| LYRICS
"THE BIG MONEY"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
Big money goes around the world
Big money underground
Big money got a mighty voice
Big money make no sound
Big money pull a million strings
Big money hold the prize
Big money weave a mighty web
Big money draw the flies
Sometimes pushing people around Sometimes pulling out the rug Sometimes
pushing all the buttons Sometimes pulling out the plug It's the power
and the glory It's a war in paradise It's a cinderella story On a
tumble of the dice
Big money goes around the world
Big money take a cruise
Big money leave a mighty wake
Big money leave a bruise
Big money make a million dreams
Big money spin big deals
Big money make a mighty head
Big money spin big wheels
Sometimes building ivory towers Sometimes knocking castles down Sometimes
building you a stairway -- Lock you underground It's that old-time
religion It's the kingdom they would rule It's the fool on television
Getting paid to play the fool
Big money goes around the world
Big money give and take
Big money done a power of good
Big money make mistakes
Big money got a heavy hand
Big money take control
Big money got a mean streak
Big money got no soul...
"GRAND DESIGNS"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
A to B --
Different degrees...
So much style without substance
So much stuff without style
It's hard to recognize the real thing
It comes along once in a while Like a rare and precious metal Beneath
a ton of rock It takes some time and trouble To separate from the
stock You sometimes have to listen to A lot of useless talk
Shapes and forms
Against the norms --
Against the run of the mill
Swimming against the stream
Life in two dimensions
Is a mass production scheme
So much poison in power
The principles get left out
So much mind on the matter
The spirit gets forgotten about Like a righteous inspiration Overlooked
in haste Like a teardrop in the ocean A diamond in the waste Some
world-views are spacious -- And some are merely spaced
Against the run of the mill
Static as it seems
We break the surface tension
With our wild kinetic dreams
Curves and lines --
Of grand designs...
"MANHATTAN
PROJECT"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
Imagine a time
When it all began In the dying days of a war
A weapon -- that would settle the score
Whoever found it first
Would be sure to do their worst --
They always had before...
Imagine a man
Where it all began A scientist pacing the floor
In each nation -- always eager to explore
To build the best big stick
To turn the winning trick --
But this was something more...
The big bang -- took and shook the world Shot down the rising
sun The end was begun -- it would hit everyone When the chain reaction
was done The big shots -- try to hold it back Fools try to wish it
away The hopeful depend on a world without end Whatever the hopeless
may say
Imagine a place
Where it all began
They gathered from across the land
To work in the secrecy of the desert sand
All of the brightest boys
To play with the biggest toys --
More than they bargained for...
Imagine a man
When it all began
The pilot of "Enola Gay"
Flying out of the shockwave
On that August day
All the powers that be
And the course of history
Would be changed for evermore...
"MARATHON"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
It's not how fast you can go
The force goes into the flow
If you pick up the beat
You can forget about the heat More than just survival More than just
a flash More than just a dotted line More than just a dash
It's a test of ultimate will
The heartbreak climb uphill
Got to pick up the pace
If you want to stay in the race More than just blind ambition More
than just simple greed More than just a finish line Must feed this
burning need --
In the long run...
From first to last
The peak is never passed
Something always fires the light
That gets in your eyes
One moment's high
And glory rolls on by
Like a streak of lightning
That flashes and fades
In the summer sky
Your meters may overload
You can rest at the side of the road
You can miss a stride
But nobody gets a free ride More than high performance More than just
a spark More than just the bottom line Or a lucky shot in the dark
--
In the long run...
You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don't burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance
First you need endurance --
First you've got to last...
"TERRITORIES"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
I see the Middle Kingdom between Heaven and Earth
Like the Chinese call the country of their birth
We all figure that our homes are set above
Other people than the ones we know and love In every place with a
name They play the same territorial game Hiding behind the lines Sending
up warning signs
The whole wide world
An endless universe
Yet we keep looking through
The eyeglass in reverse
Don't feed the people
But we feed the machines
Can't really feel
What international means In different circles We keep holding our
ground In different circles We keep spinning round and round
We see so many tribes -- overrun and undermined
While their invaders dream of lands they've left behind
Better people -- better food -- and better beer
Why move around the world when Eden was so near? The bosses get talking
so tough And if that wasn't evil enough We get the drunken and passionate
pride Of the citizens along for the ride
They shoot without shame
In the name of a piece of dirt
For a change of accent
Or the colour of your shirt
Better the pride that resides
In a citizen of the world
Than the pride that divides
When a colourful rag is unfurled
"MIDDLETOWN
DREAMS"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
The office door closed early
The hidden bottle came out
The salesman turned to close the blinds
A little slow now, a little stout But he's still heading down those
tracks Any day now for sure Another day as drab as today Is more than
a man can endure
Dreams flow across the heartland
Feeding on the fires
Dreams transport desires
Drive you when you're down -- Dreams transport the ones Who need to
get out of town
The boy walks with his best friend
Through the fields of early May
They walk awhile in silence
One close -- one far away But he'd be climbing on that bus Just him
and his guitar To blaze across the heavens Like a brilliant shooting
star
The middle-aged Madonna
Calls her neighbor on the phone
Day by day the seasons pass
And leave her life alone But she'll go walking out that door On some
bright afternoon To go and paint big cities From a lonely attic room
It's understood
By every single person
Who'd be elsewhere if they could
So far so good
And life's not unpleasant
In their little neighborhood
They dream in Middletown...
"EMOTION
DETECTOR"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
When we lift the covers from our feelings
We expose our insecure spots
Trust is just as rare as devotion --
Forgive us our cynical thoughts
If we need too much attention --
Not content with being cool
We must throw ourselves wide open
And start acting like a fool
If we need too much approval
Then the cuts can seem too cruel
Right to the heart of the matter
Right to the beautiful part
Illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts
In the secret wells of emotion
Buried deep in our hearts
It's true that love can change us
But never quite enough
Sometimes we are too tender
Sometimes we're too tough
If we get too much attention
It gets hard to overrule
So often fragile power turns
To scorn and ridicule
Sometimes our big splashes
Are just ripples in the pool Feelings run high
"MYSTIC
RHYTHMS"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
So many things I think about
When I look far away
Things I know -- things I wonder
Things I'd like to say
The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown
We suspend our disbelief
And we are not alone --
Mystic rhythms -- capture my thoughts And carry them away Mysteries
of night escape the light of day Mystic rhythms -- under northern
lights Primitive things stir The hearts of everyone
We sometimes catch a window
A glimpse of what's beyond
Was it just imagination
Stringing us along?
More things than are dreamed about
Unseen and unexplained
We suspend our disbelief
And we are entertained
Mystic rhythms -- capture my thoughts And carry them away Nature
seems to spin A supernatural way Mystic rhythms -- under city lights
Or a canopy of stars We feel the powers And we wonder what they are
We feel the push and pull Of restless rhythms from afar
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