I've stood upon my mountaintop
And shouted at the sky
Walked above the pavement
With my senses amplified
All my nerves are naked wires
Tender to the touch
Sometimes super-sensitive
But who can care too much?
Scars of pleasure
Scars of pain
Atmospheric changes
Make them sensitive again
Each emotional injury
Leaves behind its mark
Sometimes they come tumbling out
Like shadows in the dark
When I think about all I have seen
And all I'll never see
When I think about the people
Who have opened up to me
Snow falls deep around my house
And holds the winter light
I've heard the lions hunting
In the Serengeti night
Forests turned to factories
And river, sea, and sky
Hungry child in the desert
And the flies that cloud her eyes
Pleasure leaves a fingerprint
As surely as mortal pain
In memories they resonate
And echo back again
Instantly we open with those dark, african like percussiv beats, and a very strong, biting bass tone that has a ncice bass and midrange to round it off. Very cool, good for fans of Mystic Rythms. Its much like that track, but more up-tempo.
Definitely a great track. I love those background synthesizers with the strong beat of the drums and percussive bass line.... I can imagine this music video...seeing the band walking out of their dressing room with Geddy wearing sunglasses all walking toward the state in a triangle, with that serious-looking face that shows "we mean business" - something you might see in a crime drama flick. The shot being in black and white, and in slow motion..
Wonderful song - I just think the chorus doesn't fit the rest of the song. But still - magnificent!
@hsingarajah The thing i like about RUSH is that their albums don't all sound the same...they have variation under their named and made great music for over 40 years
@hsingarajah The thing i like about RUSH is that their albums don't all sound the same...they have variation under their named and made great music for over 40 years
To me this song is about dealing with past occurrences that come back to haunt us in life. Sometimes I find that I am reminded of certain events from my own past just because of something like the weather, or an image that I'll come across, effects that happen when you have seasonal affective disorder like I do. Having that said, take a look at the lines from the chorus: "Scars of pleasure, scars of pain, atmospheric changes make them sensitive again". That just makes me thing of those instances of nostalgia that often creep up upon us because of whatever environment we're in. Interestingly enough, Neil references the song in the book Ghost Rider. At the beginning of each chapter, he always quotes his own lyrics right under the title, and in a chapter titled "Seasonal Affective Disorder" he quotes this song's chorus. Just an interesting thought.
Regardless of what it means, I love this song. It has such a catchy rhythmic feel to it, coupled with the space provided from Alex's guitars that adds so many layers to it.