Liberty Rock Friday: Freewill by Rush
Rush
“Freewill”
Permanent Waves (1980)Words by Neil Peart, music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
There are those who think that life
Has nothing left to chance
With a host of holy horrors
To direct our aimless danceA planet of playthings
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
The stars aren’t aligned —
Or the gods are malign
Blame is better to give than receiveYou can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choiceYou can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path thats clear
I will choose free willThere are those who think that theyve been dealt a losing hand
The cards were stacked against them —
They weren’t born in lotus-landAll preordained
A prisoner in chains
A victim of venomous fate
Kicked in the face
You can’t pray for a place
In heavens unearthly estateEach of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt
That’s far too fleet…