Permanent Waves (1980)
Words by Neil Peart, music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
There are those who think that life
Has nothing left to chance
With a host of holy horrors
To direct our aimless dance
A planet of playthings
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
The stars aren’t aligned —
Or the gods are malign
Blame is better to give than receive
You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path thats clear
I will choose free will
There are those who think that theyve been dealt a losing hand
The cards were stacked against them —
They weren’t born in lotus-land
All preordained
A prisoner in chains
A victim of venomous fate
Kicked in the face
You can’t pray for a place
In heavens unearthly estate
You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path thats clear
I will choose free will
Each of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt
That’s far too fleet…
You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path thats clear
I will choose free will
H/T: Stephen Littau
Saturday, June 13, 2009
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6 comments:
Awesome song. Was singing it while reading. I even broke for the base and guitar interlude. ;-)
I'm a big Rush fan. Mostly the 70s stuff, though. I'm a geezer.
Ah, the good old music. It's amazing that the old education system that created the baby boomer musicians was then replaced by the baby boomers with an education system that can no longer create meaningful lyrics. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but it will be a couple of generations before the hippy damage is undone.
Where can music go from here?
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
This struck me as particularly true. When people ask me if they have a choice (especially in a Hobson's choice situation), I typically say yes. Do it or don't do it. It's a choice.
In fact, no choice is a choice. :)
I think this might be my favorite song and that's a big part of why.
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