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Vital Signs Lyrics
Unstable condition,
A symptom of life,
Of mental and environmental change.
Atmosphereic disturbance,
The feverish flux
Of human interface and interchange.
The impulse is pure;
Sometimes our circuits get shorted
By external interference.
Signals get crossed
And the balance distorted
By internal incoherence.
A tired mind become a shape shifter,
Everybody need a mood lifter,
Everybody need reverse polarity.
Everybody got mixed feelings
About the function and the form.
Everybody got to deviate from the norm.
An ounce of perception,
A pound of obscure.
Process information at half speed.
Pause, rewind, replay,
Warm memory chip,
Random sample, hold the one you need.
Leave out the fiction,
The fact is, this friction
Will only be won by persistence.
Leave out conditions,
Courageous convictions
Will drag the dream into existence.
A tired mind become a shape shifter,
Everybody need a soft filter,
Everybody need reverse polarity.
Everybody got mixed feelings
About the function and the form.
Everybody got to elevate from the norm...
What I take away from this isn't necessarily about trying not to conform, but rather how our outlooks on conformity in general contributes to our own individuality. That sounds confusing I'm sure, but it does make sense....to me at least. These lyrics posted here aren't dead on, either. He frequently switches between the words deviate, elevate and escalate. I think deviating and elevating/escalating are almost opposites, but that fits in perfect with this song. You could even make the argument that "the norm" doesn't refer to societies' standards but rather whatever would be "the norm" in one's life. To me that means that it's about peoples' tendencies to make decisions and changes based on boredom or restlessness alone.
The chorus seems to sum it up:
A tired mind become a shape shifter, - boredom or apathy leads to a need for change Everybody need a mood lifter, - maybe drugs or some sort of new "routine" Everybody need reverse polarity. - a total opposite swing in attitude or direction Everybody got mixed feelings - we all differ in opinions of which direction is "right" and About the function and the form. that's our only common ground(maybe?) Everybody got to elevate from the norm. - already commented on this above
There really is a lot more to it, and as someone alluded to above; a song can have multiple meanings. Whether it's a conscious effort by the songwriter or not is really inconsequential; people take away different meanings from the same thing.....which also fits in with these lyrics. What a poignant song!
I was watching the new documentary "Beyond The Lighted Stage" and it looks like Neil Peart is the intellectual leader, the one who is non-social and just reads a lot. He is the brain of the operation. He comes up with concepts for the lyrics and Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson just go along for the ride and contribute what they can. They even admitted that sometimes they don't even know what the lyrics mean so I guess anybody can say what they think it means to them. I think they use the words deviate, elevate,...
I was watching the new documentary "Beyond The Lighted Stage" and it looks like Neil Peart is the intellectual leader, the one who is non-social and just reads a lot. He is the brain of the operation. He comes up with concepts for the lyrics and Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson just go along for the ride and contribute what they can. They even admitted that sometimes they don't even know what the lyrics mean so I guess anybody can say what they think it means to them. I think they use the words deviate, elevate, and escalate mostly because they rhyme. However I like some of the interpretations. Rush's music is very unique and musically, rhythmically fantastic. To make those intellectual lyrics flow and convey meaning to so many people is an amazing feat and yes Rush is tremendously underrated. Very talented individuals and remarkably down to earth. While some bands focus on their image to sell records, Rush focuses on one thing: THE MUSIC and it shows. Unfortunately image means more to most people.
Unstable condition, A symptom of life, Of mental and environmental change. Atmosphereic disturbance, The feverish flux Of human interface and interchange.
The impulse is pure; Sometimes our circuits get shorted By external interference. Signals get crossed And the balance distorted By internal incoherence.
A tired mind become a shape shifter, Everybody need a mood lifter, Everybody need reverse polarity. Everybody got mixed feelings About the function and the form. Everybody got to deviate from the norm.
An ounce of perception, A pound of obscure. Process information at half speed. Pause, rewind, replay, Warm memory chip, Random sample, hold the one you need.
Leave out the fiction, The fact is, this friction Will only be won by persistence. Leave out conditions, Courageous convictions Will drag the dream into existence.
A tired mind become a shape shifter, Everybody need a soft filter, Everybody need reverse polarity. Everybody got mixed feelings About the function and the form. Everybody got to elevate from the norm.
Everbody got mixed feelings (x2) Everybody got to deviate from the norm. (x2) Everybody got to elevate from the norm. (x4) Everybody got to escalate from the norm. Everybody got to elevate. Everybody got to elavate from the norm. Everybody got to deviate from the norm. (x2)
Love this song - big big thumb slapping bass towards the end. For me the song is there at the end of "Moving pictures" deliberately. It is announcing Rush's change of direction and letting the fans know something new is around the corner (i.e. "Signals" and Grace Under Pressure").
One thing about this song no one mentioned, and I remember this from an interview, is that Neil is playing with a lot of recording studio and electrical jargon, and then he is taking those words and applying them to human interactions:
impulse circuits shorted external interference balance distorted reverse polarity half speed pause rewind replay soft filter memory chip random sample hold - sample and hold is a type of circuit, he puts in a comma to change the meaning mixed feelings - my favorite - an analogy between a multichannel mixing board and various levels of emotion inside someone.
First off, I agree with what everyone has said so far, and that this song is amazing. I just really got into it today, to be honest. But what I've noticed about Rush and their albums is that often times they have a common theme. In Moving Pictures, for instance, there seems to be an idea that conformity and being "normal" is just a myth, that everyone is different. And in Counterparts, the theme seems to be that things will always be bad, so just learn to try and appreciate the good parts of it. I'm not sure, but that is what it seems like to me...
What I really love is the way the guitar plays over the top of the rest, its almost like a sine or cosine wave. Some times he strums on the beat, other times it on the half, but taken as a whole, its fluid and, like the lyrics, its scientific (unstable condition a symptom of life - the opposite of which is a stable condition/entropy/equilibrium all equal death. google "far from equilibrium dynamics"), yet draws the boundaries on what the extremes are (reverse polarity).
What I really love is the way the guitar plays over the top of the rest, its almost like a sine or cosine wave. Some times he strums on the beat, other times it on the half, but taken as a whole, its fluid and, like the lyrics, its scientific (unstable condition a symptom of life - the opposite of which is a stable condition/entropy/equilibrium all equal death. google "far from equilibrium dynamics"), yet draws the boundaries on what the extremes are (reverse polarity).
And yes, I agree, Rush enjoyed creating a framework for each album,...
And yes, I agree, Rush enjoyed creating a framework for each album, and this one is no different. Its kind of sad that most albums now are just one or two good songs packed around a bunch of second rate bs. No coherence, no message, no nothing. The entire album is great, its almost like one gigantic song.
I was bored once and a friend recommended Rush. Didn't know where to start, there were just too many songs... So went off to a live album and landed on this song. Ever since, I've been hooked - to this song. For some reason, none of the other Rush songs give me the, uhm, rush that this song does. Not even 2112. Not even Tom Sawyer. Everything is perfect - Geddy's singing and basswork, the synth, and those little fills by Peart. The highlight of the song is 02:40 - the small silence before a sexy 2-second roll by Peart and Geddy going off into 'Tired mind...'
Rock on, Rush. Sorry for the lack of contribution to the discussion, I just wanted to let my feelings about the song known :)
highly underrated
another one of their songs saying "break out of the mold, dont be conformed"
sometimes refered to as space raggae because of its futuristic tone
this is one of my favorite songs, the keyboards and Geddy's voice at the end, sounds like he is going to cry. It kinda compares emotions to a computer and that...
"everybody got mixed feelings"
As Beemer said, its HIGHLY underratted.
Love this song - big big thumb slapping bass towards the end. For me the song is there at the end of "Moving pictures" deliberately. It is announcing Rush's change of direction and letting the fans know something new is around the corner (i.e. "Signals" and Grace Under Pressure").
i love to play this song on my bass. its one of rush's best song i think. i think its about how if you hate conforming, just dont conform and dont worry about what anyone thinks. Although people may seem similar, everyone is vastly different so just be yourself.