Snakes & Arrows

Snakes & Arrows

Released: May 1, 2007
Highest Billboard Chart Position: 3

Neil Peart - drums, cymbals, electronic percussion, tambourine
Geddy Lee - bass guitar, bass pedals, mellotron, vocals
Alex Lifeson - six- and twelve-string electric and acoustic guitars, mandola, mandolin, bouzouki

Produced by Nick Raskulinecz and RUSH
Engineered by Richard Chycki
Mixed by Richard Chycki

Recorded at Allaire Studios, Shokan NY, November
and December, 2006
Assistant engineer: Matt Snedecor
Additional recording at Grandmaster Recorders, Hollywood CA
Assistant engineer: Andrew Alekel
Mixed at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood CA, January 2007
Assistant engineer: Scott Moore
Additional engineering and mixing by Nick Raskulinecz
Arrangements by RUSH and Nick Raskulinecz
Strings on "Faithless" by Ben Mink
Preproduction at Cherry Beach Studios, Toronto, May and September - October, 2006
Engineered by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, assisted by Inaam Haq

Mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner
Management by Ray Danniels, SRO/Anthem, Toronto
Executive Production: Pegi Cecconi, Andy Curran, Lorne Wheaton
Equipment supervision: Lorne Wheaton and Russ Ryan

Art direction, design, and illustrations by Hugh Syme
Cover painting The Leela of Self-Knowledge by Harish Johari, courtesy of Inner Traditions, Bear & Co.
"Workin' Them Angels" illustration created by Hugh Syme with the assistance of George Eastman House, who supplied the original Lewis Hine photograph on which the illustration is based
"Bravest Face" illustration by Hugh Syme and Andrew MacNaughtan
Band photograph by Andrew MacNaughtan

All songs composed by Lee and Lifeson, with lyrics by Peart,
except "Hope", composed and performed by Lerxst Lifeson, all by his own self

All songs published by Core Music Publishing (SOCAN/SESAC)

Geddy would like to thank: Fender Musical Instruments and the Fender Custom Shop, Jim Burgess and Frank Szabo of Saved By Technology, Coll Audio, Tech 21, and Rotosound Bass Strings for their technical contributions, Duke and Ewan for their exceptional canine behavior in a supporting role, and last but certainly not least, my crowd at home: Nancy, Kyla, Julian and Lauren, for their unequivocal and loving support.

Alex would like to thank: Hans, Dennis, Paul, and Rudiger at H&K Amplification, Cara and Pat at GMI, Chris and Glen at Garrison Guitars, Dave at Dean Markley, Joel Singer and Audio Technica, Mike and Nina, Jerry, John and Nikki, Stephen Bennett, David Gilmour, Clatty, JP, Rob, Mike, Lukie, and especially Ade, Justin, Michelle, Taylor, and Chuckie.

Neil would like to thank: John Good, Don Lombardi, and Garrison at Drum Workshop, Mark Love and Chris Stankee at Sabian, Pat Brown and Kevin Radomski at Promark, Darren Shoepp at Roland, Michelle Jacoby at Remo, Greg Russell at neilpeart.net. Freddie Gruber, Matt Scannell, Lorne "Gump" Wheaton, all my "circle of brothers" (too many to list - you know who you are), and on the home front, Keith, Claudia, Jennifer, Adela, Winston, and - at the heart of it all - Carrie.

Our collective appreciation goes to Inaam, Shannon, Carmine, Chris, and David Godfrey Catering at Cherry Beach; Matt, Mark, Susan, Ken, Lisa, Rachel, Annalee, Thorn, Jay, Stephanie, Colby, and Julia at Allaire; Andrew and Jen at Grandmaster; Scott, Kelly, and Jessica at Ocean Way; Barry and Clint at BZ Brokers; and - Ω™

Extremely special thanks to our great support group at SRO/Anthem: Ray Danniels, Pegi Cecconi, Sheila Posner, Anna LeCoche, Cynthia Barry, Shelley Nott, Bob Farmer, Andy Curran, and Randy and Frances Rolfe.

Brought to you by the letter "sssss"

© 2007 Atlantic Records © 2007 Anthem Entertainment

Far Cry

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

Pariah dogs and wandering madmen
Barking at strangers and speaking in tongues
The ebb and flow of tidal fortune
Electrical changes are charging up the young

It's a far cry from the world we thought we'd inherit
It's a far cry from the way we thought we'd share it
You can almost feel the current flowing
You can almost see the circuits blowing

One day I feel I'm on top of the world
And the next it's falling in on me
I can get back on
I can get back on
One day I feel I'm ahead of the wheel
And the next it's rolling over me
I can get back on
I can get back on

Whirlwind life of faith and betrayal
Rise in anger, fall back and repeat
Slow degrees on the dark horizon
Full moon rising, lays silver at your feet

You can almost see the circle growing
You can almost feel the planets glowing

One day I fly through a crack in the sky
And the next it's falling in on me
I can get back on
I can get back on

Armor And Sword

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

The snakes and arrows a child is heir to
Are enough to leave a thousand cuts
We build our defences, a place of safety
And leave the darker places unexplored

Sometimes the fortress is too strong
Or the love is too weak
What should have been our armor
Becomes a sharp and angry sword

Our better natures seek elevation
A refuge for the coming night
No one gets to their heaven without a fight

We hold beliefs as a consolation
A way to take us out of ourselves
Meditation, or medication
A comfort, or a promised reward

Sometimes that spirit is too strong
Or the flesh is too weak
Sometimes the need is just too great
For the solace we seek
The suit of shining armor
Becomes a keen and bloody sword

A refuge for the coming night
A future of eternal light
No one gets to their heaven without a fight

Confused alarms of struggle and flight
Blood is drained of color
By the flashes of artillery light
No one gets to their heaven without a fight
The battle flags are flown
At the feet of a god unknown
No one gets to their heaven without a fight

Sometimes the damage is too great
Or the will is too weak
What should have been our armor
Becomes a sharp and burning sword

Workin' Them Angels

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

Driving away to the east, and into the past
History receeds in my rear-view mirror
Carried away on a wave of music down a desert road
Memory humming at the heart of a factory town

All my life
I've been workin' them angels overtime
Riding and diving and living
So close to the edge
Workin' them angels - Overtime

Riding through the Range of Light to the wounded city
Filling my spirit with the wildest wish to fly
Taking the high road to the wounded city
Memory strumming at the heart of a moving picture

All of this time
I've been working them angels overtime
Riding and diving and flying
Just over the edge
Workin' them angels - Overtime

Driving down the razor's edge between the past and the future
Turn up the music and smile
Get carried away on the songs and stories of vanished times
Memory drumming at the heart of an English winter
Memories beating at the heart of an African village

The Larger Bowl

(a pantoum)

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

if we're so much the same, like I always hear
why such different fortunes and fates?
some of us live in a cloud of fear
some live behind iron gates

why such different fortunes and fates?
some are blessed and some are cursed
some live behind iron gates
while others see only the worst

some are blessed and some are cursed
the golden one or scarred from birth
while others only see the worst
such a lot of pain on the earth

the golden one or scarred from birth
some things can never be changed
such a lot of pain on this earth
it's somehow so badly arranged

some things can never be changed
some reasons will never come clear
it's somehow so badly arranged
if we're so much the same, like I always hear

Spindrift

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

As the waves crash in
On the western shore
The wind blows fierce from the east
Wavetops torn into flying spindrift

As the waves crash in
On the western shore
It makes me feel uneasy
The spray that's torn away
Is an image of the way I feel

What am I supposed to say?
Where are the words to answer you
When you talk that way?

As sun goes down
On the western shore
The wind blows hard from the east
It whips the sand into a flying spindrift

As the sun goes down
On the western shore
It makes me feel uneasy
In the hot dry rasp of the devil winds
Who cares what a fool believes?

What am I supposed to say?
Where are the words to answer you
When you talk that way?
Words that fly against the wind and waves

(A little closer to you)
Where is the wave that will carry me
A little closer to you?

What am I suppose to do?
Where are the words that will make you see
What I believe is true?

The Main Monkey Business

Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Instrumental

The Way The Wind Blows

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

Now it's come to this
It's like we're back in the Dark Ages
From the Middle East to the Middle West
It's a world of superstition

Now it's come to this
Wide-eyed armies of the faithful
From the Middle East to the Middle West
Pray, and pass the ammunition

So many people think that way
You gotta watch what you say
To them and them, and others too
Who don't seem to see things the way you do

We can only grow the way the wind blows
On a bare and weathered shore
We can only bow to the here and now
In our elemental war

We can only go the way the wind blows
We can only bow to the here and now
Or be broken down blow by blow

Now it's come to the this
Hollow speeches of mass deception
From the Middle East to the Middle West
Like crusaders in unholy alliance

Now it's come to this
Like we're back in the Dark Ages
From the Middle East to the Middle West
It's a plague that resists all science

It seems to leave them partly blind
And they leave no child behind
While evil spirits haunt their sleep
While shepherds bless and count their sheep

Like a solitary pine
On a bare wind-blasted shore
We can only grow the way the wind blows

Hope

Music by Alex Lifeson

Instrumental

Faithless

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

I've got my own moral compass to steer by
A guiding star beats a spirit in the sky
And all the preaching voices -
Empty vessels ring so loud
As they move among the crowd
Fools and thieves are well disguised
In the temple and marketplace

Like a stone in the river
Against the floods of spring
I will quietly resist

Like the willows in the wind
Or the cliffs along the ocean
I will quietly resist

I don't have faith in faith
I don't believe in belief
You can call me faithless
But I still cling to hope
And I believe in love
And that's faith enough for me

I've got my own spirit level for balance
To tell if my choice is leading up or down
And all the shouting voices
Trying to throw me off my course
Some by sermons, some by force
Fools and thieves are dangerous
In the temple and marketplace

Like a forest bows to winter
Beneath the deep white silence
I will quietly resist

Like a flower in the desert
That only blooms at night
I will quietly resist

Bravest Face

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

Though we might have precious little
It's still precious

I like that song
About this wonderful world
It's got a sunny point of view
And sometimes I feel it's true
At least for a few of us

I like that world
It makes a wonderful song
But there's a darker point of view
That's sadly just as true
For so many among us

In the sweetest child there's a vicious streak
In the strongest man there's a child so weak
In the whole wide world there's no magic place
So you might as well rise, put on your bravest face

I like that show
Where they solve all the murders
That heroic point of view
It's got justice and vengeance too
At least, so the story goes

I like that story -
Makes a satisfying case
But there's a messy point of view
That's sadly just as true
For so many among us

In softest voice there's an acid tongue
In the oldest eyes there's a soul so young
In the shakiest will there's a core of steel
On the smoothest ride there's a squeaky wheel

Though we might have precious little
It's still precious

Good News First

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

The best we can agree on
Is it could have been worse
What happen your old
Benevolent universe?
You know the one with stars
That revolve around you
Beaming down full of promises
To bring good news

You used to feel that way
The saddest words you could ever say
But I know you remember that day
And the most beautiful words I could ever say

The worst thing about it all
Is that you might have never been right
And I'm still not really sure
What started that fight
But I still get this feeling
There's more trouble ahead
So nevermind the bad news
Let's have the good news instead

Some would say they never fear a thing
Well I do
And I'm afraid enough for both of us -
For me and you
Time, if nothing else, will do its worst
So do me that favor
And tell me the good new first

Malignant Narcissism

Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Instrumental

We Hold On

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

How many times
Do we tire of all the little battles
Threaten to call it quits
Tempted to cut and run

How many times
Do we weather out the stormy evenings
Long to slam the front door
Drive away into the setting sun

Keep going until dawn
How many times must another line be drawn
We could be down and gone
But we hold on

How many times
Do we chafe against the repetition
Straining against a fate
Measured out in coffee breaks

How many times
Do we swallow our ambitions
Long to give up the same old way
Find another road to take

Keep holding on so long
'Cause theres a chance
That we might not be so wrong
We could be down and gone
But we hold on

How many times
Do we wonder if it's even worth it
There's got to be some other way
To get me through the days

But we hold on