Entre Nous

Well... Rush fans apparently get very defensive about writing credit.

Anyways, I have two ways of looking at this song. 1) It's about taking blossoming love to the next level. It's about a couple growing closer together, more comfortable with each other, and learning everything about the other rather than just the pretty face they put on.

2) It's about a couple that's been together for some time and have come to realize that they are two entirely different people. The point he's getting at is that they are in love and rather than let their differences get in the way and drive them away, they could learn from their differences and expand their horizons. The spaces in between leave room for the two of them to grow.

Such a wonderful song, and so applicable in almost every relationship. Family, friends, or co-workers...No one is really able to know us for who we are, but we hope that we can learn from each other's differences. I love this song!!

many times i've heard this described as an "intellectual love song". i guess such a thing can exist

Here's just a quick interpretation.

It's about unity in division. All the metaphors; A novel no one has read, planets, strangers, islands; all those show how different we are. And we are! I like the first one, because it is like no one knows anything about us. We need to recognize that there is a lot more to a person than their cover. Like, A LOT! But it talks about passing ships, and building bridges, which means that we need to still unify, even in our differences.

This is a simple one, its got nothing to do with Neil Peart and fans or Peart and his girlfriend for that matter. Its just about people finding connections and trying to understand one another. We all come from different backgrounds and have many stories to tell each other but sometimes not all of us are up to the task of sharing. Some of us if most put up empty handed facades just to please each other and get bugged out by the littlest of things that we say about each other.

It is a song that could only been written by an introvert.

Rush has the greatest lyrics of all time, and this is the very best of their poetic writing. I personally think this song is about people are connected to each other and how they interact with one another.

"We are secrets to each other Each one's life a novel No-one else has read. Even joined in bonds of love, We're linked to one another By such slender threads."

This means that we all have different lives and everybody has different experiences and go through life differently. And no matter what you do, you will never thoroughly know another persons life. Also, even if you ave a strong connection to someone, your relations with them can be cut.

"We are planets to each other, Drifting in our orbits To a brief eclipse. Each of us a world apart, Alone and yet together, Like two passing ships."

People are all different, other people's lives are so foreign it's like being on another planet. We only see a fraction of other people's lives it is about as rare as seeing an eclipse.

"We are strangers to each other, Full of sliding panels, An illusion show. Acting well-rehearsed routines Or playing from the heart? It's hard for one to know."

Again, we don't know everything about other people. People have so many layers (like sliding panels) that most of the time we only see an illusion of who that person really is. We all have been taught how to act in public that we rarely show who we really are, and when people do, there is no way to tell if they are showing their true selves or another illusion.

"We are islands to each other, Building hopeful bridges On a troubled sea. Some are burned or swept away, Some we would not choose, But we're not always free."

We are all separate beings, and have connections to people like bridges. And like bridges, connections can be destroyed. Some of those connections we are forced into (work, school, family, etc.) because we are forced into contact with these people.

These lyrics hit close to home for me these days. I miss my best friend.

Peart was telling us about our 3-dimensional, Holographic Universe...where we are all Free and independent through our Free will, while simultaneously eternally linked with one another through slender, almost invisible threads...

This is a song about Quantum Entanglement and about dichotomy...the dichotomy of Independent Planets vs. a connected Universe...and the answer...as always...is LOVE! When we let down our boundaries/walls of Fear and expose our true selves to one another, we are not only making ourselves FREE, we are reaching out to all that is through the vibration of Love...and only Love can respond.

So let go of the self imposed walls we construct inside ourselves and "entre nous", breach the invisible, slender distance between us and connect to all there is...

Another great example of Neil looking at the world and sharing his observations. People like Neil amaze me. How they can look at the world and take notice of things that the average person would miss. The man was so gifted with his drumming capabilities and his way of communicaating his thoughts. I so wish I could have met him and just been able to talk with him on any subject. Im sure it would have been fascinating.