Artists almost always find songwriting to be an overly personal endeavour. A few chords and some personal feelings can be all that’s needed for most professionals to create a raw song, but there are some songs that are just too raw for mainstream audiences and should be kept in the vault. When Geddy Lee performed with Rush, he typically left Neil Peart to handle the most emotional parts of the song, “Gone,” believing it to be too personal for him to release on his own solo album.
However, is a solo album by any member of Rush really necessary? The power trio had ideas left over after giving their all to their hits. However, the bassist was sure to find it intriguing that they still had enough material for a whole album.
Even though Lee had been the band’s face for many years, they were on the verge of disbanding when they were first listening to the album Vapour Trails. Even though it seemed like the band could play for eternity, Peart’s wife and daughter unexpectedly passed away. This forced him to take a break from music and travel the country.
Lee and Alex Lifeson had more plans than to simply laze around. During that time, Lee wrote songs for his solo album, My Favourite Headache. Not every song was intended to be a prog epic. Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden could never match what Peart did on a record.
Lee used this as an opportunity to vent. But he made sure “Gone” wasn’t on the track list out of respect for Peart. Lee believed it wouldn’t be appropriate to write a song about grieving loss with a raw wound. His friend had survived the worst tragedies anyone could experience.
According to Lee, he made the conscious decision to omit it from his solo album. In an interview with Louder, he mentioned that he wrote one of them right after Neil’s daughter Selena had passed away. The track is titled “Gone.” That song is about a loss. And even though it’s not specifically about Selena, it still has resonance. It’s about all those losses and the sense of bewilderment you get when someone you care about leaves you suddenly, dead.
Even though Lee preferred to discuss lighter subjects, Peart didn’t seem to be avoiding any of his own feelings. Half of Across Vapour Trails sounds like the drummer processing his grief in real time. It’s almost as if releasing all of his energy through song was a way for him to recover from the trauma instead of being overly exploitative.
But then, could we really have expected any less from Peart? Finding his identity outside of the celebrity bubble was the focus of his entire writing process. Despite having a lot to process, he made sure to emerge from it a stronger person. Although Lee composed a song that complemented Peart’s remarks, the narrative he was singing at the time wasn’t truly his to share.
