Neil Peart Quotes

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.

We opened for Aerosmith like 40 times and never got a sound check. If you name any band from the mid-'70s, we probably opened for them.

Every audience, I feel like we have to earn them — we have to earn their dedication and their expenditure of time and energy and money to be there every single time, every show. It's an old show-business thing, but I really feel you're only as good as your last show.

I define my approach to each day I am given as, "What is the most excellent thing I can do today?" – from the book "Far and Near: On Days Like These"

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.

I can't play to that! - on Rock Band

The secret to life is, you get up in the morning, and you go to work - from the book Travelling Music

Genius is the fire that lights itself. -Commenting on Buddy Rich.

You can surrender
Without a prayer
But never really pray
Pray without surrender
You can fight
Without ever winning
But never ever win
Without a fight -- Resist (1996)

Unstable condition
A symptom of life
In mental and environmental change
Atmospheric disturbance
The feverish flux
Of human interface and interchange -- Vital Signs (1981)

When we are young
Wandering the face of the Earth
Wondering what our dreams might be worth
Learning that we're only immortal
For a limited time -- Dreamline (1991)

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)

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

Life is like an aimless river The time is now again -- Ceiling Unlimited (2002)

How can anybody be enlightened?
Truth is after all so poorly lit -- Turn The Page (1987)