Caress Of Steel

Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart

Midway hawkers calling
Try your luck with me
Merry-go-round wheezing
The same old melody
A thousand ten cent wonders
Who could ask for more
A pocketful of silver
The key to heaven's door

Lakeside park
Willows in the breeze
Lakeside park
So many memories
Laughing rides
Midway lights
Shining stars on summer nights

Days of barefoot freedom
Racing with the waves
Nights of starlit secrets
Crackling driftwood flames
Drinking by the lighthouse
Smoking on the pier
Still we saw the magic
Fading every year

Everyone would gather on the twenty-fourth of may sitting
In the sand to watch the fireworks display dancing fires on
The beach singing songs together though it's just a memory
Some memories last forever

Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart

There's no bread, let them eat cake
There's no end to what they'll take
Flaunt the fruits of noble birth
Wash the salt into the earth

But they're marching to bastille day la guillotine will claim
Her bloody prize free the dungeons of the innocent the king
Will kneel, and let his kingdom rise

Bloodstained velvet, dirty lace
Naked fear on every face
See them bow their heads to die
As we would bow as they rode by

And we're marching to bastille day la guillotine will claim
Her bloody prize sing, o choirs of cacophony the king has
Kneeled, to let his kingdom rise

Lessons taught but never learned
All around us anger burns
Guide the future by the past
Long ago the mould was cast

For they marched up to bastille day la guillotine -- claimed
Her bloody prize hear the echoes of the centuries power isn't
All that money buys

I. in the valley
Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart

I am born
I am me
I am new
I am free
Look at me
I am young
Sight unseen
Life unsung

My eyes have just been opened
And they're open very wide
Images around me
Don't identify inside
Just one blur i recognize
The one that soothes and feeds
My way of life is easy
And as simple are my needs

Yet my eyes are drawn toward
The mountain in the east
Fascinates and captivates
Gives my heart no peace
The mountain holds the sunrise
In the prison of the night
Till bursting forth from rocky chains
The valley floods with light

Living one long sunrise
For to me all things are new
I've never watched the sky grow pale
Or strolled through fields of dew
I do not know of dust to dust
I live from breath to breath
I live to climb that mountain to
The fountain of lamneth

Ii. didacts and narpets
Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart

Listen...

Iii. no one at the bridge
Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart

Crying back to consciousness
The coldness grips my skin
The sky is pitching violently
Drawn by shrieking winds
Seaspray blurs my vision
Waves roll by so fast
Save my ship of freedom
I'm lashed helpless to the mast

Call out for direction
And there's no one there to steer
Shout out for salvation
But there's no one there to hear
Cry out supplication
For the maelstrom is near
Scream out desperation
But no one cares to hear

Remembering when first i held
The wheel in my own hands
I took the helm so eagerly
And sailed for distant lands
But now the sea's too heavy
And i just don't understand
Why must my crew desert me
When i need a guiding hand

Iv. panacea
Words and music by geddy lee and neil peart

The whiteness of confusion
Is unfolding from my mind
I stare around in wonder
Have i left my life behind

I catch the scent of ambergris
And turn my head... surprised
My gaze is caught and held
And i am helpless, mesmerized

Panacea -- liquid grace
Oh let me touch your fragile face
Enchantment falls around me
And i know i cannot leave

Here's a meaning for my life
A shelter from the storm
Pacify my troubles with
Her body, soft and warm
Naked in our unity
A smile for every tear
Gentle hands that promise me
Comfort through the years
Yet i know i must be gone
Before the light of dawn

Panacea -- passion pure
I can't resist your gentle lure
My heart will lie beside you
And my wandering body grieves

V. bacchus plateau
Words and music by geddy lee and neil peart

Another endless day
Silhouettes of grey
Another glass of wine
Drink with eyes that shine
To days without that chill at morning
Nights time out of mind

Draw another goblet
From the cask of '43
Crimson misty memory
Hazy glimpse of me
Give me back my wonder
-- i've something more to give
I guess it doesn't matter
-- there's not much more to live

Another foggy dawn
The mountain almost gone
Another doubtful fear
The road is not so clear
My soul grows ever weary
And the end is ever near

Vi. the fountain
Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart

Look... the mist is rising
And the sun is peaking through
See, the steps grow lighter
As i reach their final few
Hear, the dancing waters
I must be drawing near
Feel, my heart is pounding
With embattled hope and fear

Now, at last i fall before
The fountain of lamneth
I thought i would be singing
But i'm tired... out of breath
Many journeys end here
But, the secret's told the same
Life is just a candle
And a dream must give it flame

The key, the end, the answer
Stripped of their disguise
Still it's all confusion
And tears spring to my eyes
Though i've reached a signpost
It's really not the end
Like old sol behind the mountain
I'll be coming up again...

I'm in motion
I am still
I am crying
I am still
I'm together
I'm apart
I'm forever
At the start

Still... i am