This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
Out of touch
With the weather and the wind direction
With the sunrise
And the phases of the moon
Out of touch
With life in the land of the loving
With the living night
And the darkness at high noon
You can never break the chain
There is never love without pain
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
Out of sync
With the rhythm of my own reactions
With the things that last
And the things that come apart
Out of sync
With love in the land of the living
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
You can never break the chain
There is never love without pain
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
A healing hand, a secret touch on the heart
Way out and way in
Way out and way ay ay ay
Way out and way in
Way out and way ay ay ay
You can never break the chain
There is never love without pain
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
You can never break the chain
(You can never break the chain)
Life is a power that remains
(Life is a power that remains)
A healing hand, a secret touch on the heart
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
Out of touch
With the weather and the wind direction
With the sunrise
And the phases of the moon
Out of touch
With life in the land of the loving
With the living night
And the darkness at high noon
You can never break the chain
There is never love without pain
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
Out of sync
With the rhythm of my own reactions
With the things that last
And the things that come apart
Out of sync
With love in the land of the living
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
You can never break the chain
There is never love without pain
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
A healing hand, a secret touch on the heart
Way out and way in
Way out and way ay ay ay
Way out and way in
Way out and way ay ay ay
You can never break the chain
There is never love without pain
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
You can never break the chain
(You can never break the chain)
Life is a power that remains
(Life is a power that remains)
A healing hand, a secret touch on the heart
A gentle hand, a secret touch on the heart
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
The way out
Is the way in
The way out
Is the way ay ay ay
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The bass parts in this song are absolutely phenomenal, Geddy Lee is amazing
I think it's about the connection we have with nature, specifically during Peart's ghost rider period. "The way out" is separation from society, "the way in" is the deeper understanding of the big question gained from the separation. Basically, as confused and desperate we get, there is always nature to turn to which will show us beauty and truth.
reference to the tao?
From the Ghost Rider period, when Neil found himself with a shot at "romance" again. The phrase "A secret touch on the heart" came from a book that Neil read during this time on his travels (shamed to say I can't remember title or author just now!).
This song is absolutely awesome live.
It's pretty much my favorite song overall. Seems to me this song is about Captain Kirk of Star Trek. Neil expresses it in his usual and highly creative manner and Geddy (with Alex's help, of course) knows how to make it completely shred musically. These guys play secretive a lot, but we actually need them a lot. Am I actually the first to guess about this one?
i agree with lerxstgk, during neil's "exile" he'd constantly question whether or not he'd ever be able to love again after what happened. and i think this song is a reflection on those thoughts
Song is obviously about masturbation DURRRR seriously though neil pert need to quit jacking off to pictures of himself.
This song is actually about anal masturbation.
This song is about how despite being in a dark depression, being disconnected from everything, from the environment to normal human interactions, Neil is healed by an unexpected connection.
“The way out is the way in” is an old adage about having to face fears or go through a process to find acceptance or succeed. In the songs context it’s about the process of grief. We must go through the pain. After reading Ghost Rider, it also appears to show how caring connections can help us through this grief (I.e., Neil meeting Carrie), along with acknowledging nature and our own physiological responses.
Beautiful song. Rush is the best.