Living on a lighted stage
Approaches the unreal
For those who think and feel
In touch with some reality
Beyond the gilded cage
Cast in this unlikely role
Ill-equipped to act
With insufficient tact
One must put up barriers
To keep oneself intact
Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme
Living in a fish eye lens
Caught in the camera eye
I have no heart to lie
I can't pretend a stranger
Is a long-awaited friend
All the world's indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another's audience
Outside the gilded cage
Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme
Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme
The real relation
The underlying theme
Approaches the unreal
For those who think and feel
In touch with some reality
Beyond the gilded cage
Cast in this unlikely role
Ill-equipped to act
With insufficient tact
One must put up barriers
To keep oneself intact
Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme
Living in a fish eye lens
Caught in the camera eye
I have no heart to lie
I can't pretend a stranger
Is a long-awaited friend
All the world's indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another's audience
Outside the gilded cage
Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme
Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme
The real relation
The underlying theme
Lyrics submitted by MasterDuncan03, edited by molson420, Pizzov
"Limelight" as written by Gary Lee Weinrib Neil Elwood Peart
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
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All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
From As You Like It
I never paid attention to the lyrics as close as I have today when it played on the radio because for me the meaning was a spiritual one -
You can continue to blame the people and the situations that have hurt you. Or you can take back your power and look through the actors. To see the Director.
Every single aspect of your life has a purpose and is by divine design. Even the parts you hate. Even the parts you try to hide from the world and yourself. Even the parts that hurt. Even the tears. The betrayal. The divorce. The loss.
“You will find the purpose when you grow through this. When you allow nothing to shrink you. Or chain you. Or own you. When you stop hearing the noise of what other people are saying or thinking of you. When you stop the "what if's". When you stop beating yourself to a mental pulp. And never again allow someone to mistreat, disrespect, use, or take you for granted.
But most of all, you will only find peace when you finally remove the thing that has occupied God's place in your heart.
Read that again.
Only then will you be able to truly love again. In a healthy way.”
Written by Yasmin Mogahed.
May God’s peace and Blessings be upon those of you who read in search of God’s Message through His Prophets.
AsSalamuAlaikum WaRahmatullahi WaBarakhatuh
Islam-Guide.com
qurandownload.com/…(yusuf-ali).pdf
Read the scholarly commentary at the bottom of the pages as to have an understanding of when and why the verse was revealed to Prophet Muhammad pbuh. Especially pay attention to the Chapter “Mary” Mother of Jesus (peace be upon them) God (Allah) created only two humans who were never touched by the evil influence of Satan. They are: Virgin Mary and Jesus the Messiah. Yes, in order to be a Muslim, we must believe this. All praise to God for putting perspective of Him into me even as I was a rebellious teen partying my butt off.
Read! In the name of your Lord! First revelation to Muhammad pbuh who was illiterate, and a man known for his trustworthiness among even his enemies and who deeply reflected on worshipping The One God, as Abraham, Moses Jesus, all of the preceding Prophrts taught the people of their time, with the last and final Prophet and Messenger being Muhammad. Read the Quran!
The entire life and lineage of Muhammad:
kalamullah.com/…
First two are mega-hits, and the last one is just them rocking out. And soooo gooood.
As for this song, yeah, Neil got hit hard by stardom. And to top it all off, his life is quite tragic. Never knew what he went through just recently until I looked up the band on a whim.
And the second line of that same verse, "Ill-equipped to act", means that he doesn't know how to act around people, or the public. Everyone just knows him as a drummer; not as a person.
Then, "One must put up barriers to keep oneself in tact" means that he must block himself, from the public in a way as to not be overwhelmed by people.
And, the limelight -- the spot light. Everybody can see him, and knows who he is.
(Although, Alex takes the spotlight with his solo!)
Rush is THE pre-eminent thinking man's rock band..
Anyways, I agree with a lot of folks here. - The song is about the celebrity-fan relationship. But I'm sure there are themes and motifs of the song we all can relate to. Barriers to "keep oneself in tact" are important for everyone to have.
Neil has ALWAYS shunned "the Limelight". He appreciates his fans, but wants his privacy too. This song was written long before the tragedy that Neil suffered in 1997-1998 with the deaths of his daughter and wife. That's why when Rush began promoting Vapor Trails in 2002, the band agreed that only Alex and Geddy would face the media - to protect Neil.
"...Garbage has a very valid point to make - I disagree strongly, but the point is no less valid - it's someone's personal take on the song which stirs up comments from others.."
Everyone may be entitled to their own opinion, but if you're trying to say that everybody's opinions are equally VALID then your critical thinking's for the shits..