Released 1978 Producer(s) Rush & Terry Brown | Length 3:44 | |
Genre Heavy metal, progressive rock Writer(s) Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson "Circumstances"
(1978) "The Spirit of Radio"
(1980) | ||
"Circumstances" is a song by Rush, from their 1978 album Hemispheres. Lyrically, it is an autobiographical account by Neil Peart about the time he spent living in England, and his eventual disillusionment with his then-current occupations.
Musically, "Circumstances" is a heavy metal song, with a softer instrumental bridge. The song was played sporadically on the 1978-79 Tour of the Hemispheres, and did not return to Rush's setlists until the 2007 Snakes & Arrows Tour. On the latter tour, the song was played in a lower key than the original recording, to accommodate for Geddy Lee's vocal range decreasing with age.
It is one of Rush's few songs with any French lyrics, these occurring in the chorus: 'Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose' (the more it changes, the more it is the same).