Rush achieved commercial success in the 1970s with Fly by Night (1975), 2112 (1976), A Farewell to Kings (1977) and Hemispheres (1978). The band's popularity continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with albums charting highly in Canada, the US and the UK, including Permanent Waves (1980), Moving Pictures (1981), Signals (1982), Grace Under Pressure (1984) and Counterparts (1993). Rush continued to record and perform until 1997, after which the band entered a four-year hiatus due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. The trio regrouped in 2001 and released three more studio albums: Vapor Trails (2002), Snakes & Arrows (2007), and Clockwork Angels (2012). Rush ceased touring at the end of 2015, and Lifeson announced in January 2018 that the band would not continue, which was cemented by Peart's death from glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on January 7, 2020, at the age of 67.
Rush were known for their musicianship, complex compositions and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy and philosophy. The band's style changed over the years, from a blues-inspired hard rock beginning, later moving into progressive rock, then a period in the 1980s marked by heavy use of synthesizers, before returning to guitar-driven hard rock at the end of the 1980s. Their final work from 2012, marked a return to progressive rock. The members of Rush have been acknowledged as some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each winning numerous awards in magazine readers' polls over the years.
As of 2022, Rush ranks 84th in the U.S. with sales of 26 million albums and industry sources estimate their total worldwide album sales at over 42 million. Rush has been awarded 14 platinum and 3 multi-platinum albums in the US plus 17 platinum albums in Canada. Rush was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, won several Juno Awards, and won an International Achievement Award at the 2009 SOCAN Awards. The band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_(band)
Studio albums
Rush (1974)
Fly by Night (1975)
Caress of Steel (1975)
2112 (1976)
A Farewell to Kings (1977)
Hemispheres (1978)
Permanent Waves (1980)
Moving Pictures (1981)
Signals (1982)
Grace Under Pressure (1984)
Power Windows (1985)
Hold Your Fire (1987)
Presto (1989)
Roll the Bones (1991)
Counterparts (1993)
Test for Echo (1996)
Vapor Trails (2002)
Snakes & Arrows (2007)
Clockwork Angels (2012)
Cygnus
Rush Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There lurks a mysterious, invisible force
The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1
Six stars of the northern cross
In mourning for their sister's loss
In a final flash of glory
Nevermore to grace the night
Invisible
To telescopic eye
Infinity
The star that would not die
All who dare
To cross her course
Are swallowed by
A fearsome force
Through the void
To be destroyed
Or is there something more?
Atomized, at the core
Or through the astral door
To soar
I set a course just east of Lyra
And northwest of Pegasus
Flew into the light of Deneb
Sailed across the Milky Way
On my ship, the Rocinante
Wheeling through the galaxies
Headed for the heart of Cygnus
Headlong into mystery
The x-ray is her siren song
My ship cannot resist her long
Nearer to my deadly goal
Until the black hole
Gains control
Spinning, whirling
Still descending
Like a spiral sea
Unending
Sound and fury
Drowns my heart
Every nerve
Is torn apart
Rush's "Cygnus X-1" is a 10-minute song divided into two parts on the album A Farewell to Kings. The first part features the lyrics mentioned above, which revolve around the mysterious force known as the black hole in the constellation of Cygnus. The song begins with an ominous tone, as the lyrics describe the invisible and frightening nature of the black hole. The singer notes that even through telescopes or other instruments, this force cannot be seen by the naked eye. The lyrics continue with a description of a group of stars called the northern cross, mourning their sister's loss, in reference to the possible destruction of a nearby star or planet by the black hole. The song progresses with a haunting repetition of the words "the star that would not die," hinting at the inevitable fate of any celestial body that comes into contact with the black hole.
The second part of the song takes a more narrative approach, with the singer setting a course to explore the mysteries of the constellation. Using celestial terms and navigating by the light of Deneb, an extremely bright star in Cygnus’s tail, the singer pilots the Rocinante, named after Don Quixote's horse. While the ship wheels through the galaxies, the singer mentions the black hole's siren song and the ship's eventual descent into its control. The song concludes with a flurry of sound and fury as the ship is destroyed, being "atomized at the core."
Line by Line Meaning
In the constellation of Cygnus
This song is about the constellation of Cygnus
There lurks a mysterious, invisible force
There is something unknown and unobservable in Cygnus
The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1
This invisible force is a black hole known as Cygnus X-1
Six stars of the northern cross
There are six stars in the Northern Cross formation
In mourning for their sister's loss
These stars are grieving for the loss of another star
In a final flash of glory
The lost star ended in a beautiful display
Nevermore to grace the night
This lost star will never be seen in the sky again
Invisible
The black hole cannot be seen
To telescopic eye
Even powerful telescopes cannot detect the black hole
Infinity
The black hole's power is boundless
The star that would not die
The lost star may have actually turned into this black hole
All who dare
Anyone who dares approach the black hole
To cross her course
Is in danger of being pulled in by her powerful gravitation pull
Are swallowed by
A victim of the black hole is consumed by its dark abyss
A fearsome force
The black hole's power is quite scary
Through the void
While passing through the nothingness of space
To be destroyed
The victims of the black hole are hopelessly doomed
Or is there something more?
Can something else come from being swallowed up by the black hole?
Atomized, at the core
Perhaps the black hole annihilates anything it consumes, leaving just particles in its center
Or through the astral door
Or does the black hole lead somewhere else in the universe?
To soar
Could traveling into the black hole lead to something great?
I set a course just east of Lyra
The artist of the song decided on a route near the star Lyra
And northwest of Pegasus
And traveled in a direction that was towards the constellation Pegasus
Flew into the light of Deneb
The journey likely passed through the star Deneb
Sailed across the Milky Way
The travel route took place across the expanse of our galaxy
On my ship, the Rocinante
The singer is on a ship called the Rocinante
Wheeling through the galaxies
The journey takes the singer all throughout the universe
Headed for the heart of Cygnus
The ship is being piloted towards the location of the black hole
Headlong into mystery
The journey is one of great uncertainty and intrigue
The x-ray is her siren song
The black hole's X-ray emissions are like a hypnotizing song that draws the ship in
My ship cannot resist her long
The pull of the black hole is too strong for the ship's propulsion system
Nearer to my deadly goal
The artist of the song is coming ever closer to this engulfing force
Until the black hole
The inevitable pull of the black hole will eventually take over the ship completely
Gains control
And consume everyone on board
Spinning, whirling
As the ship is dragged closer and closer to the black hole's center
Still descending
The ship continues to plunge closer to the inevitable doom
Like a spiral sea
Being dragged inside a massive vortex-like force
Unending
The journey towards the center seems like it will never end
Sound and fury
As the ship disintegrates, the result is chaotic and noisy
Drowns my heart
The artist is overcome with despair and fear
Every nerve
Even the artist's senses are overwhelmed
Is torn apart
The destruction is complete, both physically and emotionally
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
Written by: Neil Elwood Peart, Gary Lee Weinrib, Alex Zivojinovich
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jaidin Buchanan
In the constellation of Cygnus, there lurks a mysterious, invisible force. The black hole of Cygnus x-1. Six stars of the northern cross, in mourning of their sisters loss, in a final flash of glory, never more to grace the night.
Invisible to telescopic eye, infinity the star that would not die.
All who dare to cross her course are swallowed by her fearsome force. Through the void, to be destroyed. Or is there something more? Atomized at the core, or through the astral door? To soar.
I set a course just east of Lyra, northwest of Pegasus. Flew into the light of Deneb, sailed across the Milky Way! on my ship the Rocinante, weaving through the galaxies, heading for the heart of Cygnus, headlong into mystery!
X Ray is her siren song, my ship cannot resist her long! Nearer to my deadly goal until the black hole takes control!
Spinning, whirling, still descending. Like a spiral sea unending! Sound and fury drown my heart, every nerve is torn apart!
Best lyrics ever made IMO.
Darth Meow
This song is simply amazing on a level few have ever matched and arguably none have exceeded. It's so far beyond progressive rock that there wasn't even a term at the time for what this was and RUSH at the time might not have even themselves been aware of what they were inventing as they simply sought in their genius way to compose the most powerful piece of music they could to express the even more immense and powerful concept in their mind. True trailblazers often don't know they are doing it, merely concerned with going their own way and exploring while others sit back in awe and recognize the new frontiers they have uncovered.
The fact is, few even realize that in moments like this RUSH simultaneously both essentially invented what would become known as progressive metal and set a standard for the form that few even among the best of those who make it their specialty have come close to matching in all the years since. There are many heavier songs, many faster songs, some that are even more complex than this, but this... this is a master class in weaving together quiet and fury, drenched in atmospheric immersiveness and deftly crafted dramatic rise and fall along with theme and storytelling both musical and lyrical to weave a tapestry that is a literal epic in the most classical sense of the term.
This song is literally like a rollercoaster ride, exquisitely crafted twists and turns and rises and falls and lulls between moments of intensity that create suspense and set up anticipation, each cycle building on the ones previous to culminate in an absolute balls to the wall climax that wouldn't have near the impact it does without the listener being so immersed and primed for it. It is literally all about setup and payoff in the dramatic sense and it is shockingly powerful as a result far beyond the mere sum of its varying parts.
Bottom line, every metal band with ambitions of being more than a paint by numbers aggression machine should listen to this like they would a dissertation from a master professor. Which, in every way that counts, is exactly what it is.
Concerned One
Darth Meow weed?
Dan O'Sullivan
Well said.
Mark Niemi
I agree wholeheartedly, this song is my favorite RUSH song
Syd
Don't forget 17 from Winger.
KI SS
damn, you nailed it . Thank you
Brenden DeSimone
To me Rush is very versatile. Imagine writing a song like this and then within a decade writing Mission
zzzombie888
And then shortly after The Pass
Jonp
This song was intense back in '77.
This song is still intense.
Smurf Unkown
Yes waited 65 clicks