The restless wind
Has seen all things
In every kind of light
Rising with the full moon
To go howling through the night

The sleepless wind
Has heard all things
Between the sea and sky
In the canyons of the city
You can hear the buildings cry

Oh the wind can carry
All the voices of the sea
Oh the wind can carry
All the echoes home to me

Run with wind and weather
To the music of the sea
All four winds together
Can't bring the world to me
Chase the wind around the world
I want to look at life --
In the available light

Play of light
A photograph
The way I used to be
Some half-forgotten stranger
Doesn't mean that much to me

Trick of light
Moving picture
Moments caught in flight
Make the shadows darker
Or the colors shine too bright

Oh the light can carry
All the visions of the sea
Oh the light can carry
All the images to me

Run to light from shadow
Sun gives me no rest
Promise offered in the east
Broken in the west
Chase the sun around the world
I want to look at life --
In the available light

All four winds together
Can't bring the world to me
Shadows hide the play of light
So much I want to see
Chase the light around the world
I want to look at life --
In the available light

I'll go with the wind
I'll stand in the light



Lyrics submitted by shed27

Track duration: 05:02


Available Light song meanings
Add your thoughts

11 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:LOVE THIS ONE! It all comes down to the very last lyric.

    "I'll go with the wind, I'll stand in the light".

    If you sit and wait for the world to come to you, it never will. You have to move with the wind to find opportunity. If you stand still the sun will circle you and the shadows will cover most of the light. By going with the wind and standing in the light you can experience the most that the world has to offer.
    Flag killroy134on March 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Yeah man, that's awesome :)
    Flag QuantumKnighton February 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:an incredibly under rated song...its an absolute hidden gem...just listen to this..i just wanna open up my jag convertible and fly when i hear these choruses...

    Run to light from shadow
    Sun gives me no rest
    Promise offered in the east
    Broken in the west
    Chase the sun around the world
    I want to look at life --
    In the available light
    Flag magicalrushon January 02, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I listen to this song all the time. Simply awesome. The chorus really gets to you. I feel like I'm flying through open mountain ranges, and wide seas, with the wind blowing on my face. Call me crazy, but that's how I feel. This song rocks!
    Flag Test4Echoon November 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It's funny how I purchased Presto in 1989 when it came out. I had heard a lot about Rush and this was the first Rush album I ever purchased. 20 years later and Presto is still my favorite Rush album. I have listened to this album over and over and over and for some reason I always liked the music to Available Light but never thought much about the words. I listened to Show Don't Tell, Chain Lightning, Superconductor, War Paint and the rest and when I got to the end of the album, Available Light was good musically and I was ready to go back to the beginning with Show Don't Tell. I appreciate the comments others have made about how powerful this song is and what it can mean to each person. After 20 years, Available Light has become the song I can't stop listening to today. As Steel 07 said, this band is truly amazing!
    Flag mustang37on October 28, 2009   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:I named my sailboat "Available Light"

    ...r u n w i t h w i n d a n d w e a t h e r...
    Flag ebo2112on August 13, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is my favorite song of all time. Everytime I listening to it, I Think about my life. In a messy life, you should go with the wind and you should look to the available light. It's a simple and natural thing.
    I like to listening it at night, in the room that have no light, where I look for my available light.
    Flag dreamline77on December 01, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:The persistence of memory, the passing of time, current events in ones life, travel, not being able to touch fully any of these things and both the ability and the inability of any one person to remember, and hold that memory as well as enjoy the experience fully.

    It is about all these things to me.

    I remember listening to this song on a red eye flight back from Seattle after spending some time in the mountains with a woman I was very much in love with at the time. The song made me think about all I had seen and experienced with her.

    Another time I remember listening to it in my room in a shared apartment as the a snowstorm raged outside. I was alone in the world and all my memories of my past swirled around me like the snow falling outside. It both comforted me and depressed me...I felt all this through a song. Thank you Neil for the words that evoked so much thought and feeling in me and Alex and Geddy for the soundtrack to my life and times.
    Flag Othelo1on August 25, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:the music itself is so comepletely powerful, almost overwhelming. The wind and light are given humanistic qualities; as if to give voice to friends that One has chased clear across the earth and back again.
    Flag Kyt_rainon June 29, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I can't believe only one person put their thoughts about this song. This song is definitely one of the best on the album. I agree the song is very powerful and moving. Song affect people in different way, but to me it explains the power of the world and how the simple things like wind and light can convey so much. The song is also about hope and optimism in the world. "Look at the available light" look at the good things in life and stay optimistic. "Run to light from shadow" stay away from the dark/depressing thing in the world or the darkness. To me the sun has always sumbolized promise and hope and I love how rush says "Promise offered in the east and broken in the west"....damn this band never siezes to amaze me...they are jsut amazing
    Flag steel07on October 21, 2005   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain