Neil Peart on victimology

There are those who think
That they were dealt a losing hand
The cards were stacked against them
They weren't born in Lotus Land

~ Neil Peart, "Freewill"

Neil Peart on performing

Playing a three-hour Rush show is like running a marathon while solving equations.

~ Neil Peart, drummer, Rush

Neil Peart on the influence of Ayn Rand's book, The Fountainhead

I think everything I do has Howard Roark [hero of The Fountainhead] in it, you know, as much as anything. The person I write for is Howard Roark.

~ Neil Peart

Neil Peart on aggression

If you've got a problem, take it out on a drum.

~ Neil Peart

Neil Peart on immortality

We're only immortal for a limited time.

~ Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist, Rush, R.I.P.

Neil Peart
September 12, 1952 - January 7, 2020

Rush on egalitarianism

There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples (and theyre quite convinced theyre right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks cant help their feelings
If they like the way theyre made
And they wonder why the maples
Cant be happy in their shade?

There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'oppression!'
And the oaks, just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw ...

~ Neil Peart, drummer, Rush, "The Trees," off the "Hemispheres" album, released October 29, 1978