Rundgren is well known among his fans as being an electronic music revolutionary. His skilled production techniques, matched by his belief that he has ability to play just about any instrument at a mastery level, has allowed him to release some of the most honest and personal music of his time. Many of his solo albums, including Something/Anything?]' were made completely by himself. That is, he played all the instruments, sang all the vocals, did all of the recording, editing, mixing, and mastering.
Website: http://www.tr-i.com/
Core discography:
With Nazz:
1968 - Nazz
1969 - Nazz Nazz
1970 - Nazz III
Solo:
1970 - Runt
1971 - Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
1972 - Something/Anything?
1973 - A Wizard, a True Star
1974 - Todd
1975 - Initiation
1976 - Faithful
1978 - Hermit of Mink Hollow
1978 - Back to the Bars (live)
1981 - Healing
1983 - The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect
1985 - A Cappella
1989 - Nearly Human
1991 - 2nd Wind
1993 - No World Order
1995 - The Individualist
1997 - With a Twist
1998 - Up Against It
2000 - One Long Year
2003 - Can't Stop Running (live box set)
2004 - Liars
2008 - Arena
2011 - Todd Rundgren's Johnson
2011 - (re)Production
2013 - State
2015 - Global
2015 - Runddans (collaboration with Emil Nikolaisen and Hans-Peter Lindstrøm)
2017 - White Knight
With Utopia:
1974 - Todd Rundgren's Utopia
1975 - Another Live
1976 (released 2001) - Disco Jets
1977 - Ra
1977 - Oops! Wrong Planet
1980 - Adventures in Utopia
1980 - Deface the Music
1982 - Swing to the Right
1982 - Utopia
1984 - Oblivion
1985 - P.O.V.
2003 - Last of the New Wave Riders (live box set)
FADE AWAY
Todd Rundgren Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sound of afternoon is gone
The corner store has locked its door
And everyone has left for home
When their sleepy little heads
settle snug inside their beds
You and I will stay and watch the sun fade away
The balladeer, the buccaneer
The cavalier, the profiteer
The one who knows only suffering
As the cannons gather rust,
all their castles turn to dust
You and I will stay and see them fade away
We are on an endless flight my friend
With no beginning and no end
I've forgotten more than I remember
Sometimes I want to hide myself away
But I know there's no escape
We must go on, go on forever
The sea will rise, mountains fall
The earth will turn itself upside down
But we have seen it all before,
we will always be around
In a hundred million years
when the planet disappears
You and I will stay
and watch the world fade away
And in a million trillion years
when the stars all disappear
You and I will stay
and watch it all fade away
The lyrics of Todd Rundgren's "Fade Away" offer a meditation on the fleeting nature of life and the transience of everything around us. The song paints a picture of a world that is slowly winding down as the day ends and people retreat to their homes. The singer and their companion, however, choose to stay and witness the sunset, perhaps as a symbol of their determination to embrace life's impermanence.
The song's chorus introduces a series of archetypes, such as the "balladeer" and the "profiteer," who represent different facets of human existence. Some are motivated by greed, others by a lust for power, while still others simply enjoy spinning tall tales. All of them are bound to fade away, along with their deeds and fortunes. The song implies that even the most prominent figures in history are ultimately powerless against the march of time, and that only the present moment truly matters.
The final verses of the song shift the focus from individual lives to the grand scope of the universe. The singer asserts that nothing on Earth will last forever, but also suggests that the passage of time itself is a cycle without end. The song's closing lines, "You and I will stay and watch it all fade away," evoke a sense of acceptance and even serenity in the face of mortality, as if the singer and their companion have found a kind of cosmic perspective on life.
Line by Line Meaning
The day is done, the blinds are drawn
The day has come to an end and the blinds have been closed.
The sound of afternoon is gone
The sounds of the afternoon have disappeared.
The corner store has locked its door
The corner store has closed and locked its door for the night.
And everyone has left for home
Everyone has gone home for the night.
When their sleepy little heads settle snug inside their beds
As people go to bed and fall asleep,
You and I will stay and watch the sun fade away
We will stay up and watch the sun set.
The balladeer, the buccaneer
Different types of people including musicians and pirates.
The liar, the man who would be king
People who deceive others and those who aspire to be leaders.
The cavalier, the profiteer
People who are carefree and those who profit from their actions.
The one who knows only suffering
People who only experience hardship.
As the cannons gather rust, all their castles turn to dust
As time passes, weapons and buildings deteriorate and crumble away.
You and I will stay and see them fade away
We will witness the destruction of these things.
We are on an endless flight my friend
We are constantly moving in life.
With no beginning and no end
Life has no clear start or finish.
I've forgotten more than I remember
I cannot recall most of my past experiences.
Sometimes I want to hide myself away
There are times when I wish to be alone.
But I know there's no escape
However, I understand that I cannot escape life.
We must go on, go on forever
We must continue living indefinitely.
The sea will rise, mountains fall
Over time, the earth's topography will change.
The earth will turn itself upside down
The planet will experience extreme changes in the future.
But we have seen it all before, we will always be around
We have witnessed change in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
In a hundred million years when the planet disappears
The planet could possibly come to an end at some point in the far future.
You and I will stay and watch the world fade away
We will observe the gradual demise of our planet.
And in a million trillion years when the stars all disappear
Eventually, even the stars will run out of fuel and die out.
You and I will stay and watch it all fade away
We will be here to witness the vanishing of everything in existence.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TODD RUNDGREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tim Maulden
This guy is a national treasure.
Michael Shannon
The skill in composition in this song is incredible, the way he diverts the song at times is pure genius and the backing vocals throughout are hauntingly magic.
Melissa James
Last song I heard Todd sing in June, 2019, can't wait until we can all be together again & hear him sing live.
bostonlucy
I cannot express any words as to how much this song means to me. From driving endless miles to thinking about friends and family and moreover, what happens if we just all fade away. Thank you Todd.
Andrew Korn
"As Their Cannons Gather Rust All Their Castles Turn To Dust " Todds Genius on full display Earth Shaking
Us and Them, aka Kelly
Always a genius to me...
Richard Townsend
My friend"s older brother gave me this album for 2 joints in 1981. I was 15 and I already liked Utopia. To this day (52 years old) it is my favorite song in the world.
Us and Them, aka Kelly
I still have this album but I had to pay for it with real money. 😉😂🥴😛
margret dupont
Another glimpse of "A Wizard, a True Star"s brilliance! Not to be morbid, but this is yet ANOTHER song by Mr. Rundgren that will be played at my funeral. LOVETHATTODD!!!
Us and Them, aka Kelly
I think that you're brilliant! I've been a die hard Utopian since I was 12 and I'm 59 now! I've never heard any of the hundreds of Todd fans ever said that before. I think it would be a wonderful TRibute to yourself... One of my good friends passed away from cancer and I have to work on the day of his wake. I'm dedicating this song to Donnie Cheatwood. RIP and thank you for playing Todd on your guitar and putting up with my terrible singing voice. I didn't care and I didn't hurt your ears. We were in the moment of Todd. I miss you. 🥺😪