I've never posted on a Rush message board before. I've read them for years (this one much more than the others) but, for whatever reasons, just never decided to get my feet wet. After last night's phenomenal show at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, I decided to change that - even if only for a day. There are some things inside me that need to come out and I felt like this was the only place I could release them.
I think that most Rush fans are, to an extent, somewhat broken and emotionally fragile people. Not ALL of them, obviously, but the more I meet and speak to at shows, and the more eyes I gaze into as I pass them in the hallways of concert venues, the more I believe that the 3 talented misfits who comprise Rush have managed to produce music that reaches into the hearts of every other misfit on the planet and pulls them into that warm and comforting nimbus where they know they will always be safe. And understood.
I am one of those broken people. I was an "accidental" child born to a mother who was violent and resentful. I was sexually abused by my father until I was in my teens and never told anyone. I was a compulsive cutter, a complete outcast in school who was abused verbally and physically. I had no social skills, grew up despising all other children and was terrified of men. For the most formative and important years of my life, I was such an introvert that something as simple as going grocery shopping gave me anxiety attacks. I spent the majority of my life feeling like I had no place on this earth. I felt unloved, unlovable, worthless, filthy, confused and full of a sadness so infinite that it sometimes felt like my heart was smothering in my chest. I had no interest in music, in hobbies, in dating. My only true joy was in painting, but because I lived on my own from an early age, I rarely had the money to buy decent art supplies. I was a lost and completely broken human being who was merely existing without living at all.
Anyone who tells you that music cannot change your entire life has obviously never been at the very end of their own rope, like I was.
I will never, ever forget the first time I heard Rush. Sitting on my bedroom floor in front of my stereo system on an overcast day in October, I stumbled onto Q104.3FM while station surfing. Suddenly, streaming out of my speakers in impossible, shimmering, twisting ecstasy came Alex Lifeson's Limelight solo. It pierced through my heart like an arrow and I remember an awe-struck, prickling sensation spreading fast as wildfire throughout my entire body. His guitar cried out in sorrow and my heart answered immediately in understanding. But then the notes that followed twisted and danced and spiralled off into the most nakedly honest and raw joy I'd ever heard. It felt like, in the space of only 30 seconds or so, he had told my own personal story and created a happy ending for me where there had been none. The euphoria and pure, delicately screaming joy of that final, spiralling note that he rides into oblivion awakened something inside me that I couldn't fully understand but never wanted to let go of. Alex had jump-started a heart that had been dead for nearly 2 decades. I had no idea who he was, I had no idea who the rest of the band was or even the name of the song. I only knew that if I could hear that sound again, that sparkling guitar full of hope and promise, that teeming wall of rapturous sound that wrapped around it, then somehow everything would be okay. That was the beginning of my love affair with Rush. They reached me in the most beautiful and profound way possible, at a time when nothing and no one else could.
I have never loved a band so much. I've never felt this way about music before, so consistently and for so long. I've never felt so deeply connected to 3 people I don't even know. I've never felt that I owed SO MUCH to a group of complete strangers. As they played The Garden last night, I reflected on all of this and broke down and cried. Right there in front of me, a mere 15 feet away, were the men who had saved my life and they didn't even know it. They would NEVER know it. I doubt they realize just how much the fruits of their livelihood affect the lives of those who hear it, how significant they are to the lost and hurting who stumble across their music. I'm still a broken person, but Rush was the bandage that helped me begin to heal. They were my rainbow in a life of nothing but clouds. I can only hope to God that they know how special they are. I often wish that I could meet them and just hug them and tell them "thank you", but it would never be enough. For what they have given to me, for what they have given to us all, there is no hug long or tight enough and there can never be enough "thank you"s.
As The Garden wound softly to a close last night and the boys retreated for a short break, I thought about the lyrics. "In the fullness of time, a garden to nurture and protect". Whether Rush realizes it or not, we all are their garden to nurture and protect.... and they have done a damn fine job.
So to all the other misfits out there... to all of you who, like me, have found solace or love or hope or healing in the music of these 3 wonderful men... my heart is with you, I understand and I raise a glass today to you, to Rush, to new beginnings, to the strength to carry on despite all odds and to the camaraderie that exists within this incredibly unique fanbase.
If anyone made it through this entire message, thank you from the bottom of my heart for obliging me. :') And most of all, thank you RUSH!!!
That was an extremely sincere, thoughtful, and brave first post. You're lucky, you've got many more years to rediscover older Rush tunes and to be moved and inspired by them.
Excellent post, and welcome to the forum.
Quite a few of us out here have a truly emotional connection to the band because of its music, and because of what our lives have been; you are certainly not alone in that (well, and sometimes, we just enjoy rocking out to them, too!).
In the music and the words, and because they've been together and doing it for so long now, there is all the joy and the pain, all of life's experience, to be found in what they do.
What an incredibly brave first post.
welcome gedsjeans, and thank you for posting that! I consider myself one of these "broken people" you talk about and I feel exactly what you're saying.. I've always had kinda the same feeling but never put it into words like you did here so well. truly inspiring to read that. thank you for posting, I hope you decide to stay!
Oh, do I hear you!
I'm another for whom music was the spark to rekindle life's flame... I don't know how, but there's something in music that reaches so much deeper than anything else I've ever known. Reaching the Heart, the very Spirit, and soothing a lifetime of hurt. Creating a place of perfection and beauty in a world that seems so full of wrong.
And even when the "life saving song" wasn't a Rush piece, (my two both came from other artists...) there's still something special in Rush's music that speaks to the wounded and the broken, the misfits and the outcast, telling us that we are not alone. And we do cherish that connection. Whatever else, we can always hang onto that. With that, we can ride out the storms 'til the Sun shines again.
We will always love them for that. .
Rock on, fellow "misfits"... and rock on, Rush!
This thread calls for a group hug!
I can relate to much (but not all) of what you have written especially about a rock band touching you at such a deep level and getting you through the best and worst of times.
And you are not alone - my entire life I have felt like a misfit. I am still a misfit. At this point in my life, it has ceased to matter.
Give Manhattan an "astral hug" for me. How I miss it.
I get it. That is why they are my band. I only wish I would have discovered them much earlier in life. I think I would have made some different choices.
Wow, this is one of the best posts about Rush I have ever read! I had to wipe away a couple of tears that had slipped down my cheeks!
Thank you for sharing your story with us. I think I understand what you mean about Rush fans being 'broken'... I think maybe our souls are a little more open and receptive to things that matter and resonate with us, and Rush is certainly meaningful. Rush has a lot of soul - not in the blues musical genre kind of way, but in a spiritual kind of way. They are my happy place - I know that if ever I am feeling down or lost, listening to them will pick me up and soothe my soul a little bit.
I don't want to add anything else, because you've said so much; thanks again for sharing, and keep Rush-ing on!
Awww,I am in the same place as the mitfits persons here. I was born prematice and was declare a "will learn to not walk & talk" tipe of person,but,I alway been told that I will not mont to be anything in life,I aways been alone,alway,been tised & bullyed,but Pink Floyd,Genesis,Coldplay,& Rush has and always will be with me!!!
I feel this way about Rush, too.
Some of my most cherished moments at Rush concerts have been among the crowd when a stranger's eyes randomly meet mine, and without exchanging a word we each recognise something life-affirming and essential that we share.
Edited by GeddysMullet, 13 May 2013 - 03:35 PM.
I, like you, will never forget the first time I heard a Rush song. It was Xanadu and I was completely blown away. They have always been a huge influence in my life. Through thick and thin, good and bad, they've always been a beautiful constant companion on this journey called life. Thanks for sharing your story with us. It was very moving, and I'm sure a lot of us can identify with it.
Greetings GedsJeans and welcome to TRF.
First, thank you for sharing your story with all of here.
Second, I wish for to know that you are not alone in your thoughts and experiences.
Though they are uniquely yours, there are so many of us here who could have written our very own versions of your story.
Broken...yes, that what it is, isn't it?
"Always on the outside whatever side there was. When they asked him why it had to be that way "Well" he answered "just because".
"You're a hand me down. It's better when you're not around. You feel good and look like you should. But you won't ever make us proud."
Those two lyrics and songs such as "Subdivisions" describe how I feel most of the time.
There is a line in the movie, "Shadowlands" (which is about C.S. Lewis) that says, "We read to know we are not alone".
That is how I feel about books and music...am convinced why I love the music of Rush so much.
Their music has been a constant, musical companion to my loneliness since I first heard them way back in 1976 when I was a lad of just 13.
I relate to your story on so many levels and thank you, once again, for being brave enough to share it here.
Edited by ReGorLaTroy, 13 May 2013 - 04:42 PM.
"Always on the outside whatever side there was."
ReGorLaTroy, your post made my eyes fill up with tears. Good lyric quotes too.
Here's a bit of irony.
Here we have a post talking about being a misfit, and most here relate to that.
Would you believe that I feel like I don't even fit in here with other misfits??? It's true.
P.S. It helps misfits to "like" their own posts.
Edited by Lorraine, 13 May 2013 - 05:04 PM.
I'm very cracked, as I can't compare to your brokenness, but yes...I have felt the draw to this band for all of the same reasons. Welcome aboard!
Wow, what an amazing and inspirational first post. Welcome to the forum and please do post whenever you feel moved to do so!