Double Agent

What gets me is how Geddy says that 'Double Agent' is demented. Now, I'm not sure if he means that because of the music -- it may sound wierd? Or if it is just that voice? Maybe. But if he means lyrically demented... I'm not sure he understands what Neil is trying to say. Heck, I might not understand what he's trying to say. But I have a pretty plausible interpretation.

Where would you rather be? Anywhere but here When will the time be right? Anytime but now

(What this is saying is that he'd rather be anywhere but where he is now. That is to say, out of this situation.)

On the edge of sleep, I was drifting for half the night Anxious and restless, pressed down by the darkness Bound up and wound up so tight So many decisions, a million revisions Caught between darkness and light...

(So many decisions. And taking the theme of Counterparts into consideration, this probably means that he's mulling over whether to go ahead with a relationship with this other person, or to forget about it. He's figuring out possible outcomes of both options. Hence, "Caught between darkness and light". Counterparts, right? Sort of like you hit a fork in the road.)

Wilderness of mirrors World of polished steel Gears and iron chains Turn the grinding wheel I run between the shadows Some are phantoms, some are real

(Like his brain is working, and some things deceive him. He is confused.)

Where would you rather be? Anywhere but here When will the time be right? Anytime but now The doubt and the fear I know would all disappear Anywhere but here

(Like in the first verse. If he could be anywhere but in this situation, all his doubt and fear would disappear.)

On the edge of sleep, I heard voices behind the door The known and the nameless, familiar and faceless My angels and my demons at war Which one will lose - depends on what I choose Or maybe which voice I ignore...

(Angles and demons at war [again, counterparts]. Basically, his mind is in conflict. And he has to make the choice. The voices could also be referring to his conscience. [e.g. cartoons with the angel and evil spirits standing on someones shoulder, telling them what they should do.] So it's all his decision whether to go with this person.)

Wilderness of mirrors Streets of cold desire My precious sense of honor Just a shield of rusty wire I hold against the chaos - And the cross of holy fire

(He's being tempted by people. Like in the dark parts of town where all the prostitutes are. He has some honor, but it's weak -- like a rusty wire. But he still holds it against all of the chaos like that.)

Wilderness of mirrors So easy to deceive My precious sense of rightness Is sometimes so naive So that which I imagine Is that which I believe

(It's deceiving sometimes when you make choices. Sometimes what looks right, or seems right according to your sense it wrong. And it is foolish.)

On the edge of sleep, I awoke to a sun so bright Rested and fearless, cheered by your nearness I knew which direction was right The case had been tried by the jury inside The choice between darkness and light...

(In the end he makes the right decision. The good decision, since he wakes up to a light. Whoever he's in love with is by his side. He saw the right path -- he knew which direction was the right way. The case had been tried by the jury inside -- the final decision had been made. The choice between darkness and light -- whether to maintain this relationship. And he did.)

THe meaning of this song is very ambigious. I have created my own interpretation that I am pretty sure is not correct, but it lends itself well to the song title. I imagine the lyrics are from the perspective of vampire caught between the legitimate life he wants and the primal instincts he can't ignore. At the same time there is a sense of disillusion in his psyche since he is not able to differentiate the real world, that is his nightmare, and the dreams that are his escape from the horrors of his existance. Lots of visual metaphores lend me to this theory, and the last verse is a somewhat twist ending...the vampire awakening to realize he actually has embraced his nightmarish existance.

Someone waiting for judgment, and the nightmares that haunt his sleep as a result.

In general, it's about choices. Obviously.

But I see it relating to masturbation. He's sitting in bed. He can't sleep. Doing it would be wrong, but the darkness can be persuasive. It's a choice between darkness and light. That's just how I see it.

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE RUSH SONG EVER!

Counterparts was an amazing album also.

This song has always struck me as an ode to Alia Atreides, from the Dune novels. Alia is possessed by her evil grandfather, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Double Agent). She is literally caught between darkness and light.

As regent of her brother's empire, she has "so many decisions, a million revisions"

The wilderness of mirrors are the countless personalities living within her in Other Memory. This is almost perfectly described here: "On the edge of sleep, I heard voices behind the door The known and the nameless familiar and faceless My angels and my demons at war Which one will lose--depends on what I choose Or maybe which voice I ignore..."

The baron is aptly described here: "Wilderness of mirrors World of polished steel Gears and iron chains Turn the grinding wheel I run between the shadows Some are phantoms, some are real"

Her "precious sense of honor" is the Atreides Code of Honor.

Becoming a full Reverend Mother upon birth, she never was able to develop her own Self. She is wise and knowledge beyond her years, but that is only due to those memories and experiences living within her. She is still just a little child deep down inside, as described here: "Wilderness of mirrors So easy to deceive My precious sense of rightness Is sometimes so naive So that which I imagine Is that which I believe "

In the end, she is confronted by her nephew (the soon to be God Emperor) who gives her the choice between a Trial of Possession or an exit through the window high above the temple steps. She chooses the latter, as described abruptly in the ending verse: "On the edge of sleep, I awoke to a sun so bright Rested and fearless, cheered by your nearness I knew which direction was right The case had been tried by the jury inside The choice between darkness and light... "

I think this song is about choices. It is very hard sometimes to make a choice specially when you know that you could harm someone. Sometimes you want to do something that you know is not perfectly right:

My precious sense of honor Just a shield of rusty wire

My precious sense of rightness Is sometimes so naive

So it is very hard to decide between darkness and light.....

Duality in every person. As humans, we do things we know we are not supposed to do. And we make excuses to justify those things, then later regret them. 'Wilderness of mirrors' represents the illusions we allow ourselves to be fooled by. Drugs and addiction could be examples of this...'where would you rather be? Anywhere but here' could mean someone not being happy with their state in the present. Again, drugs and needing to get high....From what I understand, Neil was quite fond of cocaine...whether this inspired the lyrics? We may never know.

Its about the mind confused and not trusti g itself because of temptation to do what is considered bad. This is a representation of when emotions become symptomatic and start to cause depersonalization and derealization This song is like a description of a person experiencing a mental breakdown and losing there sense of right and wrong. This song is amazing as it does display the characteristics of so many people that have had what feels like a confusion between emotions making sense or when they start to no longer fit the role that person wants to live in their life.(believing they are good or bad and acting it out making the choice) At the end When the song shows that the person had decided to choose the light over the darkness is like when the symptomatic emotions have gone away and now that person feels the right to actually choose good over bad. The bad having had been clearly a very tempting use of the darkness(the desire to do something bad) but really its just like they battled their thoughts and emotions all night just to be relieved by the over exposure to their own dark and painful feelings. To rationalise those feelings and understand why the person feels how they do is good therapy. And it can make a person go from being completely antisocial to enjoying someone's "nearness"
The double agent is in us all. It is just stuffed down and locked away or it is understood and no longer seems to haunt or continually return bringing controversy and questioning as to what is right or wrong. Accept ur double agent in you and treat it gently. If you try to tell yourself your double agent is wrong.or a.liar it might only get stronger. So be gentle to your mind if you get caught questioning right and.wrong. any anger towards it is fuel to a fire and really there is nothing to fear including fear itself because there is always reasoning in experience. Find the reasoning and the double agent/darkness is lighted and becomes good not bad. If we could understand ourselves better then people would be able to go through these controversial moments much smoother and quicker. Btw the music and rhythms are so good. Makes me happy.

It's known that Neil was reading Carl Jung. And that's explicit on Animate and Double Agent - the last is about dreams/nightmare and the mess in our subconscious. But you can transport for whatever part of your life.