Freewill (song)

{{short description|1980 song by Rush}} {{Infobox song | name = Freewill | cover = | alt = | type = | artist = [[Rush (band)|Rush]] | album = [[Permanent Waves]] | released = {{Start date|1980|01|18}} | format = | recorded = September–October 1979 | studio = [[Le Studio]], [[Morin-Heights]], Quebec | venue = | genre = *[[Progressive rock]] *[[hard rock]] | length = {{Duration|m=5|s=24}} | label = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]] | composer = *[[Geddy Lee]] *[[Alex Lifeson]] | lyricist = [[Neil Peart]] | producer = *Rush *Terry Brown }}

"'''Freewill'''" is the second track on the 1980 album ''[[Permanent Waves]]'' by Canadian [[progressive rock]] band [[Rush (band)|Rush]]. The song's music was composed by [[Geddy Lee]] and [[Alex Lifeson]], and its lyrics written by [[Neil Peart]].{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=70}} In a 2016 review of Rush discography for Ultimate Classic Rock, Eduardo Rivadavia described "Freewill" as a "cerebral but remarkably radio-friendly" song.{{sfn|Rivadavia|2016}} Lee has stated that the final verse of "Freewill" is at the highest part of his vocal range.{{sfn|Buttner}}

Despite never being released as a single, "Freewill" has been included in several of the band's [[compilation album]]s, including ''[[Retrospective I]]'',{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=170-171}} ''[[The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987]]'',{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=192}} ''[[Gold (Rush album)|Gold]]'',{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=204}} and ''Time Stand Still: The Collection''.{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=225}} It is now a staple of [[album-oriented rock]] stations.{{sfn|Downing}} It was one of six songs in Rush's set for the [[Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto]] (colloquially referred to as "SARStock").{{sfn|Popoff|2004|p=217}}{{efn|The setlist was "[[Tom Sawyer (song)|Tom Sawyer]]", "[[Limelight (Rush song)|Limelight]]", "[[Dreamline]]", "[[YYZ (instrumental)|YYZ]]", "Freewill", "[[Closer to the Heart]]", and "[[The Spirit of Radio]]". The band had opened their set with a jazzy cover version of the [[Rolling Stones]] song "[[Paint It Black]]".{{sfn|Popoff|2004|p=217}} }}

==Production== In mid-July 1979, the band began writing songs for ''Permanent Waves'',{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=68}} with "Freewill" completed within the first few days.{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=69}} An early version of the song was first performed at [[Varsity Stadium]] in [[Toronto]] on 2 September 1979.{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=70}} This version was mostly complete, but its "familiar melody" had not yet been written.{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=70}} It was introduced to attending concertgoers as a song planned for the band's upcoming album, along with "[[The Spirit of Radio]]", both of which the band was testing before recording.{{sfn|Popoff|2004|p=81}} The songs were performed three weeks later at a concert in [[Stafford]], [[England]], before the band went to [[Le Studio]] in [[Morin Heights]], [[Quebec]], to record ''Permanent Waves''.{{sfn|Lemieux|2015|p=70–71}} It was the first time Rush had performed a song in concert before recording it in studio.{{sfn|Peart}}

==Composition and structure== Lifeson says the [[guitar solo]] in the song is a "really hard solo to play", describing it as "frenetic and exciting" and "one of the most ambitious pieces of music Rush has ever done".{{sfn|Bosso|2009}} In his book ''Rush, Rock Music and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown'', Chris McDonald describes Lifeson's play as a "searing, rapid-fire" guitar solo.{{sfn|McDonald|2009|p=134}}

The song was also the last time Lee would sing with the piercing vocals in a studio recording.{{sfn|McDonald|2009|p=134}} This represented a significant change in Rush's sound, as the strained "shrieking high range" of Lee's vocals were characteristic of the band's style from the 1970s.{{sfn|McDonald|2009|p=134-135}} McDonald states that the song's last [[Song structure#Verse|verse]] featuring Lee's high-pitched vocals is a "farewell to Rush's early style".{{sfn|McDonald|2009|p=134-135}}

The song increases in complexity as it progresses.{{sfn|Hal Leonard Corporation|2015|loc=Freewill}} It features odd [[time signature]]s, with most of the song using {{music|time|13|4}}{{sfn|Popoff|2004|p=76}} (6+7), but also employing {{music|time|15|4}} (4+4+4+3) in parts.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2015|p=575}} The [[Bridge (music)|interlude]] with the bass and drums and subsequent guitar solo both have a {{music|time|12|8}} time signature,{{sfn|Hal Leonard Corporation|2015|loc=Freewill}} and other parts of the song use {{music|time|4|4}}.{{sfn|Popoff|2004|p=76}}

===Lyrics=== The song's lyrics deal with the subject of [[free will]]; in a December 1989 interview on ''[[Rockline]]'', Lee stated that "the song is about freedom of choice and free will, and you believing in what you decide you believe in".{{sfn|Kaelber|2005|loc=76: What is "Free Will" about?}} In a 2015 article for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Brian Hiatt describes "Freewill" as an "explicitly atheistic" song that mocks those who believe in a god, exemplified by the lyrics "choose a ready guide in some celestial voice".{{sfn|Hiatt|2015}} The libertarian and individualistic themes common to "Freewill" and "[[Tom Sawyer (song)|Tom Sawyer]]" are noted in ''The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World ''.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2015|p=575}} According to Brett Barnett, "Freewill" more explicitly explores the theme of individualism than earlier works of Rush such as "[[Closer to the Heart]]", particularly with respect to an individual's control over destiny.{{sfn|Barnett|2016|p=11}} Peart stated that in reality, exercising free will may not lead to [[self-determination]] in some circumstances.{{sfn|Mack|1992|p=57}}

The band has received questions from fans asking which version of the lyrics is correct: those on the [[record sleeve|album sleeve]], or those recited by Lee during concerts. Peart stated that the two are the same, with the band taking "great care to make the lyric sheets accurate", but that fans sometime mis-hear the lyrics and believe the printed lyrics are incorrect.{{sfn|Kaelber|2005|loc=77: In "Freewill" which lyrics are correct (the ones on the album sleeve or the ones Geddy sings)?}} It was later discovered that the US printing of the album sleeve lyrics were incorrect, but that the Canadian printing contained the correct lyrics.{{sfn|Kaelber|2005|loc=78: But I'm *sure* that what the lyric sheet says isn't what Geddy sings!}}

==See also== *[[List of songs recorded by Rush]]

==Notes== {{notelist}} {{reflist}}

===References=== {{refbegin}} *{{cite journal|url=http://www.relevantrhetoric.com/RhetoricofOppressionandLiberation.pdf|title=Rush's Lyrical Rhetoric of Oppression and Liberation: Extending "Freedom Songs" into the Progressive Rock Genre|last=Barnett|first=Brett A.|volume=7|journal=Relevant Rhetoric|date=2016|access-date=15 October 2017}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/rushs-alex-lifeson-my-3-best-solos-194741|title=Rush's Alex Lifeson: "My 3 Best Solos"|last=Bosso|first=Joe|publisher=[[MusicRadar]]|date=4 February 2009|access-date=15 October 2017}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.echoesofoldapplause.com/features/bassin.htm|last=Buttner|first=Christopher|title=Geddy Lee – Vapor Trail Afterglow|publisher=PR That Rocks Agency|access-date=25 September 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016003840/http://www.echoesofoldapplause.com/features/bassin.htm|archive-date=2008-10-16}} *{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/freewill-mt0006951179|title=Freewill – Rush|last=Downing|first=Brian|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=15 October 2017}} *{{cite book|title=Rush: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Excellence|last=Freedman|first=Robert|publisher=Algora Publishing|date=2014|isbn=9781628940848}} *{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/from-rush-with-love-cover-story-20150616|title=From Rush with love|last=Hiatt|first=Brian|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=16 June 2015|access-date=15 October 2017}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.nimitz.net/rush/faq2ans.html|last=Kaelber|first=Randy|title=The Rush Frequently Asked Questions, part 2|date=9 August 2005|access-date=25 September 2008|archive-date=22 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222184534/http://www.nimitz.net/rush/faq2ans.html|url-status=dead}} *{{cite book|title=The Rush Chronology|last=Lemieux|first=Patrick|publisher=Lulu.com|date=2015}} *{{cite magazine|title=Confessions of a Rush fan|last=Mack|first=Bob|volume=7|number=12|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|pages=56–57|date=March 1992|issn=0886-3032}} *{{cite book|title=Rush, rock music and the middle class: dreaming in middletown|series=Profiles in Popular Music|editor-last1=Gass|editor-first1=Glenn|editor-last2=Magee|editor-first2=Jeffrey|last=McDonald|first=Chris|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|date=2009|isbn=9780253221490}} *{{cite encyclopedia|title=The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World|editor-last=Moskowitz|editor-first=David V.|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|date=2015|isbn=9781440803406}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/permanentwaves.html#tourbook|title=Personal Waves – The Story Of An Album|last=Peart|first=Neil|publisher=Anthem Entertainment|access-date=15 October 2017}} *{{cite book|title=Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away|url=https://archive.org/details/contentsunderpre0000popo|url-access=registration|last=Popoff|first=Martin|publisher=[[ECW Press]]|date=2004|isbn=1550226789}} *{{cite book|title=Rush – Updated Edition: The Unofficial Illustrated History|last=Popoff|first=Martin|publisher=[[Voyageur Press]]|date=2016|isbn=9780760349953}} *{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rush-exit-stage-left/|title=35 years ago: Rush look back at their rise to stardom on 'Exit...Stage Left'|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=29 October 2016|access-date=15 October 2017}} *{{cite book|title=25 Top Rock Bass Songs: Tab. Tone. Technique.|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]]|date=2015|isbn=9781495032714|ref={{sfnref|Hal Leonard Corporation|2015}} }} {{refend}}

==Further reading== *{{cite book|title=Rush and philosophy: heart and mind united|series=Popular Culture and Philosophy|volume=57|last1=Berti|first1=Jim|last2=Bowman|first2=Durrell|editor-last=Reisch|editor-first=George A.|publisher=[[Open Court Publishing Company]]|date=2011|isbn=9780812697162}} *{{cite book|title=Rush: Album by Album|last=Popoff|first=Martin|publisher=[[Voyageur Press]] (The Quarto Group)|date=2017|isbn=9780760357699}}

{{Rush}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:1980 singles]] [[Category:Rush (band) songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Alex Lifeson]] [[Category:Songs written by Geddy Lee]] [[Category:Songs written by Neil Peart]] [[Category:Songs critical of religion]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Terry Brown (record producer)]] [[Category:Mercury Records singles]] [[Category:1980 songs]]