Xanadu (Rush song)
Xanadu is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It is from the band’s 1977 album A Farewell to Kings. It is about eleven minutes long, starting with a five-minute-long instrumental section. Then it moves to a story written by Neil Peart. That story was inspired by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem Kubla Khan.
| "Xanadu" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Rush | |
| from the album A Farewell to Kings | |
| Released | August 18, 1977 |
| Recorded | 1977 |
| Venue | Rockfield Studios |
| Genre | Progressive rock |
| Length | 11:05 |
| Label | Mercury Records |
| Composer(s) | Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson |
| Lyricist(s) | Neil Peart |
| Producer(s) | Rush, Terry Brown |
| Music video | |
| "Xanadu" on YouTube | |
Lyrics
changeIn the lyrics, the narrator talks about looking for a place called "Xanadu" that will make him live forever. After he finds it, a thousand years pass. The narrator is left "waiting for the world to end", talking about himself as "a mad immortal man".
The song is based on the poem Kubla Khan. This poem was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Although the song does not say where "Xanadu" is, mentions of Kubla Khan hint that it is a mythical place based on Shangdu, the historical summer capital of the Mongol Empire.
Reviews
changeRolling Stone magazine readers asked about the top 10 Rush songs of all time voted "Xanadu" as number six.
