The dancer slows her frantic pace
In pain and desperation,
Her aching limbs and downcast face
Aglow with perspiration
Stiff as wire, her lungs on fire,
With just the briefest pause --
The flooding through her memory,
The echoes of old applause.
She limps across the floor
And closes her bedroom door...
The writer stare with glassy eyes --
Defies the empty page
His beard is white, his face is lined
And streaked with tears of rage.
Thirty years ago, how the words would flow
With passion and precision,
But now his mind is dark and dulled
By sickness and indecision
And he stares out the kitchen door
Where the sun will rise no more...
Some are born to move the world --
To live their fantasies
But most of us just dream about
The things we'd like to be
Sadder still to watch it die
Than never to have known it
For you -- the blind who once could see --
The bell tolls for thee...
In pain and desperation,
Her aching limbs and downcast face
Aglow with perspiration
With just the briefest pause --
The flooding through her memory,
The echoes of old applause.
And closes her bedroom door...
Defies the empty page
His beard is white, his face is lined
And streaked with tears of rage.
With passion and precision,
But now his mind is dark and dulled
By sickness and indecision
Where the sun will rise no more...
To live their fantasies
But most of us just dream about
The things we'd like to be
Than never to have known it
For you -- the blind who once could see --
The bell tolls for thee...
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When I was in 9th grade Signals was released. I was trying desperately to create my identity as most freshman do. It was sports for me, until I had an accident and it crippled me from sports. I was so lost internally. I hid in my room from the world. I was a Rush fan from 2112. So I was aware of their power, subconsiously. Well, the song "Losing It" literally saved me from internal breakdown. In my world I had 'lost it'. There are times in our lives when people touch you forever.... I can't thank Neil and they guys enough for what they created in my lost soul in ninth grade. I am 42 now and I still tear up when I listen to the song that saved me.
This is a sad song about growing old and losing a specific talent. But it also speaks to those who do not ever achieve fame at whatever it is that they do (which is the larger part of the population). He is showing that person that it is much harder to reach such heights and then fall than it is to never get there at all....
This is a sad song about growing old and losing a specific talent. But it also speaks to those who do not ever achieve fame at whatever it is that they do (which is the larger part of the population). He is showing that person that it is much harder to reach such heights and then fall than it is to never get there at all....
"Sadder still to watch it die than never to have known it"
"Sadder still to watch it die than never to have known it"
We sometimes wonder why professional athletes do not just retire at the top of their game (Brett Favre), but we...
We sometimes wonder why professional athletes do not just retire at the top of their game (Brett Favre), but we there is an element to them that we just cannot understand, which is the emotion that feeds their desire to be able to do what they used to.
@Seanyc Rush has and will ALWAYS be my FAVORITE band of all time...all genres....50 years after they were done and I am on my death bed....RUSH forever! I feel like any Rush fan is a friend of mine. Thanks for sharing!
@Seanyc Rush has and will ALWAYS be my FAVORITE band of all time...all genres....50 years after they were done and I am on my death bed....RUSH forever! I feel like any Rush fan is a friend of mine. Thanks for sharing!
This is by far the saddest song by Rush there is. Especially the line "sadder still to watch it die than never to have known it" forces the tears to wet my eyes. As Alex said on the Boys In Brazil documentary, you should do every thing in life as if it is the very last time.
Peart is heavily influenced by Hemmingway many times in his lyrics. This one is a complete tribute to Hemmingway - he was a tough guy hunter / fisherman / boxer / bullfighting enthusiast who found it intolerable as he got older and lost his abilites, especially his writing ability, then killed himself. 'Where the sun will rise no more' is a direct reference to his novel 'The sun also rises', and 'the bell tolls for thee' a reference to his novel 'For whom the bell tolls'. So, Hemmingway is the writer finding that the words will not flow with passion and precision (he is known for his precise style). Look at a photo of the old Hemmingway and he has a white beard. Interestingly, Hemmingway coined the phrase 'grace under pressure', the name of the next Rush album. Hemmingway was not able to find grace under pressure, and shot himself.
@tgibbs3 Very well said!
@tgibbs3 Very well said!
What a song. Neil is a genius when it comes to writing.
The song is about how when someone lives their early years in the limelight, doing something very well, and reflecting on it towards the end of their life, saddened that it is over, and that they never can do it again.
1st verse - An unidentified dancer who used to perform in front of large audiences, and now it brings them pain to dance as they once did. They know that they in incapable to ever do it again, and are deeply saddened by that, with memories flowing back.
2nd verse - Writer (Ernest Hemingway?) who is full of himself, and can't write near how he once did, thirty years ago. He is enraged and sick.
Chorus/Bridge - This talks about how some become superstars, and move the world, while others sit and dream about being those people. And how it is far more painful to watch something you love die away, rather than never having known it in the first place.
I couldn't sing this without crying. My favouite part is the last stanza.
I still love the electric violin played by Hugh Syme.
The violin is played by Ben Mink. Hugh Syme did the album cover art.
The violin is played by Ben Mink. Hugh Syme did the album cover art.
A tale of getting old, of former glories fading away, and the pain it causes for those it afflicts.
I think the verses about the writer relate to Ernest Hemingway. The song as a whole seems to highlight the agony of not being able to perform, or deliver any more, that which once came so easily. Ben Mink's electric violin is beautiful!
This is yes, one of the most saddest rush tunes they made, but by far one on the most beautiful songs as well. The guitar is played perfectly and really puts one in the mood in which it was made to.
Last line should be "The bell tolls for thee," not "The bell tolls for the..."