The Fountain of Lamneth

"The Fountain of Lamneth" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released in 1975 as the fifth and final song from their third album, Caress of Steel. The music was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and the lyrics were written by Neil Peart.[1] It chronicles a man's lifelong journey to find the Fountain of Lamneth.

"The Fountain of Lamneth"
Song by Rush
from the album Caress of Steel
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1975
Recorded1975
Genre
Length19:58
LabelMercury
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Neil Peart
Producer(s)

At 20 minutes long, it is the band's second longest song, only behind "2112", which is about 30 seconds longer.

Background

"The Fountain of Lamneth" is the first of three side-long epics Rush would write (the other two being 1976's "2112" and 1978's "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres"). It is broken into six sections as follows:

  • "I. In the Valley" (Music: Geddy Lee/Alex Lifeson, Lyrics: Neil Peart) – 4:18[1]
  • "II. Didacts and Narpets" (Music: Lee/Lifeson, Lyrics: Peart) – 1:00[1]
  • "III. No One at the Bridge" (Music: Lee/Lifeson, Lyrics: Peart) – 4:19[1]
  • "IV. Panacea" (Music: Lee, Lyrics: Peart) – 3:14[1]
  • "V. Bacchus Plateau" (Music: Lee, Lyrics: Peart) – 3:16[1]
  • "VI. The Fountain" (Music: Lee/Lifeson, Lyrics: Peart)– 3:49[1]

However, unlike later extended songs such as "Xanadu", "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres", and "La Villa Strangiato", the sections do not segue seamlessly.

Regarding the section "Didacts and Narpets", drummer Neil Peart, in the October 1991 news release from the Rush Backstage Club, said: "Okay, I may have answered this before, but if not, the shouted words in that song represent an argument between Our Hero and the Didacts and Narpets - teachers and parents. I honestly can't remember what the actual words were, but they took up opposite positions like: 'Work! Live! Earn! Give!' and like that."[2]

Bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee mentioned this song in a somewhat unfavorable light in this interview excerpt from the book Contents Under Pressure: "[The song] was just something we had to do. But it's kind of absurd. I mean, it's just where we were at. We were a young band, a little pretentious, full of ambitions, full of grand ideas, and we wanted to see if we could make some of those grand ideas happen. And 'Fountain of Lamneth' was the first attempt to do that. And I think there are some beautiful moments, but a lot of it is ponderous and off the mark. It's also the most time we ever had to make a record. I think we had a full three weeks, and we were just indulging ourselves.'"[3]

Guitarist Alex Lifeson cited Steve Hackett as a major influence on the sound he strove for in this song and album, particularly on the guitar solo during "No One at the Bridge": "Steve Hackett is so articulate and melodic, precise and flowing. I think our Caress of Steel period is when I was most influenced by him. There's even a solo on that album which is almost a steal from his style of playing. It's one of my favorites, called 'No One at the Bridge.'"[4]

As to Lifeson's thoughts on the "Panacea" section: "It was an attempt at something that didn't really work out. It was...innocent."[5]

Reception

Odyssey rated "The Fountain of Lamneth" 10/10, and ranked it the 39th best Rush song.[6] They considered the song's lyrics to be among Peart's best, and thought that Lifeson's solos in the songs were excellent. Odyssey also deemed Lee's vocals in "The Fountain of Lamneth" to be beautiful.[7]

Personnel

See also
  • List of Rush songs

References
  1. http://www.rush.com/songs/the-fountain-of-lamneth/
  2. http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19911000backstageclub.htm
  3. http://rushvault.com/2011/01/31/the-fountain-of-lamneth/
  4. http://www2.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/alex-lifeson-in-his-own-words.aspx
  5. http://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2013/10/05/3799/Alex-Lifeson-talks-drugs-religion-and-other-heavy-topics-in-new-Classic-Rock-magazine-interview
  6. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/rush-songs-ranked
  7. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/rush-caress-of-steel-album-review
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