "Gone" | The Lost Demos | 2023 | Mixed by David Bottrill |
| "I Am, You Are" | The Lost Demos | 2023 | Guitar & Violin: Ben Mink Mixed by David Bottrill |

### Neil Peart

| Song | Album | Year | Notes | Ref. |
| "Pieces of Eight" | Modern Drummer Flexi-Disc release | 1987 | Drum solo audio track | |
| "Momo's Dance Party" | A Work in Progress (film) | 1997 | Drum solo audio track | |
| "The Hockey Theme" | | 2009 | Neil Peart arranged and re-recorded the NHL Hockey Theme for NHL broadcasts on TSN and RDS. | [158] [159] |

## Collaborations
### Duo projects
#### Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee

| Song | Album | Year | Notes | Ref. |
| "O Canada" | South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut | 1999 | With Terrance and Phillip | |
| "I Fought the Law" | Trailer Park Boys: The Movie | 2006 | The Big Dirty Band; Supergroup formed by Alex Lifeson | |

### Trio projects

| Song | Album | Year | Notes | Ref. |
| "Battle Scar" | Universal Juveniles | 1980 | Max Webster featuring Rush | |
| "Tough Break" | Unreleased single | 1981 | "The Fab Pros" (Rush and two crew members: Tony Geranios; Skip Gildersleeve) | |

### Alex Lifeson

| Song | Album | Year | Notes |
| "Crying Over You" | Alien Shores | 1985 | Guitar solo for Platinum Blonde |
| "Holy Water" | Alien Shores | 1985 | Guitar solo for Platinum Blonde |
| "Beyond Borders" | N/A | 1987 | Guitar for Canadian Guitar Summit for Guitar Player Magazine. Written by Rik Emmett. |
| "In the Danger Zone" | Serious Business | 1988 | Guitar solo for Greenway. Features Aldo Nova on keyboard. |
| "Smoke on the Water" | The Earthquake Album | 1989 | Guitar for Rock Aid Armenia |
| "All the Lovers in the World" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Lost Brotherhood" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Call It a Mission" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "The Dragon" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Love Makes You Believe" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Fire It Up" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Out of a Deeper Hunger" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Tender Young Hero" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Message from Heaven" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Holding This Rage" | Lost Brotherhood | 1990 | Guitar for Lawrence Gowan |
| "Just Scream" | Ragged Ass Road | 1995 | Guitar solo for Tom Cochrane |
| "Crawl" | Ragged Ass Road | 1995 | Guitar for Tom Cochrane |
| "Will of the Gun" | Ragged Ass Road | 1995 | Guitar for Tom Cochrane |
| "Like a Girl" | Scenery and Fish | 1996 | Guitar for I Mother Earth |
| "The Little Drummer Boy" | Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas | 1997 | In collaboration with multiple hard rock artists |
| "March of the High Guard" | Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda | 2000 | Television series soundtrack composed 2000; released 2002 |
| "Wasted Me" | The Better Life | 2000 | Guitar and producer for 3 Doors Down; released on special Australian 2 CD set and B-side import single of Kryptonite. |
| "Dangerous Game" | Away from the Sun | 2000 | Guitar and producer for 3 Doors Down; released in 2002. |
| "Dead Love" | Unreleased single | 2000 | Guitar and producer for 3 Doors Down |
| "Star 24 (No Apologies)" | Born 4 | 2006 | Guitar for Jakalope |
| "Anesthetize" | Fear of a Blank Planet | 2007 | Guitar solo for Porcupine Tree |
| "Sacred and Mundane" | Fly Paper | 2008 | Guitar for Tiles |
| "Don't Look Back" | The Double | 2011 | Outro for the movie The Double |
| "Losin'" | All is More Than Both | 2012 | Guitar solo for Jason Plumb |
| "Once A Warrior" | Disconnect | 2014 | Guitar solo for John Wesley |
| "End of the Line" | RES9 | 2016 | Guitar for Rik Emmett |
| "Human Race" | RES9 | 2016 | Guitar (twelve-string) for Rik Emmett |
| "On That Note" | Borrego | 2017 | Guitar/co-written for Marco Minnemann |
| "South End" | Borrego | 2017 | Guitar for Marco Minnemann |
| "Il Monstro Atomico" | Clone of the Universe | 2018 | Guitar for Fu Manchu |
| "Evil and Here to Stay" | Nobody Told Me | 2019 | Guitar for John Mayall |
| "My Sister" | My Sister | 2019 | Guitar (electric and acoustic)/Co-producer with Marco Minnemann; featuring Dave Kollar (Guitar) and Mikaela Attard (Vocals) |
| "Lovers Calling" | My Sister | 2019 | Guitar (electric and acoustic)/Co-producer with Marco Minnemann; featuring Mohini Dey (Bass) and Maia Wynne (Vocals); Also available as an EP as well as instrumental version. |
| "One Day" | Atheists and Believers | 2019 | Guitar for The Mute Gods |
| "Charmed" | American Rock 'n' Roll | 2019 | Guitar for Don Felder |
| "I Have Seen the Way" | The Atlas Underground Flood | 2021 | Guitar for Tom Morello |

### Geddy Lee

| Song | Album | Year | Notes |
| "Take Off" | Great White North | 1981 | Vocals for comedians Bob and Doug McKenzie; Highest charting Hot 100 single for any member of Rush (#16; 27 Mar 1982) |
| "All the Horses Running" | Vignettes | 1983 | Bass for Marie-Lynn Hammond |
| "Over Queen Charlotte Sound" | Vignettes | 1983 | Bass for Marie-Lynn Hammond |
| "Tears Are Not Enough" | We Are the World | 1985 | Vocals (supporting) for Northern Lights |
| "Good for Sule" | Blue Green Orange | 1999 | Bass for I Mother Earth |
| "When I Close My Eyes" | Transylvania Avenue | 2010 | Bass for The Black Sea Station |
| "March of the Shikker" | Transylvania Avenue | 2010 | Vocals for The Black Sea Station |
| "Territory" | The Great Detachment | 2016 | Bass for Wintersleep |

### Neil Peart

| Song | Album | Year | Notes |
| "Retribution" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "Gypsy" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "Wake Up" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "It's Not hard" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "Lonely Man" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "Tide Keeps Rollin'" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "Flaming Blackbird" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "Giant Killer" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "Polar Bear" | J.R Flood | 1970 | Drums for J.R. Flood Demo |
| "Champion" | Champion | 1985 | Drums for Jeff Berlin |
| "Marabi" | Champion | 1985 | Drums for Jeff Berlin |
| "Cottontail" | Burning for Buddy Volume 1 | 1994 | Tribute to Buddy Rich |
| "One O'Clock Jump" | Burning for Buddy Volume 2 | 1997 | Tribute to Buddy Rich |
| "Save Me From Myself" | Burning the Days | 2009 | Drums for Vertical Horizon |
| "Welcome to the Bottom" | Burning the Days | 2009 | Drums for Vertical Horizon |
| "Even Now" | Burning the Days | 2009 | Drums and Lyrics for Vertical Horizon |
| "Instamatic" | Echoes from the Underground | 2013 | Drums for Vertical Horizon |
| "South for the Winter" | Echoes from the Underground | 2013 | Drums for Vertical Horizon |
| "The Impulsive Type" | Untold Tales | 2017 | Drums for Glass Hammer |