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There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance
A planet of play things
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
'The stars aren't aligned
Or the gods are malign...'
Blame is better to give than receive
[Chorus:]
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose freewill
There are those who think
That they were dealt a losing hand
The cards were stacked against them
They weren't born in Lotusland
All preordained
A prisoner in chains
A victim of venomous fate
Kicked in the face
You can't pray for a place
In heaven's unearthly estate
[Chorus]
Each of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet
[Chorus]
Lyrics submitted by shed27, edited by drewzer15, Rush4Peace
Track duration: 05:23
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These guys are pretty deep thinkers, so I'm not sure what to make of this line. The entire song seems to say the idea of a providential God, force or 'fate' that predetermines everything is farcical. However if it is true that there is a Sovereign God, notwithstanding the mystery of it, then how does one 'choose' freewill? Isn't it impossible to choose, it is a matter of truth, of fact not choice.
Either we have freewill or we don't. If there is an active, directing God you can't choose that there isn't. Likewise if there is no God/deterministic fate then there is no need to 'choose' freewill you already have it as a matter of reality. (Unless they are saying we each choose our own truth, which means any behavior goes because if it is your truth to kill white rhinos and burn down houses and beat babies with baseball bats there can be nothing wrong with it. It's that persons truth you cannot say it's not true, you choose your own truth and unless you are God you can't choose anyone else's).
So either this is a tongue in cheek comment 'i will choose free will' knowing that it's impossible for an individual human to choose, or it should be worded 'i will live as if I have free will'.
It's impossible to say for certain that one is the master of my his thoughts and actions. How do you know that thought originated with you and not in the mind of God/force/fate? How do you know you are a complete 'free agent' able to do anything you want at any time? How can you be certain of the exact nature of Providence, whether it controls everything as a puppet or if it is something of a less stringent Providence, acting at times and withdrawing it's hand at times?
For an individual human to declare 'I have chosen Freewill ergo it is reality' is, well it is a declaration that he is his own god.
Considering how puny the actual power of a person's life is, for 70 or 80 years, and his inability to control so much of what comes to be in their life let alone anyone else's, I find this powerful self-declaration quite pathetic indeed and completely hopeless. Therefore I will choose that there is a God so that life can be something more than this pathetic 80 years then dirt forever. You might say just because you choose that doesn't make it so. I would say thanks for making my point. Just because Rush says I choose free will doesn't make it so either.
There are those who think that life is nothing left to chance,
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance.
A planet of playthings,
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot conceive.
"The stars aren't aligned
Or the gods are malign"-
Blame is better to give than receive.
This first section clearly seems to be categorizing god beliefs as something other than freewill. It clearly characterizes religious beliefs as making us nothing but playthings in a deterministic world, while acknowledging that this may suit some better than freewill as it allows one to simply blame misfortune or failure on supernatural forces rather than taking responsibility – “Blame is better to give than receive.”
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still haven't made a choice. – I would insert a correction here – I am 99% certain that is says “HAVE made a choice” which makes more sense.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear-
I will choose Free Will.
Here in the chorus they clearly imply that religious belief is something apart from freewill.
There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand,
The cards were stacked against them- they weren't born in lotus-land.
Again the lines above and the next 3 speak to a belief in a theistic mindset that rejects responsibility for one’s own fate.
All preordained-
A prisoner in chains-
A victim of venomous fate.
Kicked in the face,
You can't pray for a place
In heaven's unearthly estate.
The last part of this verse seems to almost ridicule the notion of intercessory prayer. Roughly paraphrased, the writer seems to be saying: ‘when life gets rough, it makes no sense to just pray for a better afterlife – you should take responsibility and try to make the most of the one life you know you have.
Each of us-
A cell of awareness-
Imperfect and incomplete.
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet.
This last seems to be an assertion and acceptance again of the idea that we are simply evolved creatures who have developed a level of awareness and that we have one life to live, so let’s not waste it worrying about superstition.
My Permanent Waves LP with lyrics was unfortunally lost.
Please look Ladies and Gentlemen on your LP for the right lyrics, there is no doubt;
- if you chose not to decide, you still have made a chose-
In life that you can chose free will, and there is our conscience, that makes the brotherhood of man, differnt us from the animals, religions or not!
Great band!
But what about in China? where it is illegal to own a bible? Or Muslim countries where you can be killed if you speak the gospel? Or Countries you are forced to have a portrait of your current ruler in your home?
We have Freedom here.. but many do not.
I think their is a political aspect of freedom (maybe just an influence? whether Neil has acknowledged it or not) within this song.
"There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand,
The cards were stacked against them- they weren't born in lotus-land.
All preordained-
A prisoner in chains-
A victim of venomous fate.
Kicked in the face,
You can't pray for a place
In heaven's unearthly estate"
I for one am thankful, for the US constitution and the declaration of independence which allows me freewill!
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
From a Rush fan south of the border.
Considering the ideas of the self, our egos, being just as important as caring for others, one cannot also believe in a supernatural being, for that takes away from our freewill. Many religious people believe in a god that controls everything we do. Every action,every movement, every thought is not our own, but God's.
This idea is sad for someone who believes in freewill, for someone who feels we all are our own souls, making our own decisions, affecting both our own lives and the lives of those around us.
By opposing a God they are not being hypocritical. They are keeping to the theme.
People, please DON'T take this as a hit against religion. I don't care what anyone believes in, in fact, power to ya for believing in something on your own! (Assuming you came to believe in what you do by your own free will O.o)
I was only trying to state my views on potential hypocrisy.
There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance
I think that these first couple of lines is basically saying that there are some people who think that the path of their life is already planed and can’t be changed.
A planet of play things
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
These next few lines continue with the idea that some people have, about how this planet of life is directed by fate, destiny, or a higher power of some sort that’s too complicated for anyone to understand.
‘The stars aren’t aligned
Or the gods are malign…’
These two lines bring in the main concept that everyone has the freewill to make their own decisions, and that no one’s life is set in stone.
Blame is better to give than receive
This last line of this verse is saying that it’s easier to blame fate for the mistakes you have made, or the things you feel that you can’t do.
The next five lines are the chorus. After interpreting them once I will refer to them as [CHORUS] the next time that they come up in the song.
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice
This is saying that you can choose to believe that some higher power is directing your life.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice
So, if you choose to not make decisions for yourself you still have made a choice to not have control of your life.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
This line is sort of saying that you can choose to not make decisions because you’re too afraid of the outcome. Or you can choose to make decisions that make other people happy. Either way you are not making your own decisions and you don’t have control or your life.
I will choose a path that’s clear
I will choose freewill
I feel that the last two lines of the chorus are saying that freewill isn’t as complicated as everyone makes it out to be. It’s simple you make your own decisions to do what you want when you want, and take responsibility for the outcome.
There are those who think
That they were dealt a losing hand
The cards were stacked against them
They weren’t born in Lotusland
The second verse is saying that there are people who think that they were setup for failure since they were born. They think that the world is against them because they weren’t born into a situation of high status.
All preordained
A prisoner in chains
A victim of venomous fate
The first three lines of the third verse are saying that some people have already decided to accept the fictional idea of not being able to change their life or who they are.
Kicked in the face
You can’t pray for a place
In heaven’s unearthly estate
I think that these three lines are some of the most important in the song but I feel that they often get misinterpreted. They are basically saying that even if you fail at every little attempt to make your life better you can’t give up, you have to keep trying. You can’t just hope for a better life expecting it to suddenly get better overnight. You have to make you life better, by taking some action and changing the things you don’t like.
[CHORUS]
Each of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete
I feel that these lines are saying that everyone is aware of the fact that no one is perfect therefore no one has a perfect life. No matter how great your life may be you always feel like you’re missing something.
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
These two lines are saying that everyone is unique, and because of that the course of anyone’s life cannot be planed.
On a fortune hunt that’s far too fleet
I think that this line is saying that we are all trying to make out lives the best that we can, but it never seems good enough. So, we end up wasting our entire lives trying to make life perfect which is imposable.
[CHORUS]
I feel that this song is very insightful. Especially because I just figured out recently (before hearing this song) that I need to take control of my life and do what’s right for me. I have also just come to terms with the fact that life is never perfect, but as long as you make the best of what you have. If you try to make it better, then your life will be enjoyable. So, I feel that I can really relate to the song “Freewill”. I guess that might be the reason I like it so much.
unless you have founded the Rush Church of the World...or truly think you have to understand the lyrics to this song to consider yourselves true RUSH fans...I will say this I am a guitarist and I love Rush the drumming, the guitar work, the bass melodies... ummm I "CHOOSE" to love the song because it appeals to me, in other words it gets my rocks off does it bother me that maybe I was predestined to like this song? Nah, know good music when I hear it...I bet there is thousands of people in this world that would disagree and you know what? I'm ok with that. That is what makes us different, unique... If I want to grab a pistol and blow my brains out I have that choice it's called freewill. Freewill doesn't prove anything GOD no GOD it's the ability for over 6 billion people to have that freewill that makes this world what it is. Imagine if we were all the same...same hair, same eyes, same gender arrrrgggghh... just appreciate it for what it is 3 talented musicians that can fucking play... ROCK - ROLL!!!