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Rush - Cygnus X-1 Book 2: Hemispheres

Rush - Cygnus X-1 Book 2: Hemispheres Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Hemispheres
Released: 1978

Cygnus X-1 Book 2: Hemispheres Lyrics

Cygnus X-1 Book 2: Hemispheres

This song continues the story from Cygnus X-1 on the album A Farewell to Kings. It uses the Greek mythology of Apollo, the god of reason, and Dionysus, the god of love.

The followers of Apollo believe straight logic can lead them while the followers of Dionysus believe that love will lead them. Civil war ensues until the adventurer from Cygnus X-1 comes across this world. Since traveling through Cygnus X-1, a black hole, his body has been destroyed but he can still see and think. He becomes upset with the war and cries out to the people, Apollo, and Dionysus. The people hear his cry, stop fighting, unite, and proclaim the hero Cygnus, the god of balance.

Kicking off the Rush album Hemispheres, this song runs 18:08 and is an exemplar of the band's progressive rock leanings at the time. For their next album, Permanent Waves, they took a different approach, with more compact, tuneful songs like "The Spirit Of Radio" and "Freewill." These radio-friendly songs earned Rush a much wider audience.

According to Rush lead singer Geddy Lee, recording vocals for this song and the others on the Hemispheres album was a miserable experience, since they recorded the music first without making sure he could properly sing over the tracks.

Rush - Circumstances

Rush - Circumstances Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Hemispheres
Released: 1978

Circumstances Lyrics

A boy alone, so far from home
Endless rooftops from my window
I felt the gloom of empty rooms
On rainy afternoons
Sometimes in confusion
I felt so lost and disillusioned
Innocence gave me confidence
To go up against reality

All the same we take our chances
Laughed at by time
Tricked by Circumstances
Plus ca change
Plus c'est la meme chose
The more that things change
The more they stay the same

Now I've gained some understanding
Of the only world that we see
Things that I once dreamed of
Have become reality
These walls that still surround me
Still contain the same old me
Just one more who's searching for
A world that ought to be

All the same we take our chances
Laughed at by time
Tricked by circumstances
Plus ca change
Plus c'est la meme chose
The more that things change
The more they stay the same

Writer/s: GEDDY LEE WEINRIB, ALEX ; LIFESON, NEIL PEART
Publisher: OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Circumstances

Neil Peart wrote this about his time in Europe before returning to Canada and eventually joining Rush. He traveled to London to go to where he thought the hot music scene was at the time. While in London, since he wasn't getting anywhere with his drumming, he ended up working at a tourist gift shop just to get by. He returned to Canada about a year and a half later. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, Washington and Chuck - Downingtown, PA)

Rush - La Villa Strangiato

Rush - La Villa Strangiato Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Hemispheres
Released: 1978

La Villa Strangiato Lyrics

La Villa Strangiato

Despite being an instrumental, the song tells a complete story, complete with plot and characters. It's based on some nightmares Alex Lifeson experienced. (thanks, Matthew Daubert - Mequon, WI)

Divided into 12 segments, as follows: I-- Buenos Nochas, 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.

One of the few songs on which drummer Neil Peart is credited with writing some of the music. He is usually only credited with writing lyrics.

The live version of this song, from the CD Exit... Stage Left contains some nonsensical lyrics in the "Danforth and Pape" segment. The CD flyer contains a "loose translation" of these lyrics.

On the live CD and DVD Rush In Rio , Alex Lifeson delivers a comedy monologue during the "Monsters! (Reprise)" section. Geddy Lee ceases playing this song during this segment and begins briefly playing the song "The Girl From Ipanema" in response to one of Alex's jokes. (thanks, Jeff - Haltom City, TX, for all above)

"Danforth and Pape" is an intersection in downtown Toronto. It is well known for being somewhat chaotic during 'rush hour.' (thanks, Alexander - Bracebridge, Canada)

The song that inspired the "Monsters!" section was the 1936 song "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott. Warner Brothers music director Carl Stalling used "Powerhouse" in his Warner Brothers cartoon scores during the '40s and '50s. The music wasn't originally written for cartoons, publishing rights for a limited catalog of Raymond Scott's titles were sold to Warner Brothers in 1943. Yet not only was "Powerhouse" used in the old "Merrie Melodies" and "Looney Tunes" cartoons, it has been sampled more recently by other bands such as Devo and They Might Be Giants; more recently cartoons including The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, Duckman, Batfink and Animaniacs, also the Cartoon Network's theme song, and throughout the Disney film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! (without crediting Scott - Disney was threatened with a lawsuit and the matter was settled out of court). Rush didn't give credit to Scott for their use of "Powerhouse" either. By the time Raymond Scott's publisher notified the band's management of the infringement, the statute of limitations had expired on the challenge. But Rush's management, out of deference to Mr. and Mrs. Scott (Raymond was still alive at that point), and being the class act that they are, offered a one-time "penance" payment, feeling it was the ethical thing to do. All involved were happy with the resolution, and Rush has no further financial obligations. Under the settlement, they were not required to accord Raymond Scott partial songwriting credit on the piece. For additional information visit FAQ at RaymondScott.com. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, Washington)

Villa Strangiato is a real place in Italy. It was the home of the late Barone (Baron) Strangiato, an Italian nobleman, but it is not a major Italian landmark. (thanks, FranZ - Rome, Italy)

Rush - The Trees

Rush - The Trees Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Hemispheres
Released: 1978

The Trees Lyrics

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

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

Writer/s: NEIL PEART, GEDDY LEE WEINRIB, ALEX LIFESON
Publisher: OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Trees

Though it seems to be steeped in meaning, according to lyricist/drummer Neil Peart, there is no meaning at all in this song. When asked in the April/May 1980 Modern Drummer magazine about whether there is a message to this song, Peart said, "No. It was just a flash. I was working on an entirely different thing when I saw a cartoon picture of these trees carrying on like fools. I thought, 'What if trees acted like people?' So I saw it as a cartoon really, and wrote it that way. I think that's the image that it conjures up to a listener or a reader. A very simple statement." (thanks, Thomas - Pittsburgh, PA)

This was used as the B-side of the US release of "Circumstances" as well as the UK release of "The Spirit Of Radio
."

This song is made up of three distinct time signatures: 6/8, which is used through most of the acoustic sections, the traditional 4/4, which is used in the heavier lead guitar sections, and an unusual 5/4 time signature used in the instrumental bridge. (thanks, Zach - Horn Lake, MS)

This song is referenced in the comical online role playing game Kingdom of Loathing. The description of the item Maple Syrup is: "There is unrest in the forest, there is trouble with the trees. Which means plenty of tasty treeblood for you." (thanks, Suzan - Rochester, NY)

Ricky, from the Canadian TV series Trailer Park Boys, references this song in the episode "The Spirit of Radio" when he says that he doesn't like Rush because they're "Always singing about trees and stuff like that." (thanks, James - Vancouver, Canada)

This song can be seen as a extremely over dramatic representation of how Canadians feel about Americans. Note the maple leaf is at the center of the Canadian flag. (thanks, George - Manassas, VA)

The American politician Rand Paul sometimes mentioned this song in interviews and speeches, using it as an example of his libertarian ideology. Neil Peart, whose political views don't always synch with Paul's, had Rush's management send a cease-and-desist order to Paul asking him to stop quoting the lyrics.