My Initial Thoughts on Neil Peart's Death

I'm just getting the surface thoughts out now because I'll lose it if I think too deeply about it.

The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect – “The Garden” by Rush
(Lyrics by Neil Peart)

It’s late afternoon on a Friday. I’m at work. I’m in shock. And I’m crying openly in my cubicle because I’ve just learned that Neil Peart is dead. My apologies in advance if the next several paragraphs aren’t coherent. 

I have never met Neil. The only insight I have of what he was like as a person is the art that he’s put out into the world and the thoughts and narratives he leaves behind in the books he wrote. I feel I have a decent measure of the man Neil Peart was but of course I never knew him. I have read almost all his books, poured over his song lyrics repeatedly over the years, and, of course, listened for countless hours to the music that he recorded with bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson in the band Rush.

If I were to build a Mount Rushmore of rock bands, Rush would be one of the four carved into the granite.

I am an emotional person and Peart’s death is not the only one that has brought tears to my eyes. However, I’ve never felt the same kind of loss from any other musician’s death. Neil’s is affecting me, at least initially, on another level entirely. I haven't lost someone I know. It only feels that way.

As great as Neil's drumming hands and feet were, his mind was his greatest attribute. So it is the height of horrifying irony that brain cancer is what felled him. 

Everyone has their own opinions when it comes to music or any other art form, but mine is that Peart is the greatest drummer in rock history. He’s also one of the finest lyricists the genre has ever known. With Neil as drummer, the band recorded 18 of its 19 studio albums between 1975 and 2012. They released 11 live albums. There was even an album of cover songs, Feedback. I have all of them, the remixed version of Vapor Trails, and nine of the band's DVD/Blu ray video releases.

I have seen Rush live more than any other band. It was only seven times, but every one of them stands out in its own way. Some guys hire strippers for their bachelor parties. I got together with my friends and went to a Rush concert. 

Rush fans are nerds. There’s nothing inherently cool about being a Rush fan. And it’s probably because we identify with the band members. They never looked particularly cool. We probably read a lot of the same books they do. We think about a lot of the same things. And all of us can all relate to Peart’s lyrics in “Subdivisions.”

Growing up, it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided
Detached and subdivided
In the mass-production zone

Nowhere is the dreamer
Or the misfit so alone

As someone who writes, and someone who has a great respect for Ernest Hemingway, I always had a special connection to his lyrics in "Losing It." 

The writer stares with glassy eyes
Defies the empty page
His beard is white, his face is lined
And streaked with tears of rage

Thirty years ago, how the words would flow
With passion and precision
But now his mind is dark and dulled
By sickness and indecision
And he stares out the kitchen door
Where the sun will rise no more

I’ve grown up with Rush and have been growing old with Rush, and now a third of the band is gone in one fell swoop. It’s a profound loss. The band’s most introverted member was the one whose solo everyone eagerly awaited during every show. And Neil delivered every time. He crafted intricate and interesting drum solos that became showpieces as well as showstoppers. The man who often ducked the limelight about which he wrote had his greatest moments in the same limelight.

I will probably have more to say about Peart and what his songs have meant to me when I’ve had more time to process this grief — and make no mistake, I am grieving despite never having met the man. However, I’m grateful beyond words at the magical moments that Neil left behind. I may never hear those songs in quite the same way again now that he’s gone, but I’m thankful for the legacy he left behind for us.

The treasure of a life is a measure of love and respect
The way you live, the gifts that you give
In the fullness of time
It's the only return that you expect – “The Garden” by Rush
(Lyrics by Neil Peart)