In 1978, Tom Cochrane joined up with Rob Baker on drums, Jeff Jones on bass, Peter Boynton on keyboards and Ken Greer to form Red Rider. They were signed to Capitol Records and released their first album Don't Fight It in 1980. With the singles "White Hot" and "Don't Fight It", the album quickly reached gold status. Their second album As Far as Siam was released in 1981 and featured the hit "Lunatic Fringe" which was in the 1982 movie "Vision Quest.". "Lunatic Fringe" and two other tracks, "Cowboys in Hong Kong" and "What Have You Got To Do" were featured in an episode of Miami Vice in addition to which helped push the album to platinum. Boynton was replaced by keyboardist Steve Sexton on Red Rider's third album Neruda, released in 1983. The track "Napoleon Sheds His Skin" would become one of the more popular songs from the album.
For their 1984 album Breaking Curfew, John Webster replaced Sexton on keyboards. The album did not sell as well as Neruda and a dispute with Capitol Records over the future direction of the band resulted in Red Rider being dropped from the record label later in 1984.
The band subsequently signed with RCA. In what became a strong signal regarding the future of the band, they officially became known as Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, and released their self-titled fifth album in 1986.
In 1987, Capitol released a compilation CD titled Over 60 Minutes with Red Rider, covering the band's first four albums.
In the fall of 1988, the band released their sixth album Victory Day which contained the track "Big League", about a boy's dream of playing in the National Hockey League. The song was featured in a segment on CBC Television's Hockey Night in Canada.
Red Rider's final album, The Symphony Sessions, was released in 1989 and saw the band performing with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, as Procol Harum had done seventeen years before. Cochrane's solo career was taking off and the band broke up shortly after the album was released.
The three-CD box set Ashes to Diamonds, including material by both Red Rider and Cochrane as a solo artist, was released in 1993.
Crack The Sky
Red Rider Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a shadow by the sea
Where there's an angel or assassin
I know she waits for me
There's a time and place she say
Where we can always meet
Well that's alright by me
I can always hear her say
There's a time and there's a place
Where we can always be
Breakaway
That secret paradise
We'd find it again and again
She'd roll me like a train
On that sunken island
We'd run together
Where know one dared to dream
I can still remember that silken beacon
Oh, breakaway
I can almost hear her say
The world is such a stupid place
We'll crack the sky and get lost in space
Oh, breakaway
Oh, breakaway
I can almost hear her say
The world is such a stupid place
We'll crack the sky and get lost in space
Oh, breakaway
The lyrics to Red Rider's song "Crack The Sky" are packed with vivid imagery and tantalizing hints of an otherworldly adventure. The singer describes a mysterious woman who waits for him in the light by the window and the shadow by the sea. She is "an angel or assassin," and he knows that she is somehow connected to a secret paradise that they have discovered together.
The woman promises that there is a time and a place where they can always meet, and the singer eagerly agrees. He yearns to break away from the dullness of the world around him and escape to this paradise with the woman he loves. Together, they've explored the sunken island and run where no one dared to dream. The singer can still remember the "silken beacon" that signaled their way.
In the chorus, the woman's voice echoes in the singer's mind. She urges him to break away from the "stupid" world and join her in cracking the sky and getting lost in space. The allure of this adventure is tantalizing, and the singer is ready to take the leap.
Overall, the lyrics of "Crack The Sky" are open to interpretation, but they paint a vivid picture of a passionate, otherworldly romance. The woman in the song seems to embody the singer's desire for escape and adventure, and their love is a force that can break down the barriers of the mundane world.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a light by the window
The presence of light is seen by the window
There's a shadow by the sea
The absence of light is seen by the sea
Where there's an angel or assassin
A person with good or bad intentions can be found
I know she waits for me
I believe that person waits for me
There's a time and place she say
She has identified a specific time and place
Where we can always meet
Where we can consistently see each other
Well that's alright by me
I'm okay with that arrangement
Breakaway
Let's separate from the current situation
I can always hear her say
I remember her telling me
There's a time and there's a place
Specific time and location are important
Where we can always be
Where we can always spend time together
That secret paradise
That hidden, peaceful place
We'd find it again and again
We would continuously rediscover the paradise
She'd roll me like a train
She would take me on an exhilarating ride
On that sunken island
On that submerged landform
We'd run together
We would move together in the same direction
Where know one dared to dream
Where no one had the courage to imagine
I can still remember that silken beacon
I can vividly recall that shining hope
The world is such a stupid place
The world is a foolish and senseless environment
We'll crack the sky and get lost in space
We will escape the world's insanity and travel through space
Oh, breakaway
Let's separate from the current situation
I can almost hear her say
I recall hearing her mention
Oh, breakaway
Let's separate from the current situation
The world is such a stupid place
The world is a foolish and senseless environment
We'll crack the sky and get lost in space
We will escape the world's insanity and travel through space
Oh, breakaway
Let's separate from the current situation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: T COCHRANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dimitra Giannakopoulou
Lyrics:
"There's a light by the window.
And there's a shadow by the sea.
And there's an angel or assassin.
I know she waits for me.
'There's a time and place', she say,
'where we can meet again'.
Well that's alright by me.
'Oh, breakaway',
I can always hear her say,
'there's a time and there's a place,
where we can always be.
Oh, breakaway'.
In this secret paradise,
we'd find it again and again.
And she'd roll me like a train,
on that sunken island.
We'd run together,
where no one would dare to dream.
And I can still remember that silken beacon.
'Ah, breakaway',
I can always hear her say,
'the world is such a stupid place.
We'll crack the sky and get lost in space.
Oh, breakaway', I can almost hear her say,
'there's a time and there's a place, where we can always meet again.
Oh, breakaway'.
'Breakaway', I can almost hear her say,
'there's a time and there's a place, where we can always be again.
Oh, breakaway',
I can almost hear her say,
'the world is such a stupid place. We'll crack the sky and get lost in space again.
Oh, breakaway'.....".
Edson Gean
So underrated band!!!
Every single song has a piece of “something “ on it.
Love this band.
Bruce McBain
Underrated? By who? Tremendous album by terrific band.
artistinstinct
If you have this album in your collection ....YOU GET XTRA CREDIT! Please reissue this album so a NEW generation can enjoy what the old generation threw away!
Kelley M
What do you get if you have this album AND seen them in concert during their Neruda tour eons ago... yep I'm that old.
Gregory Dutko
Still have my 1983 cassette.
Geoff Edwards
Great song. Just bought this album. No bad song on it.
doug chan
Bought the album long time ago. Love every song on the album.
DavidRagan1734
Originally, I was disappointed when I heard these songs off Neruda because they aren't like "Lunatic Fringe," but they've grown on me so much. The start of this song is other-worldly. I'm glad to have Neruda in my collection.
Diamond Dust
Amazing music that has never realised it's full potential because in Canada the record companies wait for you to get famous in other countries so they can take credit for your success. Too bad record companies in Canada are small time bullshit. A Great Band like Red Rider should have been playing for thousands.
Ramona Washburn
I love, love, love this whole album!