{{short description|1987 single by Rush}} {{Infobox song | name = Force Ten | cover = Rush Force Ten.jpg | alt = | type = [[Promotional single]] | artist = [[Rush (band)|Rush]] | album = [[Hold Your Fire]] | released = September 1987 | recorded = 1987 | studio = | venue = | genre = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]|[[new wave music|new wave]]}} | length = 4:33 | label = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]] | writer = {{hlist|[[Geddy Lee]]|[[Alex Lifeson]]|[[Neil Peart]]|[[Pye Dubois]]}} | producer = * [[Peter Collins (record producer)|Peter Collins]] * Rush }}
"'''Force Ten'''" is a song written, produced and performed by [[Canadians|Canadian]] rock band [[Rush (band)|Rush]], released as a [[promotional single]] from their album ''[[Hold Your Fire]]''.<ref name="Discogs">[http://www.discogs.com/Rush-Force-Ten/release/3891653 Rush - Force Ten (Vinyl)]. [[Discogs.com]]. Accessed from June 21, 2013.</ref> It was the last song written for the album. The song has been critically positively received, and peaked at number 3 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart.
==Writing and composition== According to [[Neil Peart|Peart]], the song describes the "storms of life," using storm level in the [[Beaufort scale|Beaufort wind scale]] as an analogy.<ref name="Philosophy">{{cite book|title=Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United|author=Jim Berti, Durrell Bowman|publisher=Open Court Publishing|year=2011|isbn=978-0812697162|page=185}}</ref> Peart, a self described "weather fanatic", makes references to "the eye of the storm" and circling hurricanes in the lyrics. He also "express[es] appreciation" for the disproportionally small number of female fans at Rush shows "singing along, or air-drumming, or even dancing" in the lyric "cool and remote like dancing girls".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Roadshow : landscape with drums : a concert tour by motorcycle|last=Peart, Neil.|date=2006|publisher=Rounder|isbn=1-57940-142-2|edition=1st|location=Cambridge, MA|oclc=71643376}}</ref>
"Force Ten" was written in three hours on December 14, 1986, the last day of pre-production for ''[[Hold Your Fire]]''.<ref name="Contents under Pressure">{{cite book | title=Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away | url=https://archive.org/details/contentsunderpre0000popo | url-access=registration | publisher=[[ECW Press]] | author=Popoff, Martin | year=2004 | page=[https://archive.org/details/contentsunderpre0000popo/page/134 134] | isbn=1770901418}}</ref><ref name="Rush Visions" /> With nine songs already written, producer [[Peter Collins (record producer)|Peter Collins]] felt it was important to have one more song for the album.<ref name="Rush Visions" /> [[Pye Dubois]], who previously worked with Rush on their song "[[Tom Sawyer (song)|Tom Sawyer]]", had sent [[Neil Peart]] some lyrics for the song, and Peart would add more verses to it.<ref name="Rush Visions">{{cite book | title = Rush Visions | publisher = Omnibus Press | author = Banasiewicz, Bill | year = 1997 | isbn = 0711911622}} Info from book adapted by the [http://rushvault.com/2011/01/11/force-ten-background/ Rush Vault]. Accessed from June 24. 2013.</ref>
Musically, "Force Ten" is composed in [[A minor]], with changes into [[A major|A major scale]] occurring in the song. The song is set in [[common time]] at a fast rock tempo.<ref name="Sheetmusic">[http://www.onlinesheetmusic.com/force-ten-p241662.aspx Force Ten Sheet Music]. onlinesheetmusic.com. Accessed from June 21, 2013.</ref> Peart has said that [[Geddy Lee]] and [[Alex Lifeson]] were "trying to explore some musical areas that we hadn't covered yet," when writing the music for the song.<ref name="MakingofHoldYF">[[Neil Peart|Peart, Neil]]. [http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/main/HYFtourbook.htm Firework: The Making of "Hold Your Fire"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004224121/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/main/HYFtourbook.htm |date=2013-10-04 }}. 2112.net. Accessed from June 22, 2013.</ref> Lee performed bass chords in the song, inspired to do so by his friend [[Jeff Berlin]].<ref name="Bass Player">Tolleson, Robin (November/December 1988). [http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19881100bassplayer.htm Geddy Lee: Bass Is Still The Key]. Bass Player. Accessed from June 24, 2013.</ref> The song was described by [[The Cavalier Daily]] as "intense".<ref name="Cavalier Daily">Arnold, Dave (October 8, 1987). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HvMcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2nEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2504,1622034&dq=hold+your+fire+rush&hl=en Lost urgency, strained vocals mark latest Rush LP]. [[The Cavalier Daily]]. Accessed from June 18, 2013.</ref>
==Release and reception== "Force Ten" was released in the [[United States]] by [[Mercury Records]] as a 12" [[Gramophone record|vinyl]] one-track [[promotional single]] in 1987.<ref name = "Discogs"/> It is the opening track of Rush's [[studio album]] ''[[Hold Your Fire]]'', and the song later appear on [[compilation album]]s such as ''[[Chronicles (Rush album)|Chronicles]]'', ''[[Retrospective II]]'', ''[[The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987]]'', ''[[Gold (Rush album)|Gold]]'', ''Icon'', and ''Sector 3''.<ref name="Allmusissong">[http://www.allmusic.com/song/force-ten-mt0001033626 Force Ten - Rush]. [[Allmusic]]. Accessed from June 24, 2013.</ref> The song received a favorable critical reception, with [[Allmusic]] calling it "the band's [Rush] most immediate number in years," rating the song an AMG pick track.<ref name="Allmusic">Rivadavia, Eduardo. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/hold-your-fire-mw0000192905 Hold Your Fire - Rush]. [[Allmusic]]. Accessed from June 21, 2013.</ref> The song would make it on the [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] [[Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks]], peaking #3.<ref name = "HotMainstreamRock"/>
== Live performance == Force Ten was a staple of Rush’s live performances, and was played from the [[Hold Your Fire Tour]] until the [[Counterparts Tour]], as well as the [[R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour|R30]] and [[Clockwork Angels Tour|Clockwork Angels]] tours<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tours |url=https://www.rush.com/tour/ |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=Rush.com |language=en-CA}}</ref>
==Charts==
{| class="wikitable" ! Chart ! Peak<br/>position |- |US [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Mainstream Rock Tracks]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref name="HotMainstreamRock">[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=rush|chart=Mainstream Rock Tracks}} Rush - Chart History: Mainstream Rock Tracks]. ''[[Billboard.com|Billboard]]''. [[Prometheus Global Media]]. Accessed from June 21, 2013.</ref> | align="center" | 3 |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Rush}} {{authority control}}
[[Category:1987 songs]] [[Category:Rush (band) songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Geddy Lee]] [[Category:Songs written by Alex Lifeson]] [[Category:Songs written by Neil Peart]] [[Category:Songs with lyrics by Pye Dubois]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer)]] [[Category:Synth rock songs]]