“Sadder still to watch it die Than never to have known it”
Those words also apply to watching the band you love stop touring. And while it may be sadder still I personally would chose the sadness over the never knowing it.
Bear with me on this one, as this write-up will be an emotional roller coaster for me. For my own sanity, I'm breaking it down into multiple headings. It's worth noting I've referenced lyrics from this song in our Afire Love and The Dance write-ups so it might be worth hitting up those hyperlinks for a little more context.
The Song Itself:
It's probably worth listening to the song before proceeding; I've included the lyrics below.
1982 - that's when this song was written - so Neil was 30 years old. How could someone so young pen something so prophetic? I've never come across any articles or interviews where anyone is referenced as the inspiration for "the dancer"; but "the writer" is inspired by Ernest Hemingway and the end of his writing career.
In some way, we are all either the dancer or writer. We all used to be really, really great at something but there comes a time in our lives where the diminishing of our abilities is inevitable. Where we are watching that sunset and there is nothing we can do about it.
Song Concert History:
As powerful as this song is, as far as I know, it has never been played on the radio. It also, since the 1982 release of the Signals album, was never played at a concert - until the 2015 R40 tour. So on Rush's very last tour it was played for the first - and last time - 33 years after its release. And even then, it was only played on five shows of the tour: Toronto and Vancouver with Ben Mink on violin and Newark, New York and Los Angeles with Jonathan Dinklage on violin.
If you're sitting there thinking "Dinklage. Dinklage. Where do I know that name?" Well, that would be because Jonathan Dinklage is Peter Dinklage's brother. Peter Dinklage of "I drink and I know things" fame. Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones.
So yeah, I have to guess Alex, Geddy and Neil got to meet Peter - which is awesome to think about. I'm sure Peter was just as starstruck if they did all meet.
As follow up to my P.S. comment for Slipping, Ben Mink played the violin part for this song on both the album as well as the two shows in Canada.
Me Personally Losing It...
This was it - August 1st, 2015. The very last Rush concert ever, performed at The Forum in Los Angeles, California. I wasn't able to go, but I did see the R40 stops in Columbus, Ohio (see Subdivisions write-up) and Denver, Colorado (see The Garden write-up).
If you have not watched the two documentaries (in this order) you should.
First: Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage Second: Rush: Time Stand Still
The second one follows along on that very last tour, and I am every emotional human being represented in that movie. I have no shame in it - Rush made me who I am today. And given the number of others shown not only in these documentaries but at every concert I ever attended, I know I am not alone.
Time did stand still just a little over 4 years after this last show when the world learned of Neil's passing. The world lost an incredible human being that day.
So this is where my eternal thanks for Shannon comes in. She has put up with my Rush obsession since we first met. She became a believer and most importantly, she has her own Rush (Prince) so she gets it. How music touches the deepest parts of us and for those of us where music is "our thing", we have that one artist that draws us in the most.
Rest In Peace, Neil Peart - 09/12/1952 - 01/07/2020
Losing It Music by Lee and Lifeson / Lyrics by Peart
The dancer slows her frantic pace In pain and desperation, Her aching limbs and downcast face Aglow with perspiration
Stiff as wire, lungs on fire With just the briefest pause The flooding through her memory The echoes of old applause
And she limps across the floor And closes the bedroom door
The writer stares 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
Bell tolls for
For you, the blind who once could see The bell tolls for thee
Ghost of a Chance 