Nobody's Hero

This song is about heroism. A "hero" is not a singer, actor or athlete, but people who really make a difference in the world, either in a global way or in a personal way. Example of the first are scientists who cure diseases, people who save lives, etc. The second are people who, often in a subtle manner, enhance the lives of people around them - like the gay person mentioned in the first verse who expanded the lyricist's reality. The murder victim was one of the Karla Homolka/Paul Bernardo's victims, whose family knew one of the band members.

I always imagined this song was about Freddie Mercury...

This has been one of my favorite Rush song's since it came out. It really does make you think about who real heroes are. Everytime I've ever heard it, I think about those who I know that have passed on, and it always makes me think about the heroic attributes they've had (everyone has a few). Tonight it got me thinking about my most recent hero:

A few months ago, there was a mass murder in my area (Utah, Trolley square shootings)... My ex girlfriend's father was one of the casualties, and her brother was seriously injured... They were the first two people shot in the attack... The way the story has been told to me is that as soon as the father saw the gun, he immediately turned to cover his son. His son got shot first, and he jumped on him and covered him from the shooter. He took 5 bullets in the back and the head, giving his life so that his son had a chance to live.

That, my friends, is a hero.

I think it's meant to show the difference between heroes and role models.

I think the song is aobut who the public sees as a hero.

The rue heros are listed in the song. they are out there curing diseases, They are the firefighters, the doctors, the policeman. But we sledom call them ehroes unless they, say doe something spectacular. You don't call a cop a hero just for doing his job. The same applies for everyone. All the people who work hard for the sake of it. Who show up to work and do their job heard. We don't think of them as heroes. We see ehroes as the actors, athletes, and other famous people, but they aren't the real herops, the real heros are in fact, Nobody's hero.

The first stanza deals with a homosexual friend that Neil Peart had in England who died of AIDS. The third stanza speaks of a girl who was murdered in Peart's home town.

It seems to me that this is about our perceptions or misconceptions of what a hero really is or should be.

"As the years went by, we drifted apart When I heard that he was gone I felt a shadow cross my heart "

• To me, this is the key lyric in the song. It's important that the dead friend, isn't really a friend any more. The chorus mentions how the person is "Nobody's hero" - in that their death won't effect the rest of the world. Although, I suspect this is a reflection of the personal guilt felt in the song. The guilt derived from knowing that the person's death won't make a difference to the narrator's life, in any way, since they haven't been a close friends for a while.

The key here is the word not.

Hero-- Saves a drowning child

Hero-- NOT the handsome actor.

i think this song is about a friend of Geddy's who passed away...correct me if i'm wrong