Neil Peart
Canadian writer, lyricist, and drummer for the band Rush.
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)
Adventures suck when you're having them.
-- Roadshow ()
I'm not looking back, but I want to look around me now.
-- Time Stand Still (1987)
Life is just a candle, and a dream must give it flame...
-- The Fountain of Lamneth (1975)
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)
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)
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?
-- A Farewell To Kings (1977)
I can't play to that! - on Rock Band[]
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)
Danger plus survival equals fun.
--From A Work in Progress
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)
A few guys with guns can spoil everything.
-- The Masked Rider ()
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)
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)
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)
The men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality, closer to the heart.
-- Closer To The Heart (1977)
Genius is the fire that lights itself. -Commenting on Buddy Rich.
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)
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)
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)