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A boy alone, so far from home,
Endless rooftops from my window.
I felt the gloom of empty rooms
On rainy afternoons.
Sometimes, in confusion,
I felt so lost and disillusioned,
Innocence gave me confidence
To go up against reality.
All the same, we take our chances,
Laughed at by Time,
Tricked by Circumstances.
Plus ca change,
Plus c'est la meme chose,
The more that things change,
The more they stay the same.
Now I've gained some understanding
Of the only world that we see.
Things that I once dreamed of
Have become reality.
These walls that still surround me
Still contain the same old me,
Just one more who's searching for a world that ought to be.
Endless rooftops from my window.
I felt the gloom of empty rooms
On rainy afternoons.
Sometimes, in confusion,
I felt so lost and disillusioned,
Innocence gave me confidence
To go up against reality.
All the same, we take our chances,
Laughed at by Time,
Tricked by Circumstances.
Plus ca change,
Plus c'est la meme chose,
The more that things change,
The more they stay the same.
Now I've gained some understanding
Of the only world that we see.
Things that I once dreamed of
Have become reality.
These walls that still surround me
Still contain the same old me,
Just one more who's searching for a world that ought to be.
Lyrics submitted by shed27
Track duration: 03:45
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In the first verse he moves away from home in order make some grand change in his life. But things are bleak and that's the reality of the situation. The innocence of youth enables him to delude himself and push on anyway. That's cool. Nonetheless, whatever we will, we're at the mercy of the fates. And wherever we go, whatever we do, we're never really in control.
In the second verse he has grown older and wiser. He's a rock star and has gained much of the success that he dreamed of as a boy. Nonetheless, "wherever you go, there are." He's still at the mercy of the universe, like all of us.
I always thought this song was somewhat influenced by, or a response to the Yes song "Perpetual Change". It was written a few years prior to "Circumstances". Here are some lyrics:
"As truth is gathered, I rearrange,
Inside out, outside in, inside out, outside in,
Perpetual change.
And there you are,
Saying we have the moon, so now the stars,
When all you see
Is near disaster gazing down on you and me,
And there you're standing,
Saying we have the whole world in our hands,
When all you'll see,
Deep inside the world's controlling you and me.
As mist and sun are both the same,
We look on as pawns of their game."
With this song in mind, one can imagine Neil Peart saying 'Yes, we are pawns of random forces beyond our control. Yes, things do perpetually change. BUT, the more things change...' Well, you know the rest.
"A boy alone, so far from home,
Endless rooftops from my window.
I felt the gloom of empty rooms
On rainy afternoons.
Sometimes, in confusion,
I felt so lost and disillusioned,
Innocence gave me confidence
To go up against reality."
"All the same, we take our chances,
Laughed at by Time,
Tricked by Circumstances.
Plus ca change,
Plus c'est la meme chose,
The more that things change,
The more they stay the same".
He then went to work at his Dad's farm equipment company and continued playing drums. one day someone came into the store and said that this band called Rush was looking for a drummer, would he be interested? And the rest is history.
Hemispheres what a catchy song. Anyone agree?