Bastille Day (song)

"Bastille Day"
Song by Rush
from the album Caress of Steel
Released 1975 (1975)
Recorded 1975
Studio Toronto Sound, Toronto
Genre
Length 4:37
Label Mercury
Songwriter(s) Composer: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson
Lyricist: Neil Peart
Producer(s)

"Bastille Day" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush, and is the opening track from their third album, Caress of Steel.[6] Like most Rush songs, the music was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and the lyrics by Neil Peart. The song uses the storming of the Bastille, which began the French Revolution, as an allegory for revolutionary fervor needed in the struggle against tyrannical government. It is therefore in the same vein as other libertarian-themed songs from the early stages of Rush's career, including "Anthem", "Closer to the Heart", "Freewill", "Something for Nothing", and "A Farewell to Kings", when the band — Neil Peart and Geddy Lee in particular — was influenced by the Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand.[7]

Live versions of the song appear on the albums All the World's a Stage and Different Stages. The last time it was performed live was in 1981, but an instrumental section was played during the R30 Tour as part of the "R30 Overture," which opened concerts on that tour.

Progressive metal band Dream Theater, originally known as "Majesty," took their original name from founding drummer Mike Portnoy's description of the ending of "Bastille Day" as "majestic."[8]

Personnel

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bowman, Durrell (2014). Experiencing Rush: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 13. ISBN 9781442231313.
  2. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2013). Rush: The Illustrated History. Voyageur Press. p. 26. ISBN 9780760343647.
  3. ↑ Wagner, Jeff (2010). Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal. Bazillion Points Books. p. 23. ISBN 9780979616334.
  4. ↑ Holm-Hudson, Kevin (2013). Progressive Rock Reconsidered. Routledge. p. 190. ISBN 9781135710224. First published in 2002.
  5. ↑ "Caress Of Steel (1975)". Stereogum. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  6. ↑ "Caress of Steel: Released September 1975". 2112.net. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  7. ↑ Rand, Rush, and Rock, Chris Matthew Sciabarra, The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies (Volume 4, Number 1): 161-85 (2002), reprinted at https://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/rush.htm
  8. ↑ "Dream Theater: 20 Majestic Years". therecordmag.com. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
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