Rush - Beneath, Between And Behind Lyrics






Ten score years ago, defeat the kingly foe
A wondrous dream came into being
Tame the trackless waste, no virgin land left chaste
All shining eyes, but never seeing

[Chorus:]
Beneath the noble bird
Between the proudest words
Behind the beauty, cracks appear
Once with heads held high
They sang out to the sky
Why do their shadows bow in fear?

Watch the cities rise
Another ship arrives
Earth's melting pot and ever growing
Fantastic dreams come true
Inventing something new
The greatest minds, and never knowing

[Chorus]

The guns replace the plow, facades are tarnished now
The principles have been betrayed
The dreams's gone stale, but still, let hope prevail
History's debt won't be repaid

[Chorus]





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Rush Beneath, Between And Behind Comments
  1. j.... ....

    Thanks so much for providing the lyrics!! I guess waaaaaaaay back when I had it in vinyl, I could have memorized them but no. PERFECT song to scream in the car! Never realized until Neal's death that he was the lyricist. Such an amazingly talented trio!

  2. j.... r....

    I have to give RUSH credit for not being like most bands that just sing about getting drunk and laid. They tried to make you think.

  3. C.... M....

    Peart’s prophetic take on America

  4. T.... ....

    How do you want it?

  5. R.... ....

    The change in time signature for the 3rd verse is so gorgeous. I don't know what to call it. Bossa Nova?

  6. M.... L....

    Wow , what does this song mean ???? Who held their heads high ???? Who sang out to the sky ???? Who's shadows bow in fear ???? What happened ten years ago ???? What debt won't be repaid ???? 💝💝🔯👑♎👑🔯💝💝

  7. f.... ....

    in highschool I was so dumb I thought it was as song about ditch digging.

  8. T.... G....

    no one better,thanks

  9. U.... ....

    Wow This is the very 1st lyrics that Neil wrote and Geddy said it was hardest to sing!
    But what a last statement. Neil so young and so wise!
    The Guns replace the plow ...
    The Principles have been betrayed...
    This is why I love Rush....

    U.... ....

    Reading some of the comments below....
    There's a difference between invaders/intruders and immigrants. In past few years when I found out the truth about indigenous ppl in America n how horrible they were treated I wished I had never set foot in this land
    I've been looking for some Indian tribes to go talk to them n apologize and maybe pay them for the few square feet my house has stolen from Their land but can't find any.... I sent out so many email to no avail. No wonder ppl disappear in national parks. It's the restless spirits of the murdered women n children n their protectors and the misery n the darkness that hovers over this land. We were all fooled by those damn movies... x(

  10. A.... A....

    Bom p caralho

  11. a.... m....

    Rush is forever

  12. A.... A....

    Hi - just a correction to the lyrics. At 00:35, it should be "Beneath the noble birth" (not bird). (Not sure if this can be done in the video at this stage, but maybe you can add this to the description?)
    And hey - thanks a ton for all the lyrics with music. Precious :-)

  13. A.... O....

    Rush's official webpage has the lyrics as "beneath the noble birth"! But I think you are correct.

  14. J.... F....

    Of all the Rush songs I completely whiffed on these lyrics (prior to the Internet, of course). The lyrics didn't always come with the album, and I think I had this on cassette so no go. I thought it was about aliens. LOL

    J.... F....

    The lyrics came with the album back in the days of vinyl. They even had some nifty illustrations for each song on the sleeve.

  15. M.... C....

    Why do their shadows bow in fear?

  16. J.... E....

    It's actually "beneath the noble BIRTH" ... not "bird"

    J.... E....

    No .... its bird as in America's symbol "The bald eagle"

    J.... E....

    Looking at the lyric sheet for the CD right now. It's actually "bird."

  17. M.... L....

    🙈🙉🙊 💝💝🔯👑♎👑🔯💝💝 🙈🙉🙊

  18. M.... L....

    USA .... 💝💝🔯👑♎👑🔯💝💝 .... 🙉

  19. M.... L....

    Behind the beauty , cracks appear
    Once with heads held high
    They sang out to the sky 😒😒

  20. M.... L....

    😿😿💝💝🔯👑♎👑🔯💝💝😂😂

  21. M.... L....

    Some fools say black is beautiful 😝😝

  22. d.... ....

    Who cares about the lyrics...just listen to the music!

  23. b.... s....

    Still love their reagge session..

  24. Z.... F....

    pretty good

  25. H.... J....

    This is relevant now more than ever.

  26. F.... K....

    My God.....Hale Trump.....I'm kidding, he's a pig.

  27. T.... B....

    It’s the same riff as the solo section from Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin lol

    T.... B....

    Alex was a big fan of Jimmy

  28. D.... L....

    This song kicks so much ass!!

  29. T.... ....

    Thank god for these lyrics. I always thought the chorus had the words "bed, bath, and beyond"

  30. F.... K....

    Then Trump showed up.....Orwellian realism.

    F.... K....

    Wow you really are a liberal nut job. You must be young.

    F.... K....

    @Craig Manning He's a "liberal nut job" because Trump is a moron? I don't see it. Even half his own party hates him, not to mention his own staff.

  31. S.... C....

    It's " Beneath the Noble birth" not "Noble bird"

    S.... C....

    No it's actually not. It's "bird". https://genius.com/Rush-beneath-between-and-behind-lyrics

    S.... C....

    Come on how can they miss that? Good catch. Noble bird? Doesn't even make sense.

    S.... C....

    "Noble Bird" is correct

  32. D.... H....

    there's so much hard work to be done

  33. D.... H....

    there's so much hard work to be done

  34. D.... H....

    I pretend to care about you, isn't that enough?

  35. D.... H....

    the Great West, I love it

  36. D.... H....

    How the West was won, right isn't it?

  37. J.... C....

    I would love to see AC/DC cover this song. I think they'd nail it!

    J.... C....

    JohnE Canuck Bon Scott or Brian Johnson?

    J.... C....

    Please no....

  38. D.... H....

    surprise!

  39. D.... H....

    Alien conspiracies suck. Americans did this and I hope so much more.

  40. D.... H....

    during the 1820s the USA was just a frontier, now who patented more inventions than anyone else? American Ingenuity........

  41. D.... H....

    you deserve nothing less than my love and admiration. you know who you are!

  42. B.... ....

    *"Beneath the noble birth"

  43. D.... H....

    the USA is my favorite country!

  44. D.... H....

    You picked the wrong guy.

  45. D.... H....

    During the 1820s the USA patented more inventions than any country in the world. The lightbulb, airplane, computer, and the internet would come later.

  46. D.... H....

    who did that???

  47. D.... H....

    During the 1820s , this country patented more inventions than any other country. Who dis that????

  48. I.... -....

    Between the proudest words, my god, I've never heard such a sweet-ass melody as this! Please god, let this be a song that's listened to for generations to come.

  49. I.... -....

    Really gets on it quick!

  50. M.... ....

    this song is awesome

  51. B.... H....

    This song is sad and yet it reminds us of how great America was. Isn't it surprising a Candian band can show more patriotism for America than many Americans? That is sad too.

    B.... H....

    hopefully there's always someone "looking in"....thats easy.

  52. A.... ....

    And here we are.

  53. F.... O....

    Deus abençoe o Rush( God bless Rush)!

  54. f.... ....

    "Decline, Right on Time...What Happened to the Dream Sublime?"  Tear It all Down We'll put It up Again...Another Empyre...

  55. c.... ....

    I absolutely LOVE when they change up the song in that last verse! Such a cool feeling

    c.... ....

    +Charlie Travis Has a real disco feel to it actually haha

  56. G.... D....

    they are talking about sexual positions...yep

    G.... D....

    I know your sister....we did these....ummm....it was wet.

    G.... D....

    Youtubers are gross.

    G.... D....

    Or are they implying that if America isn't careful about preserving its ideals that we're all gonna end up getting screwed? This song came out after Watergate - is history repeating itself to repay that debt they mention?

    G.... D....

    Lol, Beneath, between and behind.....

  57. D.... S....

    The evolution of music in Western culture peaked with RUSH.

    D.... S....

    +Alex Colberg
    and fall with bieber?

    D.... S....

    ouch...that smarted.

    D.... S....

    It's been downhill since.

    D.... S....

    True dat....

  58. m.... ....

    Amazing!

  59. e.... ....

    toes are a tingling!

    e.... ....

    +eastlake93 actually that could be a stoke. You might cut back on your salt usage just in case, but yeah, what a terrific song.

    e.... ....

    That's the cocaine....or an electrical short...you're probably dead.

  60. T.... B....

    Rush's only Disco song that I know of (2:07) ; - )

    T.... B....

    +Ike Sweat
    Schmeerp de derb de flippity floobin?

    T.... B....

    Lol, yes, I didn't notice until you pointed it out, but Neil's hi-hat rhythm definitely gives it that 70's disco feel.

    T.... B....

    It's a really cool time change, but it isn't disco by any stretch. Close to a Bossa Nova.

    T.... B....

    Bullshit!

    T.... B....

    Thes is about as far from disco as you can get. Disco sucks.

  61. J.... L....

    Happy 4th of JULY, AMERICA!  & literary insp. came from NOSTRODAMUS.

    J.... L....

    Rush is Canadian

    J.... L....

    Yeah but the song is about America

  62. f.... ....

    boy does this AMPLY describe what is going on post Y2K in America!-but it seems to be a trend everywhere. I'll take my plow and hit you over your gun toting head so point it elsewhere! though I prefer farming to fighting.

    f.... ....

    +Panthrax you, and people like you are overreacting to the media hyping up rare incidences of police brutality. the fact is it is people like you that make their job harder! I lived in a small town for 20 years growing up, it was people like you that made it hard to live in, not the stereotypical "punks" and "badmen" you want to shoot. In fact, not too many people in a small town are going to do the things you say! and cops don't need to REMOVE your guns, they need to hold you accountable for FIRING them, just like they do for mace and pepper spray only when you fire them should they warrant coming over to your house and removing them. and they will, if laws were in effect. Because guns should be illegal and then you would be jailed, but only after firing it, not just for having the thing in your tool shed or whatever the fuck. I used pepper on a dog who attacked me the owner took pot shots at me, I was forced to run and it was MY street as much as his! I, of course, called the police. I got my pepper taken away he did not get his gun taken away. I was protecting myself his dog attacked me in the street, not his yard! It is feaks like that that are considered "normal" and aren't that make it hard for the rest of us, not "punk rockers" and "street gangs". or people who look dangerous that are dangerous but the so-called "respectable citizen who turns vigilante" that are dangerous. And street punks biker gangs in a small town? cmon! And if a "not very nice bad man" breaks into your house the best thing to do is flee, or disarm them if they bar you it had been that way for decades prior to the new trends of gun freaks, only since about 9/11 Y2K have nuts and paranoids like you started this primitive trend. And in the long run guns only kill innocents so you are going to accept the lesser of two evils there! And self control is something NO human being has at ALL times, it is not just SOME people but EVERYONE that looses it. and one momentary lapse in reason is enough to kill. NO I do not hold to the idea of exclusive gun owners! once one person is armed the playing field is not balanced. and that is WRONG! It is not just about background it is about being a human being and human beings loose control. no matter their mental health or personality. good or bad. I have seen "sweet innocent" bank tellers and clerks snap when flustered by their boss or a customer snap and go berserk from the stress, normal or not shit happens. people act shitty no matter the back ground and how would you check anyway, if a person never went to therapy there is no record. lots of nuts running around who are considered "normal". not until they check in are they reputed not to be. NO I do not hold to the idea of exclusive gun owners! People as a whole are more volatile now days. thank about some of these other idiots responding to my post here, I don't think they realize their mental state at all. and I think their is no way of gun provisioners getting a record on it until these idiots do something stupid to someone and it only takes one time for a stupid happenstance to kill an innocent in rage or even a stray shot to their children or to an innocent bystander. Today more people are volatile whether records exist of it or not, more than 25 or 30 years ago, but I would not hold to exclusive gun owners if people were the way they were back then either any more than allowing gun shows for everyone to get one! Who can get guns is NO ONE. but the police and military because they are an organization, not an individual they can be held into account every time they pull the trigger an individual only answers to himself and that is not civilized! We are as a whole city dwellers(and a town is still a city even a rural community is a city as people are close together separated by 2 or so acres that is still close!)and since people are so close together it is not the back woods anymore and since the rest of us follow rigid rules of a city a community, or society so to should the projectile weapon be illegal to an individual!

    f.... ....

    @fucheduck I don't think you even read what i was saying at all. You missed every single point i tried to make.

    Please re-read it THEN type up another story, preferably with sentences and paragraphs so i can read it. 

    f.... ....

    @Panthrax actually I read it all and it is you who missed my point.

    f.... ....

    The police and military defend us? You pompous ass, the Obama administration is selling arms around the world to groups like ISIS, and those guns find their way back to America via the drug trade (ISIS and Al Qaida manufacture drugs to fund their cause), to street level dealers. The ONLY reason America is not under British rule is the second amendment, and that's coming from a Canadian. In the last century half a billion people have been killed by governments and that's a conservative number. Obama has killed thousands of civilians with predator drones, but anti gun clown like you blame rural American gun owners for the shit that goes on in Chicago and LA and New York. Despite the fact they have strict gun laws. Why no mass shootings in Wyoming, where there are essentially no gun laws?

    f.... ....

    The police and military are held to account? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA......Really, then why does the US have military bases in most countries around the world, committing crimes against humanity? Why has America been at war for most of it's existence? Because of the corrupt power hungry leaders. Not the people. Power corrupts......and that's exactly why the second amendment exists. The right belongs to the people, not the govt or militia. The wording has been dissected by English professors and is air tight. The right belongs to the PEOPLE......it does not say police, militia or government. It says people. Period. You are wrong.

  63. I.... S....

    wow, great song......better than great its terrific.......shit better even than..... awesome? no more than....okay like/////it's three terrifics a great to the power of five plus  seven awesomes times two wonderfuls minus a big whoop

    I.... S....

    +O.L. Pritchett go take a pill

    I.... S....

    +fucheduck lmao
    I couldn't remember typing that
    =)≡)
    then it occurred to me~we were in Aspen all that week.
    =/
    marijuana is a powerful drug, fuckeduck. Now run get your jammies on & hit the sack.

  64. S.... H....

    Amazing lyrics by Neil Peart ring true now as they did 40 years ago. 

    S.... H....

    No! Written by Geddy actually! Cheers!

    S.... H....

    Really? My research shows the music written by Alex and lyrics by Neil. http://www.rush.com/songs/beneath-between-and-behind/

    S.... H....

    How foolish of me. I thought for a moment this song was on the first album. You are absolutely correct! I love this song! Cheers!

    S.... H....

    you really think that Geddy wrote this...?

  65. A.... F....

    Why do their shadows bow in fear?

    A.... F....

    Because America has become a totalitarian state.

  66. r.... ....

    to the guy who cliams this is a diss to america,
    this is infact a love letter to the founding fathers,the true spirit of america and a warning that their unpresidented political achivement, the frist free country on earth.
    could be undone at any time.
    this and songs with this spirit (rush has tons of them).
    are the reason this band is marginalised by the press (rolling stone-cough).
    they where imeadietly recongnized as a threat to the proponents of the alternative world view.
    rush are the only artists in mass marketed pop culture who dare uphold freedom.
    unfourtunatly for their enemys
    they're just to damned good to suppress

    r.... ....

    you really didn't listen to this song, did you?

    Watch the cities rise
    Another ship arrives,
    earth's melting pot and ever growing

    immigrants are NOT the problem, unless you're a native American, and I'll bet dollars to donuts you're not

    r.... ....

    roman....it's gone sideways....it's all fucked up. We've gone from believing we get along to realizing we don't. Some are ready to burn books....Greed and Race and Religion and Gender and Sexuality....let it go.

    r.... ....

    roman.....Beneath the noble bird....took a shit....and out of him came Trump.

    r.... ....

    Thomas....come an get some you fascist coward....you will be beat down just like the rest of you yellow cowards.

    r.... ....

    Behind the Beauty, Cracks Appear.


    That's, not really very pro America. The "American Exceptionalism" is just a show, a facade, a farce.


    "Why do their shadows bow in fear?"


    Again, not really nationalist. Its pretty much saying "If you're so great, why is literally your own shadow, terrified?"


    Now, lets look at a verse.


    "The guns replace the plow" an inversion of "beating swords into plowshares" the tools of growth have become weapons
    "Facades are Tarnished now" Quite straight forward, things from the outside aren't looking good anymore
    "Principles have been betrayed" Need I say more?
    "Dream's gone stale, but still, let hope prevail" So, things are going bad, but we hope they'll get better
    "History's debt won't be repaid" Literally straight up saying that the debt cannot be repaid.

  67. r.... ....

    this is americas REAL national anthem.

    r.... ....

    This is ( about ) America

    r.... ....

    @Fart Knocker The OP was during Obummers stint. And Trump won't pass for some time to come. MAGA2020 eh!

    r.... ....

    What about 'Anthem'?? LOL

    r.... ....

    #BerniesArmy is taking over! #Bernie2020

    r.... ....

    @Fart Knocker Don't be stupid. This a RUSH love song to America, which remains a "wondrous dream" without which there would have been no Canada as we know it today, and without whose dollars from the pockets of hard-working men and women no lil' ole band that could from across the border in Toronto could have gone on to make their fortune.

    This song was written on the road ... in the USA ... on the band's first tour after signing with Mercury Records. A cautionary tale? Surely. But already, at this point, Neil Peart's first stab at crafting lyrics reflects the eye-opening influence by Ayn Rand's writing.

    And, through that lens, it could be argued that President Trump is just the sort of individualist, self-made leader Ann Rand would have admired.

    But, again, this song was written in 1975. The USA had extricated itself from the war in Vietnam. The war over the war had torn this country apart, and so many men of draft age had fled ... to Canada. Then there was Watergate, which led ultimately to President Richard Nixon's ignoble resignation.

    It was a pessimistic Age of Anxiety: Worry over the state of the Environment, worry about the arms race and nuclear annihilation, worry about the soaring price and plunging availability of gasoline, worry about the economy and inflation, worry about being laid off or -- for those of college age like myself -- worry about ever finding a decent-paying job after graduation.

  68. C.... M....

    "Once with hands held high, they sang out to the sky, why do their shadows bow in fear?'.   

    C.... M....

    +Craig Manning it's heads

  69. s.... ....

    Only the truth is sang/written in this song.

  70. D.... S....

    According to the Rush doc Beyond the Lighted Stage, Neil wrote above song

  71. I.... K....

    it is the on Fly By Night Album

  72. B.... ....

    It's about the United States. It's the view of a Canadian Libertarian (Peart) looking at a once-great country falling prey to Cronyism, Socialism and warmongering while the people (merely shadows of the Founding Fathers) bow in fear to their government.

  73. J.... L....

    This song is attacking America (LOL)!!! Ten score years ago was 1776! The Noble bird is the BALD EAGLE. Cracks refer to the LIberty Bell. This was written after Nixon resigned, the Cold War was still brewing, and people were asking "what next?" & Rush's alliterate song.

  74. s.... ....

    this song is an Alex Lifeson (music), Neil Peart (lyrics) composition and a great song it is!

  75. o.... ....

    Geddy said, "When it was weird---(Neils Lyrics)---we knew it was good."

  76. o.... ....

    Always love jamming along on guitar with this tune! Lots of good fingerwork...Because Alex is an abstract guitar player..not confined to a rigid mathematical comformity.

  77. R.... ....

    This song tends to be a bit ambiguous, please clarify.

  78. T.... ....

    0 dislikes!

  79. r.... ....

    this should be the national anthem of the U.S.

  80. R.... ....

    I'm hoping the Bald Eagle comes back.

  81. D.... B....

    Dirk, Lerxst and Pratt setting the bar high for their first collaboration. Great tune!

  82. F.... B....

    Got up this morning and had to blast this one! Nothin like some Rush to get the blood pumping for another day.

  83. F.... B....

    Yes I see that it is the first one Neil wrote. I knew it sounded like something Neil wrote. I don't know how I could have even made that mistake, I'm a major Rush fan. This is one of my all time favorite tunes too.

  84. J.... S....

    yeah, this one was neils first one I believe

  85. M.... ....

    That was the first lyrics that Neil wrote.

  86. w.... ....

    man thats gotta be my favorite one too...it just rocks hard, before they used synths too much

  87. B.... ....

    This was actually the first song Neil wrote

  88. r.... ....

    Wake up America!!!! A warning song from the best band ever!

  89. E.... ....

    Fly By Night. It's in the description.

  90. r.... ....

    Which album is this on?, i first heard it on Exit stage left when i got the dvd a few days ago

    r.... ....

    Fly by night

  91. R.... ....

    they did have Neil writing on this one.

  92. F.... B....

    These were lyrics before they had Neil writing them, and they really sound like somthing that Neil would have written. Man I just love Rush!

  93. B.... ....

    I personally don't think this song is against the US. I think the point of this song is that the US has strayed from the path of what the founding fathers set out to create. I find the line "History's debt won't be repaid" as a positive one, as when you look at what the Declaration of Independence (the proudest words) has done for nations and peoples all around the world. Then again, I actually believe in the principles and values of those famous words, so I might be in the minority.

  94. E.... L....

    I for the most part love Rush, but the entire basis of this tune is to diss the US - so fuck Geddy and the rest of the Canucks.

    E.... L....

    Yeah, it was six years ago that you wrote this comment, but there's still time to call you an idiot.

  95. B.... ....

    Easily one of my favorite songs, from one of my favorite RUSH albums.

  96. m.... ....

    ... i think i can hear Heartbreaker last riff... :: )

  97. C.... L....

    such an amazing song!!

  98. g.... ....

    OMFG I've always thought Geddy sang "Behind the booty, cracks appear" xD ...

  99. A.... H....

    i know what the song is about. just thought he sounded high