"Xanadu" is a song by the Canadian

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

band Rush from their 1977 album '' A Farewell to Kings''. It is approximately eleven minutes long, beginning with a five-minute-long

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

section before transitioning to a narrative written by

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

, which in turn was inspired by the

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lak ...

poem ''

Kubla Khan ''Kubla Khan'' () is a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in 1816. It is sometimes given the subtitles "A Vision in a Dream" and "A Fragment." According to Coleridge's preface to ''Kubla Khan'', the poe ...

''.

Lyrics

In Peart's lyrics, the narrator describes searching for a place called "Xanadu" that will grant him

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

. After succeeding in this quest, a thousand years pass, and the narrator is left "waiting for the world to end", describing himself as "a mad immortal man". The song is based on the poem

written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Although the song does not explicitly state where "Xanadu" is, references to ''Kubla Khan'' imply that it is a mythical place based on Shangdu, the historical summer capital of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

Music

"Xanadu" is the first Rush song in which synthesizers play an integral part. Unlike the previous albums, '' 2112'' and ''

Caress of Steel ''Caress of Steel'' is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975, by Mercury Records. It marked a development in the group's sound, moving from the blues-based hard rock style of their debut towards progr ...

'', "Xanadu" uses both guitar and synthesizer effects. The song also marks Rush's clear foray into

program music Program music or programatic music is a type of instrumental art music that attempts to musically render an extramusical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience through the piece's title, or in the form of program notes ...

, although previous albums had displayed some elements of this. Subsequent albums during the late 1970s and early 1980s would see the group explore program music more systematically. "Xanadu" requires each band member to utilize an array of instruments to affect the performance.

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

used a double-necked Gibson electric guitar (one twelve-string, the other six-string) as well as synthesizer pedals;

Geddy Lee Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...

made use of a double-necked Rickenbacker 4080/12 guitar (bass and twelve-string guitar), as well as extensive synthesizer arrangements (through both pedals and keyboards) in addition to singing; and Peart took on various percussion instruments ( temple blocks, tubular bells,

bell tree A bell tree, also known as tree bellsBeck, John. ''Encyclopedia of Percussion.'' Taylor and Francis, 1995. or Chinese bell tree (often confused with the mark tree), is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bow ...

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The gloc ...

, and wind chimes) in addition to his drum kit. Despite its complexity and length, Xanadu is a rare "one take wonder" song. Guitarist Alex Lifeson said, "Xanadu was well rehearsed before going to Rockfield, I remember that. On the day we recorded it, Pat Moran, the resident engineer, set all the mics up and we ran the song down, partially to get balances and tones. Because it was a long song, we didn't need to complete that test run. "We then played it a second time from top to bottom and that's what you hear on the album. Needless to say, Pat was shocked that we ran an 11-minute song down in one complete take. Practice doesn't always make perfect, but it sure helps!" An abbreviated version of the song, omitting the second verse and Lee's rhythm guitar part during the ending, was performed as part of a medley during the R30 tour in 2004. However, for the

R40 Live Tour The R40 Live Tour was the final tour by Canadian rock band Rush that commemorated the 40th anniversary of drummer Neil Peart joining the band in July 1974. The title hearkens back to Rush's 2004 R30: 30th Anniversary Tour that celebrated the 3 ...

in 2015, the band played the entire song with the rhythm guitar included.

Reviews

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine readers polled on the top 10 Rush songs of all time voted "Xanadu" as number six.

References

{{Authority control Rush (band) songs 1977 songs Songs written by Geddy Lee Songs written by Alex Lifeson Songs written by Neil Peart Song recordings produced by Terry Brown (record producer)

Lyrics

Music

Reviews

See also

References