1
To seek the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
To break my fast on honey dew
And drink the milk of paradise
I had heard the whispered tales
Of immortality
The deepest mystery
From an ancient book, I took a clue
I scaled the frozen mountain tops
Of eastern lands unknown
Time and man alone
Searching for the lost, Xanadu
Xanadu
To stand within the pleasure dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste anew the fruits of life
The last immortal man
To find the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
Oh, I will dine on honey dew
And drink the milk of paradise, oh, paradise
A thousand years have come and gone
But time has passed me by
Stars stopped in the sky
Frozen in an everlasting view
Waiting for the world to end
Weary of the night
Praying for the light
Prison of the lost, Xanadu
Xanadu
Held within the pleasure dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste my bitter triumph
As a man, immortal man
Never more shall I return
Escape these caves of ice
For I have dined on honey dew
And drunk the milk of paradise, whoa, paradise
To walk the caves of ice
To break my fast on honey dew
And drink the milk of paradise
I had heard the whispered tales
Of immortality
The deepest mystery
From an ancient book, I took a clue
I scaled the frozen mountain tops
Of eastern lands unknown
Time and man alone
Searching for the lost, Xanadu
Xanadu
To stand within the pleasure dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste anew the fruits of life
The last immortal man
To find the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
Oh, I will dine on honey dew
And drink the milk of paradise, oh, paradise
A thousand years have come and gone
But time has passed me by
Stars stopped in the sky
Frozen in an everlasting view
Waiting for the world to end
Weary of the night
Praying for the light
Prison of the lost, Xanadu
Xanadu
Held within the pleasure dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste my bitter triumph
As a man, immortal man
Never more shall I return
Escape these caves of ice
For I have dined on honey dew
And drunk the milk of paradise, whoa, paradise
Lyrics submitted by crackermcnacca, edited by reverb75, mrsuitcase
Xanadu Lyrics as written by Alex Lifeson Geddy Lee
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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To me, this song is about the story of one man who has a single goal: to find and live for all eternity in Xanadu. The promises of Kubla Khan of a wonderland where you may walk along the river Alph, explore and navigate the spectacular ice caves, and eat like a king on honey for all eternity in the beauty of nature. He finds it and is immedatly overbaringly excited and content. But, over a thousand years, he realizes what was once his paradise is now his prison, and wishes that he could escape this land.
Overall, I beleive the song is about self indulgence and greed, to major obstacles people face in life. This songs character decides that he will live there without any consideration of the future, his mind clouded by the idea of instant gratification. However, this was a bad choice and now, 1000 years later, he has come to know Xanadu as a prison, not a paradise.
This is undoubtedly one of my favorite Rush songs. It exemplifies the technical prowess of Alex Lifesons guitar playing, vocal range and bass/synthesizer playing of Geddy Lee, and unbeleivable percussion skill and song writing ability of Neil Peart. Xanadu steals the show on A Farwell to Kings, miles ahead of "Closer to the Heart", "Cinderella Man", and "Cyganus X-1".
i love the intro to this song and i finally learned it on guitar...the famous X-riff almost puts you in a state of uphoria.
I just learned that too, it is really fun guitar riff.<br />
it's originally from a poem but it kicks ass and this song is about xanadu and the peom is about kubla khan two cool figures but anyhow this is probably one of my most favorite rush songs probably cause i enjoy fiction and shit like that so if you've never heard it i segest you go out and by farewell to kings or just download this kick ass song
Another gift from Rush to the world. It really shows that Rush may integrate the most exotic concepts and create fantastic music. It blows me away every time I listen to it. Do read the poem it , I 'm sure Neil would want you to.
The song live or on the album makes you wonder how so much music and talent cold be compressed into three guys. Truly the best rock trio ever, if not the best band ever.
this is by far the most beautiful thing i have ever heard. Rock on Rush!
The true rush fan loves the brilliance of this song. mythical,great sounding,and an ode to another great writer
I absolutely love this song. Anyone who doesn't like it, doesn't know what the hell they are talking about, i agree with cracker in saying this song is completely kick ass! I think everyone should download this song! It's a completely beautiful song, song wise and lyrical wise.
I saw this song live in Montreal in 2004 for the 30th tour, and alex pulled out the Double-Neck Guitar and it was amazing live!
Inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's, "Kubla Khan". It's about Opium Addiction.
this song is about the Almighty and the true creator of the heavens and the Earth. If you pay particular attention to the lines "for I have dined on Honeydew and drunk the milk of paradise" you will understand that human beings were not meant to live forever and will die one day. Once they die, it's up to God to decide whether they will enter paradise or not. If you believe in ONE god, and engage in prayer, and fast on a holy month.....then you already know what this song is about.....rejection of immortality, drinking the milk of paradise, rejecting instant gratification to serving a higher purpose and giving back when you have more than enough.......all of these things should bring a bell as to what this song is referring to.............go figure.