Grand Designs

Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson

A to b --

Different degrees...

So much style without substance

So much stuff without style

It's hard to recognize the real thing

It comes along once in a while

Like a rare and precious metal

Beneath a ton of rock

It takes some time and trouble

To separate from the stock

You sometimes have to listen to

A lot of useless talk

Shapes and forms

Against the norms --

Against the run of the mill

Swimming against the stream

Life in two dimensions

Is a mass production scheme

So much poison in power

The principles get left out

So much mind on the matter

The spirit gets forgotten about

Like a righteous inspiration

Overlooked in haste

Like a teardrop in the ocean

A diamond in the waste

Some world-views are spacious --

And some are merely spaced

Against the run of the mill

Static as it seems

We break the surface tension

With our wild kinetic dreams

Curves and lines --

Of grand designs...