Roll The Bones

Roll The Bones

Released: September 3, 1991
Certified Gold by RIAA: October 25, 1991
Certified Platinum by RIAA: August 31, 2001
Highest Billboard Chart Position: 3

Alex Lifeson - Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Neil Peart - Drums and cymbals
Geddy Lee - Bass guitar, vocals, synthesizers

Produced by Rupert Hine and Rush
Engineered by Stephen W. Tayler
Arrangements by Rush and Rupert Hine

Recorded February-May, 1991, at Le Studio, Morin Heights, assisted by Simon Pressey;
McClear Place, Toronto, assisted by Paul Seeley; and mixed at Nomis Studios, London,
assisted by Ben Darlow

Additional keyboards and background vocals by Rupert Hine
Preproduction work at Chalet Studio, by Lerxst Sound, assisted by Everett Ravestein
Mastered by Bob Ludwig, Masterdisk NYC
Management by Ray Danniels, SRO Management Inc., Toronto
Executive Production by Anthem Records: Liam Birt
Art Direction and Design by Hugh Syme
Portraits by Andrew MacNaughtan
Photography by Scarpati
Digitals by Joe Berndt

Special thnaks to those who keep us "rolling": At Shallow Studio--The Koopster, David, Röb, Caroline, Logger, the War Room, Chester Sight & Sound, CNN, The Psychedelic Shack, The Sugar Shack, Johnny Abdul, the birds. At Le Studio--Richard, Simon, Linda, Francine, Benoît d'Arleaux, Steve, Dave, Anne-Marie, New England Digital (Nick how-about-a-credit?), and a belated thank you to Pippa. At SRO--Ray, Pegi, Sheila, Kim, Evelyn, Laura. On the road--Tour manager and lighting director: Howard Ungerleider, President and stage manager: Liam Birt, Production manager: Nick Kotos, Concert sound engineer: Robert Scovill, Stage left tech: Skip Gildersleeve, Center stage tech: Larry Allen, Stage right tech: Jim Johnson, Keyboard Tech: Tony Geranios, Monitor engineer: Bill Chrysler, and also some of the other "old campaigners": Billy Collins, Matt Druzbik, , Jack Funk, Tom Hartman, Ted Leamy, Brad Madix, Mac MacLear, Mike McLoughlin, George Steinert, Mike Weiss, Tom Whittaker, and Mr. Big (band and crew). At home--perpetual thanks and appreciation to our families, who are always there to catch us when we stop rolling...

Brought to you buy the letter "B."

We appreciate continuing technical assistance from Saved By Technology, Wal basses, Paul Reed Smith guitars, Gallien-Kruger, Ludwig drums, Avedis Zildjian cymbals, and--The Omega Concern.

"Now it's dark."

© 1991 Atlantic Records © 1991 Anthem Entertainment

Dreamline

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

He's got a road map of Jupiter
A radar fix on the stars
All along the highway
She's got a liquid-crystal compass
A picture book of the rivers
Under the Sahara

They travel in the time of the prophets
On a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun
Like lovers and heroes, and the restless part of everyone
We're only at home when we're on the run
On the run

He's got a star map of Hollywood
A list of cheap motels
All along the freeway
She's got a sister out in Vegas
The promise of a decent job
Far away from her hometown

They travel on the road to redemption
A highway out of yesterday -- that tomorrow will bring
Like lovers and heroes, birds in the last days of spring
We're only at home when we're on the wing
On the wing

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

Time is a gypsy caravan
Steals away in the night
To leave you stranded in Dreamland
Distance is a long-range filter
Memory a flickering light
Left behind in the heartland

We travel in the dark of the new moon
A starry highway traced on the map of the sky
Like lovers and heroes, lonely as the eagle's cry
We're only at home when we're on the fly
On the fly

We travel on the road to adventure
On a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun
Like lovers and heroes, and the restless part of everyone
We're only at home when we're on the run
On the run...

Bravado

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

If we burn our wings
Flying too close to the sun
If the moment of glory
Is over before it's begun
If the dream is won --
Though everything is lost
We will pay the price,
But we will not count the cost

When the dust has cleared
And victory denied
A summit too lofty
River a little too wide
If we keep our pride --
Though paradise is lost
We will pay the price,
But we will not count the cost

And if the music stops
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

Roll The Bones

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

Well, you can stake that claim --
Good work is the key to good fortune
Winners take that praise
Losers seldom take that blame
If they don't take that game
And sometimes the winner takes nothing
We draw our own designs
But fortune has to make that frame

We go out in the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones

Why are we here?
Because we're here.
Roll the bones
Why does it happen?
Because it happens.
Roll the bones

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?

We come into the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones

Jack -- relax.
Get busy with the facts.
No zodiacs or almanacs,
No maniacs in polyester slacks.
Just the facts.
Gonna kick some gluteus max.
It's a parallax -- you dig?
You move around
The small gets big. It's a rig.
It's action -- reaction --
Random interaction.
So who's afraid
Of a little abstraction?
Can't get no satisfaction
From the facts?
Better run, homeboy --
A fact's a fact
From Nome to Rome, boy.

What's the deal? Spin the wheel.
If the dice are hot -- take a shot.
Play your cards. Show us what you got --
What you're holding.
If the cards are cold,
Don't go folding.
Lady Luck is golden;
She favors the bold. That's cold.
Stop throwing stones --
The night has a thousand saxophones.
So get out there and rock,
And roll the bones.
Get busy!

Face Up

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

Your turn my head
I spin my wheels
Running on empty --
You know how that feels

I'm on a roll now --
Or is it a slide?
Can't be too careful
With that dangerous pride
If I could only reach that dial inside
And turn it up

FACE UP -- Or you can only back down
FACE UP -- Hit the target, or you better hit the ground
FACE UP -- There's still time to turn the game around
FACE UP -- Turn it up --
Or turn that wild card down
Turn it up

Don't complain
Don't explain
I don't think my new resolve
Can stand the strain

I'm in a groove now --
Or is it a rut?
I need some feedback
But all the lines are cut
I get so angry, but I keep my mouth shut
And turn it up

You get all squeezed up inside
Like the days were carved in stone
You get all wired up inside
And it's bad to be alone

You can go out, you can take a ride
And when you get out on your own
You get all smoothed out inside
And it's good to be alone
Turn it up

Where's My Thing?

(Part IV, "Gangster Of Boats" Trilogy)

Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Instrumental

The Big Wheel

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

Well, I was only a kid -- didn't know enough to be afraid
Playing the game, but not the way the big boys played
Nothing to lose -- maybe I had something to trade
The way the big wheel spins

Well, I was only a kid, on a holy crusade
I placed no trust in a faith that was ready-made
Take no chances on paradise delayed
So I do a slow fade

PLAYING FOR TIME
Don't want to wait for heaven
LOOKING FOR LOVE
For an angel to forgive my sins
PLAYING WITH FIRE
Chasing something new to believe in
LOOKING FOR LOVE
The way the big wheel spins

Well, I was only a kid, cruising around in a trance
Prisoner of fate, victim of circumstance
I was lined up for glory, but the tickets sold out in advance
The way the big wheel spins

Well, I was only a kid, gone without a backward glance
Going for broke, going for another chance
Hoping for heaven -- hoping for a fine romance
If I do the right dance

Wheel goes round, landing on a twist of faith
Taking your chances you'll have the right answers
When the final judgment begins

Wheel goes round, landing on a leap of fate
Life redirected in ways unexpected
Sometimes the odd number wins
The way the big wheel spins

Heresy

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

All around that dull gray world
From Moscow to Berlin
People storm the barricades
Walls go tumbling in

The counter-revolution
People smiling through their tears
Who can give them back their lives
And all those wasted years?
All those precious wasted years --
Who will pay?

All around that dull gray world
Of ideology
People storm the marketplace
And buy up fantasy

The counter-revolution
At the counter of a store
People buy the things they want
And borrow for a little more
All those wasted years
All those precious, wasted years
Who will pay?

Do we have to be forgiving at last?
What else can we do?
Do we have to say goodbye to the past?
Yes, I guess we do

All around this great big world
All the crap we had to take
Bombs and basement fallout shelters
All our lives at stake

The bloody revolution
All the warheads in its wake
All the fear and suffering --
All a big mistake
All those wasted years
All those precious, wasted years
Who will pay?

Ghost Of A Chance

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

Like a million little doorways
All the choices we made
All the stages we passed through
All the roles we played

Oh so many different directions
Our separate paths might have turned
With every door that we opened
Every bridge that we burned

Somehow we find each other
Through all that masquerade
Somehow we found each other
Somehow we have stayed
In a state of grace

I DON'T BELIEVE IN DESTINY
OR THE GUIDING HAND OF FATE
I DON'T BELIEVE IN FOREVER
OR LOVE AS A MYSTICAL STATE

I DON'T BELIEVE IN THE STARS OR THE PLANETS
OR ANGELS WATCHING FROM ABOVE
BUT I BELIEVE THERE'S A GHOST OF A CHANCE
WE CAN FIND SOMEONE TO LOVE
AND MAKE IT LAST

Like a million little crossroads
Through the backstreets of youth
Each time we turn a new corner
A tiny moment of truth

Oh so many different connections
Our separate paths might have made
With every door that we opened
Every game we played

Somehow we find each other
Through all that masquerade
Somehow we found each other
Somehow we have stayed
In a state of grace

Neurotica

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

You just don't get it
What it is... well, you're not really sure
You move like you're walking on thin ice
Talking like you're still insecure

Time is a spiral -- Space is a curve
I know you get dizzy, but try not to lose your nerve
Life is a diamond you turn into dust
Waiting for rescue, and I know you just
Don't get it
You just don't get it

Neurotica -- Exotica
It's just Erotica -- Hypnotica
It's Psychotica -- Chaotica
It's just Exotica -- Neurotica

You just don't get it
Baby, don't you ask yourself why?
If you don't like the answer -- forget it
You know I hate to see you cry

Fortune is random -- Fate shoots from the hip
I know you get crazy, but try not to lose your grip
Life is a diamond you turn into dust
Looking for trust, and I know that you just
Don't get it
You just don't get it

SNAP!
Hide in your shell, let the world go to hell
It's like Russian roulette to you
SNAP!
Sweat running cold, you can't face growing old
It's a personal threat to you
SNAP!
The world is a cage for your impotent rage
But don't let it get to you
SNAP!

You Bet Your Life

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

Just another hunter, like a wolf in the sun
Just another junkie on a scoring run
Just another victim of the things he has done
Just another day -- in the life of a loaded gun

THE ODDS GET EVEN -- You name the game
THE ODDS GET EVEN -- The stakes are the same
YOU BET YOUR LIFE

Just another winner, pours his life down the drain
Just another island in a hurricane
Just another loser, like a cat in the rain
Just another day -- in the path of a speeding train

THE ODDS GET EVEN -- You name the game
THE ODDS GET EVEN -- The stakes are the same
YOU BET YOUR LIFE

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

Just another gypsy with a plastic guitar
Just another dancer with her eyes on the stars
Just another dreamer who was going too far
Just another drunk -- at the wheel of a stolen car

THE ODDS GET EVEN -- You name the game
THE ODDS GET EVEN -- The stakes are the same
YOU BET YOUR LIFE