Album: Signals (1982)

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• We've got nothing to fear but fear itself
  Not pain, not failure, not fatal tragedy?
  Not the faulty units in this mad machinery?
  Not the broken contacts in emotional chemistry?
  With an iron fist in a velvet glove
  We are sheltered under the gun
  In the glory game on the power train
  Thy kingdom's will be done
  And the things that we fear are a weapon to be held against us
  He's not afraid of your judgment
  He knows of horrors worse than your Hell
  He's a little bit afraid of dying
  But he's a lot more afraid of your lying
  And the things that he fears are a weapon to be held against him
  
  Can any part of life be larger than life?
  Even love must be limited by time
  And those who push us down that they might climb
  Is any killer worth more than his crime?
  Like a steely blade in a silken sheath
  We don't see what they're made of
  They shout about love, but when push comes to shove
  They live for the things they're afraid of
  And the knowledge that they fear is a weapon to be used against them
  
  He's not afraid of your judgment
  He knows of horrors worse than your hell
  He's a little bit afraid of dyin'
  But he's a lot more afraid of your lyin'
  
  And the things that he fears
  Are a weapon to be held against him
  
  He's not afraid of your judgment
  He knows of horrors, worse than your hell
  He's a little bit afraid of dyin'
  But he's a lot more afraid of your lyin' Writer/s: Alex Zivojinovich, Gary Lee Weinrib, Neil Elwood Peart
  Publisher: Anthem Entertainment
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 15

• Todd from TxThe Weapon is a very philosophical song. I have studied Philosophy all my life and raised Catholic. I feel the song reflects that and how religion is used as a weapon. Is any part of life larger than life, even love must be limited by time...etc. That stanza is amazing.
  I read Cold War Nuclear arms race? The song is not about that. I've read what Peart read and unless I hear otherwise I have reason to believe I'm right.
  
  There are an insane amount of religious references and almost none to nuclear war and Russia vs West.
• Augustus from UsNeil mentioned in an interview (or maybe it was a concert program), around the time of the release of GUP, that the drum part came from a drum machine. Alex and Geddy used a drum machine for the rough demo. They liked the part so much, they asked Neil to learn it. Neil said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Up to that point in time anyway...
• Gary Lafalce from Fairmont, WvThis is definitely one of my all time favs by Rush. The lyrics are always move me on many different levels. What I think Neil is trying to say is that everything we as humans fear can be used against us with a weapon.
• Squaredawg from Scranton, PaFor you audiphiles out there, beware...
  If you seek out the MFSL version of Signals,
  you will be disappointed that the vocal line...
  "And the things that he fears
  are a Weapon to be held against him" at around 3:12 is not there. MFSL Says that
  was the the Master Rush sent them.
• Squaredawg from Scranton, PaFor you audiphiles out there, beware...
  If you seek out the MFSL version of Signals,
  you will be disappointed that the vocal line...
  "And the things that he fears
  are a Weapon to be held against him" at around 3:12 is not there. MFSL Says that
  was the the Master Rush sent them.
• Michael from Frederick, MdNeil's drumbeat in the intro to this song are the reason why I picked up drumsticks. Great stuff.
• Curtis from Williamsburg, IaYes this and Vital Signs are probably the best for dancing, unless you feel like moving to bizzare 13/8 time of Jacob's Ladder (I have done this, it isn't fun...). Turn the Page is also pretty good for that Techno stuff too.
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesAndy, interesting point. "Red Sector A" from 1984 has been compared to the work of Visage as well
• Rad from Wildwood, NjThis song is about fear and how it is used as a weapon by others and ourselves to hold us back from achieving our goals
• Andy from Auckland, New ZealandNo one seems to have noticed the startling similarity between the opening synth/drum theme on this song and the theme that underlines the whole Visage song 'Fade to Grey', released about 18 months before The Weapon was recorded. I only have hearsay on this, but believe it to be the case that Geddy was listening to quite a lot of New Romantic material at the time and was working on a solo project with more of a dance feel (somewhat backed up by the fact that Neil had t learn the drums from a drum machine program laid down by Geddy). If the Visage work is the theme, and a fairly minimalistic and rigid one at that, then The Weapon is a full exploration and development of that theme. I find the depth and movement in the layers of sound in this track truley amazing, a proper Rush song.
• Wil from Milwaukee, Wi"The Enemy Within" was also featured (although only about 10 seconds of it) on an '80's pop show "Solid Gold" during a short dance routine!!!!! Believe it or not....
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesRob, that's not exactly what I meant by my last comment, I meant that stylistically, with the high-energy pulsing sequencers and the electronic edge this is about the closest that Rush ever came to conforming to the dance music boom of the 80s and 90s
• Rob from Vancouver, CanadaYou can dance to vital signs?
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesThis song features a techno-esque beat and synthloop. Apart from, perhaps, Vital Signs, it was probably the closest that Rush ever came to making a dance record.
• Frank from Pittsburgh, Pa"count floyd" from SCTV came on the video screen to intro this song when I saw Rush in 84 :)

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