| "Roll the Bones" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vinyl album sleeve, US Release | ||||
| Single by Rush | ||||
| from the album Roll the Bones | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | February 1992 (UK) [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:30 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) | Neil Peart | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Rush singles chronology | ||||
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"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.
The music of "Roll the Bones" was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and its lyrics by Neil Peart. The lyrics reflect on taking chances in life, and urging those unsure to "roll the bones," a term used for throwing dice.
"But the bottom line...is to take the chance, roll the bones, if it's a random universe and that's terrifying and it makes you neurotic and everything, never mind. You really have to take the chance or else nothing's going to happen."
- Neil Peart, "It's a Rap" interview, February 1992 [2]
As a "lyrical experiment", Peart wrote a "rap" section in his lyrics, as a result of listening to "the better rap writers", like LL Cool J and Public Enemy. [3] The band considered seeking out a real rapper to perform this section of the song, or even considered approaching the section with a camp or comedic sensibility, and hiring singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson or actor/comedian John Cleese. [4] [3] According to Lee, "We couldn't make up our minds really if we wanted to be influenced by rap or satirize it, so I think that song kind of falls between the cracks and in the end I think it came out to be neither, it came out to be something that is very much us." [3] Ultimately, the "rap" was performed by Lee: his altered voice is achieved through a drastic lowering of pitch and adding various effects.
"Roll the Bones" would be played on every Rush tour since the song's release, up to the 2007-2008 Snakes And Arrows Tour, when it was removed from the setlist. It countinued to not appear in the setlists of the following two tours. In 2015, the song was put back in the setlist for the Rush R40 Tour. The R40 performance features an accompanying video for the rap section that had lip synching cameos from Peter Dinklage, Chad Smith, Jay Baruchel, Les Claypool, Tom Morello, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, and Trailer Park Boys actors John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells, and Mike Smith. [5]
All music by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee and lyrics by Neil Peart.
Canada Cassette single:
UK 7" release:
UK Picture Disc release:
UK 2-Disc Limited Edition release:
Disc 1
Disc 2
German 7" release:
12" release
| Chart (1991–1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [6] | 25 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [7] | 49 |
| US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [8] | 9 |
Rush was a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto in 1968 that primarily comprised Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart. The band's original line-up comprised Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bassist and vocalist Jeff Jones, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through several line-up changes 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 was kept intact for the remainder of the band's career.
Roll the Bones is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released September 3, 1991, on Anthem Records. The band began working on the album after a brief creative hiatus following the tour promoting their previous release, Presto (1989).
Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on February 12, 1981, by Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, Permanent Waves (1980), the band started to write and record new material in August 1980 with longtime co-producer Terry Brown. They continued to write songs with a more radio-friendly sound, featuring tighter and shorter song structures compared to their earlier albums.
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 Maracanã Stadium 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.
Counterparts is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released October 19, 1993, on Anthem Records. After the band finished touring its previous album Roll the Bones (1991) in mid-1992, the members took a break before starting work on a follow-up.
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.
"Tom Sawyer" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush, originally released on their 1981 album Moving Pictures as its opener. The band's lead singer, bassist, and keyboardist, Geddy Lee, has referred to the track as the band's "defining piece ... from the early '80s".
R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour is a live DVD by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on November 22, 2005 in Canada and the US, and November 28, 2005 in Europe. The DVD documents the band's R30: 30th Anniversary Tour, and was recorded on September 24, 2004 at the Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany.
"Xanadu" is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush from their 1977 album A Farewell to Kings. It is approximately eleven minutes long, beginning with a five-minute-long instrumental section before transitioning to a narrative written by Neil Peart, which in turn was inspired by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem Kubla Khan.
"Limelight" is a song by Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It first appeared on the 1981 album Moving Pictures. The song's lyrics were written by Neil Peart with music written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. "Limelight" expresses Peart's discomfort with Rush's success and the resulting attention from the public. The song paraphrases the opening lines of the "All the world's a stage" speech from William Shakespeare's play As You Like It. The band had previously used the phrase for its 1976 live album. The lyrics also refer to "the camera eye", the title of the song that follows on the Moving Pictures album.
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.
Gold is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on April 25, 2006.
"Far Cry" is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It was released as the first single from their 2007 album Snakes & Arrows. It was released to radio on March 12, 2007, then saw a digital release four days later. The song peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was the ninth-most played song on rock radio stations in Canada in 2007.
"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.
Snakes & Arrows Live is a live double CD and DVD by Canadian band Rush. The CD was released on April 14, 2008, in the UK and on April 15, 2008, around the world. It was also released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 24, 2008. The material was taken from two performances during the first leg of the Snakes & Arrows Tour, recorded at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 16 and 17, 2007. The album features nine of its 27 tracks drawn from Snakes & Arrows.
"Ghost of a Chance" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush released as the third single from their 1991 album Roll the Bones. The single peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Album Rocks Track chart. The lyrics focus on finding love, and as its strength over any other force.
"Force Ten" is a song written, produced and performed by Canadian rock band Rush, released as a promotional single from their album Hold Your Fire. It was the last song written for the album. The song has been critically positively received, and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
R40 Live is the last live audio album release and the last live video release of Canadian prog-rock band Rush, recorded on their high-grossing R40 Live Tour. Both formats were released November 20, 2015. The performances were filmed on June 17 and 19, 2015, at Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada.
The Studio Albums 1989–2007 is a box set by the Canadian rock band Rush. It contains the band's seven studio albums released from 1989 to 2007 and was released on 7 CDs on September 30, 2013. The albums are Presto (1989), Roll the Bones (1991), Counterparts (1993), Test for Echo (1996), the 2013 remix of Vapor Trails (2002), Feedback (2004) and Snakes & Arrows (2007).
