"A Farewell to Kings" | |
---|---|
Song by Rush | |
from the album A Farewell to Kings | |
Released | 1 September 1977 |
Recorded | 1977 |
Studio | Rockfield Studios |
Genre | Progressive rock, hard rock |
Length | 5:51 |
Label | Anthem, Mercury |
Songwriter(s) | Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart |
Producer(s) | Rush, Terry Brown |
Music video | |
"A Farewell to Kings" on YouTube | |
Music video | |
"A Farewell to Kings (lyric version)" on YouTube |
"A Farewell to Kings" is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It was released as the title track to their 1977 album A Farewell to Kings . A music video to the song was uploaded to YouTube in March 2018. [1]
"A Farewell to Kings" is about dealing with hypocrisy,and finding your own way by looking within yourself. [2]
The song was composed in the key of B minor. [3]
The guitar played in the beginning of "A Farewell to Kings" was recorded outside. Frontman Geddy Lee said that "the acoustic was recorded out there to get that really crisp sound and I remember Alex was walking around this mic that Terry had set up while he was playing. He was just like a troubadour –he was playing as he walked around and,naturally,every troubadour has his guy trailing behind him playing a Minimoog!"
Lee also said that the song "was quite a different piece for us,because of the way the intro’s structured,and then it comes in with a bang and there’s this weird time signature going on. It’s a tough song to play." [4]
Robert Telleria in the book Merely Players of the song:
The title is adapted from Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms . Longing for a new Renaissance era (which focused on our place in the cosmos),this revolution is more down to earth,the new world envisioned in "2112",a timeless realm. As in "2112",the wise are again resented,and the sacred "Halls of Truth" are the churches,courthouses,and schools. The hypocrites are the elite:teachers,lawyers,and clergy. [5]
Ultimate Classic Rock ranked "A Farewell to Kings" number 4 on their list of "All 167 Rush Songs Ranked Worst to Best". [6]
AllMusic reviewer Greg Prato picked the "A Farewell to Kings" as one of the highlights on the album,and called the song's intro "a tasty classical guitar/synth passage,before erupting into a powerful rocker." [7]
Odyssey rated the song 5/5. They especially praised the song's acoustic intro,lyrics and Alex Lifeson's solo. [8] They also ranked it the 24th best Rush song,and the second best on the album,only behind "Xanadu". [9]
Aleksandar Živojinović,,known professionally as Alex Lifeson,is a Canadian musician,best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist for the rock band Rush. In 1968,Lifeson co-founded a band that would later become Rush,with drummer John Rutsey and bassist and lead vocalist Jeff Jones. Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee a month later,and Rutsey was replaced by Neil Peart in 1974. Before the band was disbanded in 2018,Lifeson was the only continuous member who stayed in Rush since its inception,and along with bass guitarist/vocalist Geddy Lee,the only member to appear on all of the band's albums.
Geddy Lee is a Canadian musician,best known as the lead vocalist,bassist,and keyboardist for the rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968,at the request of his childhood friend Alex Lifeson,replacing original bassist and frontman Jeff Jones. Lee's solo effort,My Favourite Headache,was released in 2000.
Rush was a Canadian rock band that primarily comprised Geddy Lee,Alex Lifeson (guitar),and Neil Peart. The band formed in Toronto in 1968 with Lifeson,drummer John Rutsey,and bass guitarist/vocalist Jeff Jones,whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined,the band went through several line-ups before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974,who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album;this line-up remained intact for the remainder of the band's career.
2112 is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush,released in March 1976 by Anthem Records.
Hemispheres is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush,released in October 1978 by Anthem Records. After touring to support the band's previous release,A Farewell to Kings,during which the group gained popularity in the UK,Rush started work on their next album. As with the band's previous studio album,Hemispheres was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire and Trident Studios in London with longtime engineer and arranger,Terry Brown. Rush continued its progressive rock sound with the side-long "Cygnus X-1 Book II:Hemispheres" and the nine-minute instrumental "La Villa Strangiato",which was the band's first instrumental piece.
A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush,released in September 1977 by Anthem Records. After touring their previous album 2112 (1976),which saw the group reach a new critical and commercial peak,they started work on a follow-up. They decided to record at Rockfield Studios in Wales,the first time Rush recorded an album outside of Toronto. The band expanded their sound with each member playing new instruments that they had not previously used,and recorded a mix of concise and long songs.
All the World's a Stage is a double live album by Canadian rock band Rush,released in 1976. The album was recorded at Massey Hall in Toronto on June 11,12,and 13,1976,during the band's breakthrough 2112 tour. The title of the album alludes to William Shakespeare's play As You Like It,which would again be referenced by Rush in the 1981 song "Limelight".
Rush in Rio is a three-disc live album by Canadian band Rush,released on October 21,2003. The album is also available as a two DVD set. With the exception of the last two tracks on the third disc,the album was recorded at MaracanãStadium in Rio de Janeiro on the final night of the Vapor Trails Tour. The other two tracks were taken from previous shows on the same tour. "Between Sun &Moon" was recorded at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion,Phoenix,Arizona,on September 27,2002,and "Vital Signs" was recorded at the Colisée Pepsi,Quebec City,Quebec,on October 19,2002.
Different Stages is a live album by Canadian rock band Rush,released in 1998. The bulk of the first and second discs were recorded at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park,Illinois,during the 1997 Test for Echo tour. Five other songs from various stops along the tour were included and three songs from the 1994 Counterparts tour. The third disc is taken from a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during the A Farewell to Kings tour in 1978.
"Between the Wheels" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on their 1984 album Grace Under Pressure.
"Red Lenses" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on their 1984 album Grace Under Pressure. In the album's liner notes,the song's title and lyrics are in lower case only.
Exit... Stage Left is a concert film by the Canadian band Rush that premiered on MTV in February 1982 and then released on CED,Laserdisc,Betamax,VHS and DVD at various times between 1982 and 2007. It documents a live concert performance by the band on their 1981 Moving Pictures tour. In October 1981,the band released an audio album of the same name of the same performance at the Montreal Forum,in Montreal,Quebec on vinyl LP,audiocassette,8-track cartridge and (later) compact disc. The video has a different track list from the album,as well as voice-over comments from the band members about songwriting and performing. The four songs from the European dates of the Permanent Waves tour,included on the audio album,are not included on the video.
"Jacob's Ladder" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on their 1980 album Permanent Waves.
Gold is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Rush,released on April 25,2006.
"In the Mood" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush from their 1974 debut album Rush. It was at least two years old when recorded for the album.
"A Passage to Bangkok" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush,released in April 1976 by Anthem Records. The song appears on the band's fourth studio album 2112 (1976). With the album's title track comprising the first half of the record,"A Passage to Bangkok" opens the second side of the album.
"Lakeside Park" is a single from Rush's third album Caress of Steel. The music was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson,and the lyrics were written by Neil Peart.
"Roll the Bones" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It was released as the second single from their 1991 album of the same name.
Rush Through Time is a compilation album by Rush,released in Europe as a picture disc only in 1979. The compilation contained selections from the band's second,third,fourth,and fifth studio albums. The album was subsequently repackaged as a standard vinyl album with a colour sleeve and updated graphics on the back cover in 1982.
"Lock and Key" is a song written,produced and performed by Canadian rock band Rush. It is a promotional single from their twelfth studio album,Hold Your Fire. The song deals with the theme of every human being’s primal,violent instincts underneath their civil appearance - their “killer instinct”. Critics gave the song liking reviews,with some saying it had quality of a hit single,and would make it on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart;it went on to reach number 16 on the chart. The song's music video was originally released in 1987,and was produced by Bob Jason and directed by T. Vanden Ende.