Time and Motion

Time and Motion
Topic Started: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:34 am (626 Views)
StrangerTides	Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:34 am Post #1
Member Posts: 117 Group: The Pedlars Member #75 Joined: June 2, 2010	Okay, T&M it is: have to admit I never gave this one much thought because the meaning seemed pretty straightforward to me, but let's see how it stands up to analysis. So, as a brief pre-summary, my take is that the song deals with our daily existence, and how we go through it by interacting with others and with the world around us. This fits in with the tourbook comments about the album title: Quote: Everybody needs an "echo," some affirmation, to know they're not alone. Sometimes that can be life's most precious discovery - somebody out there who feels the way you do. You ask yourself "Am I crazy?", "Am I weird?", and you need some affirmation: the echo. While the answer to those questions may still be "Yes!," it's good to know that you're not the only one. You are not alone... So, sure, the title track makes this explicit, but T&M also covers this same ground, as we shall see... Time and motion Wind and sun and rain Days connect like boxcars in a train First we have a simile of train boxcars, since the train does a nice job illustrating the concepts of time (that it takes for the train to get from one place to another) and motion (obviously). Then there's wind and sun and rain, which are the first of a number of elements he's going to highlight that impact our day to day existence. They might represent the physical environment that swirls around the train as it goes forward. Fill them up with precious cargo Squeeze in all that you can find Spontaneous elation And the long-enduring kind The analogy continues; as the days are boxcars, our experiences and relationships are the precious cargo that fills them. We seek out the best experiences we can, some that are spontaneous and briefly exciting, others that might remain with us for a lifetime as memories. Time and motion Flesh and blood and fire Lives connect in webs of gold and razor wire A few more elements that impact our existence: flesh and blood and fire. Flesh and blood would be the people that we interact with physically, with fire representing the spark we feel as relationships "heat up." Our lives connect with others in ways that are both exquisitely valuable (webs of gold) and potentially dangerous (razor wire). By the way, I should say that I always thought it was golden razor wire - I think that makes the web image more concise, including both treasure and danger, but okay, even a lyric analyst is wrong sometimes. ;) Spin a thread of precious contact Squeeze in all that you can find Spontaneous relations And the long-enduring kind Same as the Fill them up... lines above, but this time with Spin a thread..., which seems to me to emphasize the painstaking effort it sometimes takes to develop and maintain a relationship with someone (at least I think spinning thread out of... what, cotton? is hard). At the same time, the fact that it's a thread means that the contact is fragile - the carefully constructed thread could break at any moment. The mighty ocean Dances with the moon The silent forest Echoes with the loon A little interlude here with some haunting natural images. Are these maybe parallels to the human relationships discussed earlier? The ocean and the moon, apart, yet connected via tides. The forest, whose silence allows us to hear the cry of the loon, which in turn ironically breaks the silence... Time and motion Live and love and dream Eyes connect like interstellar beams Live and love and dream: a further recipe for human existence - what else can we do? Eyes connecting, as in love at first sight maybe? Though the interstellar beams reference sounds like it may have been left over from the Color of Right lyrics... Superman in Supernature Needs all the comfort he can find Spontaneous emotion And the long enduring kind Hmm, not so sure about the super... references here. I suppose it could refer to the sense that we think of ourselves as being higher beings, outside of nature almost? And at the same time this makes us isolated, and thus requiring the comfort we get from our relationships? Little shaky on this last part. Any ideas? As always, thanks for making it this far! B)
	Surge of energy, spark of inspiration!


Ziegler	Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:05 am Post #2
Silver Member Posts: 1,784 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: February 17, 2009	StrangerTides Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:34 am Hmm, not so sure about the super... references here. I suppose it could refer to the sense that we think of ourselves as being higher beings, outside of nature almost? And at the same time this makes us isolated, and thus requiring the comfort we get from our relationships? Little shaky on this last part. Any ideas? Perhaps this can shed some light....or not: http://www.freak-search.com/en/thread/1534235/neils_echo,_part_1
	I still cling to hope. And I believe in love. And that's faith enough for me.


StrangerTides	Thu Jan 12, 2012 9:37 am Post #3
Member Posts: 117 Group: The Pedlars Member #75 Joined: June 2, 2010	Hmm. Far be it from me to criticize someone else's analysis, but I think I'll have to go with "not" in this case.
	Surge of energy, spark of inspiration!


BusyLittleCreature	Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:16 pm Post #4
Da Brat Posts: 1,368 Group: The Pedlars Member #4 Joined: February 17, 2009	Um...whew. I think "not" as well. I don't think Neil gives a Tinker's Damn about sexuality and he is probably one of the most eloquent and vociferous people around. He tinges on it from time to time in lyrics Like "Nobody's Hero" which I take to heart because I saw so many gay men where I work perish to AIDS over the years and it is a scary and wasting disease and worth mentioning. As well as my best friend in childhood, Nancy, perish from it but it was from a man she "picked up" later in life. Ugh. But Neil never goes so deep as something like sexuality as in his experience it is not part of a bigger picture but just "is" and all. This guy who wrote that may need to get a clue.. Humanity, nature, human experience and even a bird on his porch holds more attention. For one reason or another Test for Echo is one of my least favorite Rush albums. Not to say I don't love it either. Sorry, ST. I went for Z's link first. Now I will read your analysis (get's popcorn ready). :P
	The breath of love is electricity Popcorn is STILL good for you!


Slaine	Sat Aug 4, 2012 4:34 am Post #5
Member Posts: 495 Group: The Pedlars Member #108 Joined: November 30, 2010	StrangerTides Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:34 am Hmm, not so sure about the super... references here. I suppose it could refer to the sense that we think of ourselves as being higher beings, outside of nature almost? And at the same time this makes us isolated, and thus requiring the comfort we get from our relationships? Little shaky on this last part. Any ideas? OK, so I'm very late on coming to this thread but this comment got me thinking. And my first instinct was the idea that, maybe, Neil was slipping a little bit of Nietzsche in here. Superman is the usual translation of the Ubermensch, a concept that Nietzsche put forward as a goal for humanity in Also Sprach Zarathustra. The Ubermensch, according to Zarathustra, is "the meaning of the earth" and is strongly tied to the death of God. If God is dead, then He can no longer be consider a source of values and, in that situation, the way is open for nihilism. Ubermensch, according to Zarathustra, can provide a alternative source of values and, as such, is the solution to the death of God and nihilism. Now (and we're moving into my own interpretation now), if the concept of the Ubermensch comes to pass, then is it not possible that the world around us will be affected by this? So, you have the Ubermemsch (superman) in, for want of a better word, an uber welt - giving us a "superman in supernature". If this is the case, it would seem that Neil is trying to say that no matter how great we(humanity) become, and how great we make the world, we will always need the comfort inherent in simple human contact and in our memories. Or maybe I'm just blowing smoke out of my arse



StrangerTides	Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:45 pm Post #6
Member Posts: 117 Group: The Pedlars Member #75 Joined: June 2, 2010	Great comments, Slaine, thanks for your input! I would say you're definitely on to something, and I'm glad to see someone else who does their research for lyric analysis. I had heard the terms before but I haven't read Nietzsche myself so I wouldn't have made the connections.
	Surge of energy, spark of inspiration!


Slaine	Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:00 pm Post #7
Member Posts: 495 Group: The Pedlars Member #108 Joined: November 30, 2010	I have to confess that I've never read him either - I'm working off my recollections from the Nietzsche overview I received during the philosophy course I did at university nearly 20 years ago along with some side reading I did as a refresher before posting. That was one of the things I loved about the philosophy course - you could get away without reading all the core tests (unlike the literature side) as long as you waffled convincingly enough



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