nd
Sometimes pulling out the rug
Sometimes pushing all the buttons
Sometimes pulling out the plug

It's the power and the glory
It's a war in paradise
It's a cinderella story
On a tumble of the dice

Big money goes around the world
Big money take a cruise
Big money leave a mighty wake
Big money leave a bruise

Big money make a million dreams
Big money spin big deals
Big money make a mighty head
Big money spin big wheels

Sometimes building ivory towers
Sometimes knocking castles down
Sometimes building you a stairway
Lock you underground

It's that old time religion
It's the kingdom they would rule
It's the fool on television
Getting paid to play the fool

It's the power and the glory
It's a war in paradise
It's a cinderella story
On a tumble of the dice

Big money goes around the world
Big money give and take
Big money done a power of good
Big money make mistakes

Big money got a heavy hand
Big money take control
Big money got a mean streak
Big money got no soul



Grand designs

(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)

A to B
Different degrees

So much style without substance
So much stuff without style
It's hard to recognize the real thing
It comes along once in a while

Like a rare and precious metal
Beneath a ton of rock
It takes some time and trouble
To separate from the stock

You sometimes have to listen
To a lot of useless talk

Shapes and forms against the norm

Against the run of the mill
Swimming against the stream
Life in two dimensions
Is a mass production scheme

So much poison in power
The principles get left out
So much mind on the matter
The spirit gets forgotten about

Like a righteous inspiration
Overlooked in haste
Like a teardrop in the ocean
A diamond in the waste

Some world views are spacious
And some are merely spaced

Against the run of the mill
Static as it seems
We break the surface tension
With our wild kinetic dreams

Curves and lines
Of grand designs



Manhattan project

(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)

Imagine a time when it all began
In the dying days of a war
A weapon that would settle the score

Whoever found it first
Would be sure to do their worst
They always had before

Imagine a man where it all began
A scientist pacing the floor
In each nation always eager to explore

To build the best big stick
To turn the winning trick
But this was something more

The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The end was begun and it hit everyone
When the chain reaction was done

The big shots tried to hold it back
Fools tried to wish it away
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say

Imagine a place where it all began
Gathered from across the land
To work in the secrecy of the desert sand

All of the brightest boys
To play with the biggest toys
More than they bargained for

The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say

Imagine a man when it all began
The pilot of "Enola Gay"
Flying out of the shockwave on that August day

All the powers that be
And the course of history
Would be changed forevermore

The big bang took and shook the world
Shot down the rising sun
The end was begun and it hit everyone
When the chain reaction was done

The big shots tried to hold it back
Fools tried to wish it away
The hopeful depend on a world without end
Whatever the hopeless may say



Marathon

(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)

It's not how fast you can go
The force goes into the flow
If you pick up the beat
You can forget about the heat

More than just survival
More than just a flash
More than just a dotted line
More than just a dash

It's a test of ultimate will
The heartbreak climb uphill
Got to pick up the pace
If you want to stay in the race

More than just blind ambition
More than just simple greed
More than just a finish line
Must feed this burning need

In the long run

From first to last
The peak is never passed
Something always fires
The light that gets in your eyes

One moment's high
And glory rolls on by
Like a streak of lightening
That flashes and fades in the summer sky

Your meters may overload
You can rest at the side of the road
You can miss a stride
But nobody gets a free ride

More than high performance
More than just a spark
More than just the bottom line
Or a lucky shot in the dark

In the long run

From first to last
The peak is never passed
Something always fires
The light that gets in your eyes

One moment's high
And glory rolls on by
Like a streak of lightening
That flashes and fades in the summer sky

You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don't burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance
First you need endurance, first you've got to last

From first to last
The peak is never passed
Something always fires
The light that gets in your eyes

One moment's high
And glory rolls on by
Like a streak of lightening
That flashes and fades in the summer sky



Territories

(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)

I see the middle kingdom
Between heaven and earth
Like the chinese call
The country of their birth

We all figure that our homes are set above
Other people than the ones we know and love

In every place with a name
They play the same territorial game
Hiding behind the lines
Sending up warning signs

The whole wide world, an endless universe
Yet we keep looking through the eyeglass in reverse
Don't feed the people but we feed the machines
Can't really feel what international means

In different circles
We keep holding our ground
In different circles
We keep spinning 'round and 'round

We see so many tribes
Overrun and undermined
While their invaders dream
Of lands they've left behind

Better people, better food and better beer
Why move around the world when Eden was so near?

The bosses get talking so tough
And if that wasn't evil enough
We get the drunken and passionate pride
Of the citizens along for the ride

The whole wide world, an endless universe
Yet we keep looking through the eyeglass in reverse
Don't feed the people but we feed the machines
Can't really feel what international means

In different circles
We keep holding our ground
In different circles
We keep spinning 'round and 'round

They shoot without shame
In the name of a piece of dirt
For a change of accent
Or the colour of your shirt

Better the pride that resides
In a citizen of the world
Than the pride that divides
When a colorful rag is unfurled

The whole wide world, an endless universe
Yet we keep looking through the eyeglass in reverse
Don't feed the people but we feed the machines
Can't really feel what international means

In different circles
We keep holding our ground
In different circles
We keep spinning 'round and 'round



Middletown dreams

(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)

The office door closed early
The hidden bottle came out
The salesman turned to close the blinds
A little slow now, a little stout

But he's still heading down those tracks
Anyday now for sure
Another day as drab as today
Is more than a man can endure

Dreams flow across the heartland
Feeding on the fires
Dreams transport desires
Drive you when you're down

Dreams transport the ones
Who need to get out of town

The boy walks with his best friend
Through the fields of early May
They walk awhile in silence
One close, one far away

But he'd be climbing on that bus
Just him and his guitar
To blaze across the heavens
Like a brilliant shooting star

The middleaged madonna
Calls her neighbour on the phone
Day by day the seasons pass
And leave her life alone

But she'll go walking out that door
On some bright afternoon
To go and paint big cities
From a lonely attic room

Dreams flow across the heartland
Feeding on the fires
Dreams transport desires
Drive you when you're down

Dreams transport the ones
Who need to get out of town

It's understood by every single person
Who'd be elsewhere if they could
So far, so good and life's not unpleasant
In their little neighborhood

Dreams flow across the heartland
Feeding on the fires
Dreams transport desires
Drive you when you're down

Dreams transport the ones
Who need to get out of town

They dream in Middletown
They dream in Middletown
They dream in Middletown



Emotion detector

(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)

When we lift the covers from our feelings
We expose our insecure spots
Trust is just as rare as devotion
Forgive us our cynical thoughts

If we need too much attention
Not content with being cool
We must throw ourselves wide open
And start acting like a fool

If we need too much approval
Then the cuts can seem too cruel

Right to the heart of the matter
Right to the beautiful part
Illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts

In the secret wells of emotion
Buried deep in our hearts

It's true that love can change us
But never quite enough
Sometimes we are too tender
Sometimes we're too tough

If we get too much attention
It gets hard to overrule
So often fragile power turns
To scorn and ridicule

Sometimes our big splashes
Are just ripples in the pool

Right to the heart of the matter
Right to the beautiful part
Illusions are painfully shattered
Right where discovery starts

In the secret wells of emotion
Buried deep in our hearts

Feelings run high
Feelings run high
Feelings run high



Mystic rhythms

(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)

So many things I think about
When I look far away
Things I know, things I wonder
Things I'd like to say

The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown
We suspend our disbelief
And we are not alone

Mystic rhythms capture my thoughts, carry them away
Mysteries of night escape the light of day
Mystic rhythms under northern lights or the African sun
Primitive things stir the hearts of everyone

We sometimes catch a window
A glimpse of what's beyond
Was it just imagination
Stringing us along?

More things than are dreamed about
Unseen and unexplained
We suspend our disbelief
And we are entertained

Mystic rhythms capture my thoughts, carry them away
Nature seems to spin a supernatural way
Mystic rhythms under city lights or a canopy of stars
We feel the powers and wonder what they are

Mystic rhythms capture my thoughts, carry them away
Mysteries of night escape the light of day
Mystic rhythms under northern lights or a canopy of stars
We feel the push and pull of restless rhythms from afar