Hemispheres

Hemispheres

Released: October 29, 1978
Certified Gold by RIAA: December 14, 1978
Certified Platinum by RIAA: December 1, 1993
Highest Billboard Chart Position: 47

Alex Lifeson - Six and twelve string electric and acoustic guitars, classical guitar, Roland guitar synthesizer, Taurus pedals
Neil Peart - Drums, orchestra bells, bell-tree, tympani, gong, cowbells, temple blocks, wind chimes, crotales
Geddy Lee - Bass guitar, Mini-Moog, Oberheim polyphonic, Taurus pedals, vocals

Produced by Rush and Terry Brown
Arrangements by Rush and Terry Brown
Recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales, during June and July 1978
Engineered by Pat Moran
Vocals recorded at Advision Studios, London
Engineered by Declan O'Doherty
Mixed at Trident Studios, Soho, London, August 1978
Engineered by Terry Brown with invaluable assistance from John Brand
Tape Operators (Trident): Simon Hilliard, Mike Donegoni, and Reno Ruocco
Mastered at Trident by Ray Staff
(Remastered by Bob Ludwig and Brian Lee at
Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland Maine)

Graphics by Hugh Syme
Art Directions by Hugh Syme and Bob King
Cover photography by Yosh Inouye
Inner sleeve and poster photography by Fin Costello
This album was processed through the Duffoscope!

Management by Ray Danniels, SRO Management Inc., Toronto
Executive Production: Moon Records
Roadmaster and Lighting Director: Howard (Herns) Ungerleider
Concert Sound Engineer and Crew Co-ordinator: Major Ian Grandy
Stage Manager: Michael (Lurch) Hirsh
Stage Right technician: Liam (Leaf) Birt
Stage Left technician: Skip (Slider) Gildersleeve
Centre Stage technician: Larry (Shrav) Allen
Guitar and synthesizer maintenance: Tony (Jack Secret) Geranios
Concert sound by National Sound and Electrosound (U.K.)
Concert Lighting by See Factor
Concert visuals produced by Rush and Nick Prince
Projectionist: Harry (keep the change) Dilman
Those daring drivers!: Bruce (The Pin) Aldrich (Howdy howdy!), Jwerg (Ah think Ah see the problem!) Hoadley, Mike (Say Guy!) Morrison, and Tom (Zig-Zag) Whittaker

The Wonderful Persons List: Austen Fagen, Abe Schon, The UFO'S, the Max Websters, the Pat Travers Band, the Monks, Bert the driver, Fin Costello, Ruke Bernstein, Joe Bombase, Young Ward, Jerry Mickelson, Arny Granat, Bubble and Squeak, all at SRO and all at Rockfield, Advision, and Trident

© 1978 Mercury Records © 1978 Anthem Entertainment

Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres

Lyrics by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

I. Prelude

When our weary world was young
The struggle of the Ancients first began
The Gods of Love and Reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of Man

They battled through the ages
But still neither force would yield
Their people were divided
Every soul a battlefield ...

II. Apollo: Bringer Of Wisdom

'I bring Truth and Understanding
I bring Wit, and Wisdom fair
Precious gifts beyond compare
We can build a world of wonder
I can make you all aware'

'I will find you food and shelter
Show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm
You can live in grace and comfort
In the world that you transform'

The people were delighted
Coming forth to claim their prize
They ran to build their cities
And converse among the wise

But one day the streets fell silent
Yet they knew not what was wrong
The urge to build these fine things
Seemed not to be so strong

The wise men were consulted
And the Bridge of Death was crossed
In quest of Dionysus
To find out what they had lost ...

III. Dionysus: Bringer Of Love

'I bring Love to give you solace
In the darkness of the night
In the heart's eternal light
You need only trust your feelings
Only Love can steer you right'

'I bring Laughter, I bring Music
I bring Joy, and I bring Tears
I will soothe your primal fears
Throw off those chains of Reason
And your prison disappears'

The cities were abandoned
And the forests echoed song
They danced and lived as brothers
They knew Love could not be wrong

Food and wine they had aplenty
And they slept beneath the stars
The people were contented
And the Gods watched from afar

But the winter fell upon them
And it caught them unprepared
Bringing wolves and cold starvation
And the hearts of men despaired ...

IV. Armageddon: The Battle Of Heart And Mind

The Universe divided
As the Heart and Mind collided
With our people left unguided
For so many troubled years
In a cloud of doubts and fears
Our world was torn asunder
Into hollow hemispheres

Some fought themselves, some fought each other
Most just followed one another
Lost and aimless like their brothers
For their Hearts were so unclear
And the Truth could not appear
Their spirits were divided
Into blinded hemispheres.

Some who did not fight
Brought tales of old to light
My 'Rocinante' sailed by night
On her final flight

To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force
We set our course
Spiralled through that timeless space
To this immortal place

V. Cygnus: Bringer Of Balance

I have memory and awareness
But I have no shape or form
As a disembodied spirit
I am dead and yet unborn

I have passed into Olympus
As was told in tales of old
To the City of Immortals
Marble white and purest gold

I see the Gods in battle rage on high
Thunderbolts across the sky
I cannot move, I cannot hide
I feel a silent scream begin inside

Then all at once the Chaos ceased
A stillness fell, a sound and peace
The Warriors felt my silent cry
And stayed their struggle, mystified

Apollo was astonished
Dionysus thought me mad
But they heard my story further
And they wondered, and were sad

Looking down from Olympus
On a world of doubt and fear
Its surface splintered into
Sorry hemispheres

They sat a while in silence
Then they turned at last to me
'We will call you Cygnus,
The God of Balance you shall be'

VI. The Sphere: A Kind Of Dream

We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim

Let the truth of Love be lighted
Let the love of Truth shine clear
Sensibility
Armed with sense and liberty
With the Heart and Mind united
In a single perfect sphere.

Circumstances

Lyrics by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

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 ça change,
Plus c'est la même 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
The world that ought to be

The Trees

Lyrics by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

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 ...

La Villa Strangiato

(An Exercise in Self-Indulgence)

Music by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart

Instrumental

Including:

I - Buenas Noches, 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