# Neil Peart

Neil Peart (September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian musician, writer, lyricist, and drummer for the band Rush.

## Rush Lyrics

* How I prayed just to get away To carry me anywhere Sometimes the angels punish us By answering our prayers -- Carnies (2012)
* ...if the music stops and there's only the sound of the rain All the hope and glory -- All the sacrifice in vain (And) If love remains, though everything is lost We will pay the price, but we will not count the cost -- Bravado (1991)
* Like a steely blade in a silken sheath We don't see what they're made of They shout about love, but when push comes to shove They live for the things they're afraid of And the knowledge that they fear is a weapon to be used against them... - The Weapon (Part II of 'Fear') (1982)
* 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 -- Freeze (Part IV of 'Fear') (2002)
* 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... -- Natural Science (1980)
* 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. -- Something for Nothing (1976)
* There's no bread, let 'em eat cake There's no end to what they'll take Flaunt the fruits of noble birth Wash the salt into the earth -- Bastille Day (1975)
* All the same we take our chances, Laughed at by time, tricked by circumstances, Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, The more that things change, the more they stay the same. -- Circumstances (1978)
* A scorching blast of golden fire as it slowly leaves the ground Tears away with a mighty force The air is shattered by the awesome sound -- Countdown (1982)
* Features distorted in the flickering light 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 -- Witch Hunt (Part III of 'Fear') (1981)
* I'm not looking back, but I want to look around me now. -- Time Stand Still (1987)
* Today is different, and tomorrow the same. It's hard to take the world the way that it came. Too many rapids keep us sweeping along. Too many captains keep on steering us wrong. It's hard to take the heat. It's hard to lay blame. To fight the fire, while we're feeding the flames. -- Second Nature (1987)
* Faith is cold as ice. Why are little ones born only to suffer for the want of immunity, or a bowl of rice? Well, who would hold a price on the heads of the innocent children if there's some immortal power to control the dice? -- Roll The Bones (1991)
* You move me, you move me. with your buildings and your eyes Autumn woods and Winter skies. You move me, you move me. Open sea and city lights, busy streets and dizzy heights. You call me, you call me. -- The Analog Kid (1982)
* The middle aged madonna calls her neighbor on the phone. Day by day, the seasons pass and leave her life alone. But she'll go walking out that door on some bright afternoon to go and paint big cities from a lonely attic room. -- Middletown Dreams (1985)
* Miracles will have their claimers More will bow to Rome He and she are in the house But there's only me at home. -- Anagram (For Mongo) (1989)
* I feel the sense of possibilities I feel the wrench of hard realities The focus is sharp in the city -- The Camera Eye (1981)
* It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance I'm not giving in I'm not missing out I'm not giving up on implausible dreams -- The Enemy Within (Part I of 'Fear') (1984)
* Growing up it all seems so one-sided Opinions all provided The future pre-decided Detached and subdivided In the mass production zone Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone -- Subdivisions (1982)
* Cast in this unlikely role Ill-equipped to act With insufficient tact One must put up barriers To keep oneself intact -- Limelight (1981)
* No hero in your tragedy, No daring in your escape, No salutes for your surrender, Nothing noble in your fate, Christ, what have you done? -- The Pass (1989)
* The world weighs on my shoulders But what am I to do? You sometimes drive me crazy But I worry about you I know it makes no difference To what you’re going through But I see the tip of the iceberg And I worry about you... -- Distant Early Warning (1984)
* Some are born to move the world, to live their fantasies But most of us just dream about the things we'd like to be Sadder still to watch it die, then never to have known it For you, the blind who once could see The bell tolls for thee... -- Losing It (1982)
* Anarchist reactionary, running-dog revisionist Hindu, Muslim, Catholic creation, evolutionist Rational, romantic, mystic, cynical, idealist Minimal expressionist, post-modern neo-symbolist Armchair rocket scientist, graffiti existentialist Deconstruction primitive performance photo-realist Be-bop or a one-drop or a hip-hop, lite-pop-metallist Gold adult contemporary, urban country capitalist -- You Bet Your Life (1991)
* I hear the sound of gunfire at the prison gate, Are the liberators here? Do I hope or do I fear? For my father and my brother, it’s too late but I must help my mother stand up straight. Are we the last ones left alive? Are we the only human beings to survive? -- Red Sector A (1984)
* Wheels can take you around. Wheels can cut you down. We can go from boom to bust. From dreams to a bowl of dust. We can fall from rockets' red glare, down to "Brother can you spare..." Another war. Another wasteland. And another lost generation -- Between The Wheels (1984)
* 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 -- Cygnus X-1, Book One; The Voyage (1977)
* They say there are strangers who threaten us In our immigrants and infidels They say there is strangeness too dangerous In our theaters and bookstore shelves That those who know what's best for us Must rise and save us from ourselves -- Witch Hunt (Part III of 'Fear') (1980)
* 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 -- The Trees (1978)
* Imagine a man when it all began The pilot of 'Enola Gay' Flying out of the shockwave on that August day All the powers that be, and the course of history Would be changed forevermore -- Manhattan Project (1985)
* We each pay a fabulous price For our visions of paradise But a spirit with a vision is a dream With a mission -- Mission (1987)
* 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 -- Vital Signs (1981)
* A planet of playthings We dance on the strings of powers we cannot perceive The stars aren't aligned or the gods are maligned Blame is better to give than receive -- Freewill (1980)
* Life is just a candle, and a dream must give it flame... -- The Fountain of Lamneth (1975)
* Danger plus survival equals fun. --From A Work in Progress
* All the busy little creatures chasing out their destinies. Living in their pools they soon forget about the sea... -- Natural Science (1980)
* A few guys with guns can spoil everything. -- The Masked Rider (1996)
* Everything in moderation, with occasional excess -- Ghost Rider (2002)
* To you, is it movement, or is it action? Is it contact or just reaction? And you, revolution, just resistance? Is it living, or just existence? -- The Enemy Within (Part I of 'Fear') (1984)
* Adventures suck when you're having them. -- Roadshow (2006)
* How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is after all so poorly lit -- Turn The Page (1987)
* Life is like an aimless river The time is now again -- Ceiling Unlimited (2002)
* No one gets to their heaven without a fight -- Armor and Sword (2007)
* Quick to judge -- Quick to anger -- Slow to understand Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand -- Witch Hunt (Part III of 'Fear') (1981)
* When we are young Wandering the face of the Earth Wondering what our dreams might be worth Learning that we're only immortal For a limited time -- Dreamline (1991)
* Unstable condition A symptom of life In mental and environmental change Atmospheric disturbance The feverish flux Of human interface and interchange -- Vital Signs (1981)
* You can surrender Without a prayer But never really pray Pray without surrender You can fight Without ever winning But never ever win Without a fight -- Resist (1996)

## Other

* Genius is the fire that lights itself. -Commenting on Buddy Rich.
* The secret to life is, you get up in the morning, and you go to work - from the book Travelling Music
* I can't play to that! - on Rock Band
* Among the people whose thinking I like is Ayn Rand, but there are a whole lot of others. It's a kind of disciple mentality that people are applying to me that they think I applied to her and it's all wrong. I'm nobody's disciple and you know 'No god, no government' none of that, so I don't like it applied to me any more than to them.
* I define my approach to each day I am given as, "What is the most excellent thing I can do today?" – from the book "Far and Near: On Days Like These"

## Quotes about Neil Peart

* Name another drummer in the rock-pop-prog-fusion idiom who thoroughly composed his parts for every song, never deviating live or otherwise, applied his vision to a 30+ piece electric/acoustic 360 degree orchestral rock kit, and somehow managed to make every part musical, seamless, and iconic. He also wrote the lyrics almost every Rush song. I don't care if you don't like Rush, Neil is undeniable.
** Pat McGee of Stars, as quoted by Consequence (September 16, 2024)
* Rush is another impressive array of three otherworldly musicians. The technicality and precision is jaw dropping. I was quite busy on drums early on in the Pixies because of him. Quite a formative band for me when I was younger and learning drums.
** David Lovering of Pixies (band), as quoted by Consequence (September 16, 2024)

## References

* ↑ http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19920423franklancaster.htm