Caress of Steel

Buy at Amazon.com Bastille Day (4:37) There's no bread, let them eat cake There's no end to what they'll take Flaunt the fruits of noble birth Wash the salt into the earth But they're marching to Bastille Day La guillotine will claim her bloody prize Free the dungeons of the innocent The king will kneel, and let his kingdom rise Bloodstained velvet, dirty lace Naked fear on every face See them bow their heads to die As we would bow as they rode by And we're marching to Bastille Day La guillotine will claim her bloody prize Sing, o choirs of cacophony The king has kneeled, to let his kingdom rise. Lessons taught but never learned All around us anger burns Guide the future by the past Long ago the mould was cast For they marched up to Bastille Day La guillotine - claimed her bloody prize Hear the echoes of the centuries Power isn't all that money buys I Think I'm Going Bald (3:37) I looked in the mirror today My eyes just didn't seem so bright I've lost a few more hairs I think I'm going bald I think I'm going bald Seems like only yesterday We would sit and talk of dreams all night Dreams of youth And simple truths Now we're so involved So involved with life Walk down vanity fair Memory lane everywhere Wall Street shuffles there Dressed in flowing hair Once we loved the flowers Now we ask the price of the land Once we would take water But now it must be wine Now we've been And now we've seen What price peace of mind Take a piece of my mind My life is slipping away I'm aging every day But even when I'm grey I'll still be grey my way Lakeside Park (4:08) Midway hawkers calling Try your luck with me Merry-go-round wheezing The same old melody A thousand ten cent wonders Who could ask for more A pocketful of silver The key to heaven's door Lakeside Park Willows in the breeze Lakeside Park So many memories Laughing rides Midway lights Shining stars on summer nights Days of barefoot freedom Racing with the waves Nights of starlit secrets Crackling driftwood flames Drinking by the lighthouse Smoking on the pier Still we saw the magic Fading every year Everyone would gather On the twenty fourth of May Sitting in the sand To watch the fireworks display Dancing fires on the beach Singing songs together Though it's just a memory Some memories last forever The Necromancer (12:30) I. Into Darkness (4:12) As grey traces of dawn tinge the eastern sky, the three travelers, men of Willow Dale, emerge from the forest shadow. Fording the River Dawn, they turn south, journeying into the dark and forbidding lands of the Necromancer. Even now the intensity of his dread power can be felt, weakening the body and saddening the heart. Ultimately they will become empty, mindless spectres, stripped of will and soul. Only their thirst for freedom gives them hunger for vengeance... Silence shrouds the forest As the birds announce the dawn Three trav'llers ford the river And southward journey on The road is lined with peril The air is charged with fear The shadow of his nearness Weighs like iron tears II. Under the Shadow (4:25) Shreds of black cloud loom in overcast skies. The Necromancer keeps watch with his magic prism eyes. He views all his lands and is already aware of the three helpless invaders trapped in his lair... Brooding in the tower Watching o'er his land Holding ev'ry creature Helplessly they stand Gaze into his prisms Knowing they are near Lead them to the dungeons Spectres numb with fear They bow defeated III. Return of the Prince (3:52) Enter the Champion. Prince By-Tor appears to battle for freedom from chains of long years. The spell has been broken...the Dark Lands are bright, the Wraith of the Necromancer soars away...in the night. Stealthily attacking By-Tor slays his foe The men are free to run now From labyrinths below The Wraith of Necromancer Shadows through the sky Another land to darken With evil prism eye... Terminat hora diem; terminat auctor opus (loosely translated: As the hour ends the day, the author ends his work) The Fountain of Lamneth (19:59) I. In the Valley (4:18) I am born I am me I am new I am free Look at me I am young Sight unseen Life unsung My eyes have just been opened And they're open very wide Images around me Don't identify inside Just one blur I recognize The one that soothes and feeds My way of life is easy And as simple are my needs Yet my eyes are drawn toward The mountain in the east Fascinates and captivates Gives my heart no peace The mountain holds the sunrise In the prison of the night Till bursting forth from rocky chains The valley floods with light Living one long sunrise For to me all things are new I've never watched the sky grow pale Or strolled through fields of dew I do not know of dust to dust I live from breath to breath I live to climb that mountain to The Fountain of Lamneth II. Didacts and Narpets (1:00) Unofficial lyrics, not included in lyric sheet "Stay!" "Go!" "Work!" "No!" "Think!" "Live!" "Earn!" "Give!" ("Wait" or "Fight"?)/("Right") (Laugh?)/("Right" or "Wait")?) Listen! III. No One At the Bridge (4:19) Crying back to consciousness The coldness grips my skin The sky is pitching violently Drawn by shrieking winds Seaspray blurs my vision Waves roll by so fast Save my ship of freedom I'm lashed helpless to the mast Call out for direction And there's no one there to steer Shout out for salvation But there's no one there to hear Cry out supplication For the maelstrom is near Scream out desperation But no one cares to hear Remembering when first I held The wheel in my own hands I took the helm so eagerly And sailed for distant lands But now the sea's too heavy And I just don't understand Why must my crew desert me When I need a guiding hand IV. Panacea (3:14) The whiteness of confusion Is unfolding from my mind I stare around in wonder Have I left my life behind I catch the scent of ambergris And turn my head... surprised My gaze is caught and held And I am helpless, mesmerized Panacea - liquid grace Oh let me touch your fragile face Enchantment falls around me And I know I cannot leave Here's a meaning for my life A shelter from the storm Pacify my troubles with Her body, soft and warm Naked in our unity A smile for every tear Gentle hands that promise me Comfort through the years Yet I know I must be gone Before the light of dawn Panacea - passion pure I can't resist your gentle lure My heart will lie beside you And my wandering body grieves V. Bacchus Plateau (3:13) Another endless day Silhouettes of grey Another glass of wine Drink with eyes that shine To days without that chill at morning Long nights time out of mind Draw another goblet From the cask of '43 Crimson misty memory Hazy glimpse of me Give me back my wonder - I've something more to give I guess it doesn't matter - There's not much more to live Another foggy dawn The mountain almost gone Another doubtful fear The road is not so clear My soul grows ever weary And the end is ever near VI. The Fountain (3:49) Look... the mist is rising And the sun is peaking through See, the steps grow lighter As I reach their final few Hear, the dancing waters I must be drawing near Feel, my heart is pounding With embattled hope and fear Now, at last I fall before The Fountain of Lamneth I thought I would be singing But I'm tired... out of breath Many journeys end here But, the secret's told the same Life is just a candle And a dream must give it flame The key, the end, the answer Stripped of their disguise Still it's all confusion And tears spring to my eyes Though I've reached a signpost It's really not the end Like Old Sol behind the mountain I'll be coming up again... I'm in motion I am still I am crying I am still I'm together I'm apart I'm forever At the start Still... I am

Geddy Lee - Bass/Accoustic Guitar/Vocals Alex Lifeson - Accoustic And Electric Guitars Neil Peart - Drums/Percussion All songs by Lee, Lifeson and Peart except "Panacea" and "Bacchus Plateau" by Lee and Peart Produced by Rush and Terry Brown Mercury/Polygram, September 1975 Dedicated to the memory of Mr. Rod Serling

Notes:

• Certified Gold by RIAA: December 1, 1993 - Highest Billboard Chart Position: 148
• "We were touring a lot with Kiss in those days and they had a song called 'Goin' Blind'. So we were kind of taking the piss out of that title by just coming up with this...Pratt came up with this line, 'I think I'm going bald,' because Alex is always worried about losing his hair. Even when he was not losing his hair, he was obsessed with the fact that he might lose his hair. So he would try all kinds of ingredients to put on his scalp. And I think it just got Neil thinking about aging, even though we weren't aging yet and had no right to talk about that stuff yet. It would be much more appropriate now." - Geddy Lee, Contents Under Pressure
• "I remember that Caress of Steel, in the old days of cassettes, had very uneven side lengths. I think one side was 20 minutes and the other was 25, and the record company wanted us to drop a song. We said, 'No way! We went to all that trouble, it's going on the record.' So there is literally nothing unreleased. For us, there really is no vault to clean out." - Neil Peart Billboard.com, Sep. 14, 2006