Neil Peart Quotes

Like a steely blade in a silken sheath
We don't see what they're made of
They shout about love, but when push comes to shove
They live for the things they're afraid of And the knowledge that they fear is a weapon to be used against them...
- The Weapon (Part II of 'Fear') (1982)

Quick to judge -- Quick to anger -- Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand -- Witch Hunt (Part III of 'Fear') (1981)

When people come up and say, 'you influenced me to play drums,' I say, 'apologize to your parents for me.'

All the busy little creatures
chasing out their destinies.
Living in their pools
they soon forget about the sea... -- Natural Science (1980)

Among the people whose thinking I like is Ayn Rand, but there are a whole lot of others. It's a kind of disciple mentality that people are applying to me that they think I applied to her and it's all wrong. I'm nobody's disciple and you know 'No god, no government' none of that, so I don't like it applied to me any more than to them.

The middle aged madonna
calls her neighbor on the phone.
Day by day, the seasons pass
and leave her life alone.
But she'll go walking out that door
on some bright afternoon
to go and paint big cities
from a lonely attic room. -- Middletown Dreams (1985)

I'm a compositional drummer — and then in the same breath I thought, 'wait a minute, I want to be an improvisational drummer.' So I push myself out of my comfort zone.

No one gets to their heaven without a fight -- Armor and Sword (2007)

A scorching blast of golden fire as it slowly leaves the ground
Tears away with a mighty force
The air is shattered by the awesome sound -- Countdown (1982)

I learned a lot about character studies from watching other people — and a lot of the lyrics I've written about fame and celebrity came from witnessing how people like that behaved and handled it.

The first time reggae music really got into my soul — I'll never forget, it was the Bob Marley song 'Natural Mystic,' just sitting in a car hearing it — and I suddenly got it. I got what reggae was all about.

Most of my rhythmic growth is evolutionary — what I've worked on grows into something else, and into something else.

The world weighs on my shoulders
But what am I to do?
You sometimes drive me crazy
But I worry about you
I know it makes no difference
To what you’re going through
But I see the tip of the iceberg
And I worry about you... -- Distant Early Warning (1984)

They say there are strangers who threaten us
In our immigrants and infidels
They say there is strangeness too dangerous
In our theaters and bookstore shelves
That those who know what's best for us
Must rise and save us from ourselves -- Witch Hunt (Part III of 'Fear') (1980)

It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance
I'm not giving in
I'm not missing out
I'm not giving up on implausible dreams -- The Enemy Within (Part I of 'Fear') (1984)