Available Light

I named my sailboat "Available Light"

...r u n w i t h w i n d a n d w e a t h e r...

The persistence of memory, the passing of time, current events in ones life, travel, not being able to touch fully any of these things and both the ability and the inability of any one person to remember, and hold that memory as well as enjoy the experience fully.

It is about all these things to me.

I remember listening to this song on a red eye flight back from Seattle after spending some time in the mountains with a woman I was very much in love with at the time. The song made me think about all I had seen and experienced with her.

Another time I remember listening to it in my room in a shared apartment as the a snowstorm raged outside. I was alone in the world and all my memories of my past swirled around me like the snow falling outside. It both comforted me and depressed me...I felt all this through a song. Thank you Neil for the words that evoked so much thought and feeling in me and Alex and Geddy for the soundtrack to my life and times.

I can't believe only one person put their thoughts about this song. This song is definitely one of the best on the album. I agree the song is very powerful and moving. Song affect people in different way, but to me it explains the power of the world and how the simple things like wind and light can convey so much. The song is also about hope and optimism in the world. "Look at the available light" look at the good things in life and stay optimistic. "Run to light from shadow" stay away from the dark/depressing thing in the world or the darkness. To me the sun has always sumbolized promise and hope and I love how rush says "Promise offered in the east and broken in the west"....damn this band never siezes to amaze me...they are jsut amazing

Even though this song doesn't mention humans much at all, I feel that this is about all of the People of the Earth.

The term "Available Light" is pretty simple to me. To see in that light, is to see all humans as God's creation. See, it says that politics, income, race, religion, talent, the opposite of talent, whatever we think define us, none of that matters.

Looking specifically at: "Oh, the wind can carry All the voices of the sea Oh, the wind can carry All the echoes home to me" and "Oh, the light can carry All the visions of the sea Oh, the light can carry All the images to me"

I feel like the person this song is about, (which is all of us), is saying that they want to hear the voices and echoes of every person, and the visions and images of every person. To see them as the awesome people that we all are.

It reminds me a lot of "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath. Both good songs, beautiful meaning.

Brilliant. An excellent way to end the album, a moving and powerful song.

the music itself is so comepletely powerful, almost overwhelming. The wind and light are given humanistic qualities; as if to give voice to friends that One has chased clear across the earth and back again.

It's funny how I purchased Presto in 1989 when it came out. I had heard a lot about Rush and this was the first Rush album I ever purchased. 20 years later and Presto is still my favorite Rush album. I have listened to this album over and over and over and for some reason I always liked the music to Available Light but never thought much about the words. I listened to Show Don't Tell, Chain Lightning, Superconductor, War Paint and the rest and when I got to the end of the album, Available Light was good musically and I was ready to go back to the beginning with Show Don't Tell. I appreciate the comments others have made about how powerful this song is and what it can mean to each person. After 20 years, Available Light has become the song I can't stop listening to today. As Steel 07 said, this band is truly amazing!

The song, to me, seems to be saying that the experiences worth having in life are not going to come to you. You have to pursue them. You have to act. Chase the wind, it will lead you to great things, just don't expect it to bring the world to you.

This is my favorite song of all time. Everytime I listening to it, I Think about my life. In a messy life, you should go with the wind and you should look to the available light. It's a simple and natural thing. I like to listening it at night, in the room that have no light, where I look for my available light.

I listen to this song all the time. Simply awesome. The chorus really gets to you. I feel like I'm flying through open mountain ranges, and wide seas, with the wind blowing on my face. Call me crazy, but that's how I feel. This song rocks!