Time Stand Still

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The second track on Rush’s 1987 album Hold Your Fire, and the second single from the album. Written by drummer Neil Peart, “Time Stand Still” is based on his experiences… Read More

Sep. 8, 19871 viewer20.2K views

Time Stand Still Lyrics

[Verse 1: Geddy Lee]
I turn my back to the wind
To catch my breath before I start off again
Driven on without a moment to spend
To pass an evening with a drink and a friend
I let my skin get too thin
I'd like to pause, no matter what I pretend
Like some pilgrim who learns to transcend
Learns to live as if each step was the end

[Chorus 1: Geddy Lee, (Aimee Mann)]
(Time stand still)
I'm not looking back, but I want to look around me now
(Time stand still)
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Time stand still

[Post-Chorus: Geddy Lee]
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger
Experience slips away
Experience slips away
Time stand still

[Verse 2: Geddy Lee]
I turn my face to the sun
Close my eyes, let my defences down
All those wounds that I can't get unwound
I let my past go too fast
No time to pause
If I could slow it all down
Like some captain, whose ship runs aground
I can wait until the tide comes around

[Chorus 2: Geddy Lee, (Aimee Mann)]
(Time stand still)
I'm not looking back, but I want to look around me now
(Time stand still)
See more of the people and the places that surround me now

[Post-Chorus: Geddy Lee]
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger
Make each impression a little bit stronger
Freeze this motion a little bit longer
The innocence slips away
The innocence slips away
Time stand still
Time stand still

[Bridge: Geddy Lee & Aimee Mann]
I'm not looking back, but I want to look around me now
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Time stand still

[Outro: Geddy Lee, Geddy Lee & Aimee Mann]
Summer's going fast, nights growing colder
Children growing up, old friends growing older
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger
Experience slips away
Experience slips away
The innocence slips away

About

The second track on Rush’s 1987 album Hold Your Fire, and the second single from the album. Written by drummer Neil Peart, “Time Stand Still” is based on his experiences with the band up to that point. He explains further in this article from the Boston Globe:

All through the ‘70s our lives were flying by; we spent so much time on the road that it became like a dark tunnel. You start to think about the people you’re neglecting, friends and family. So the song is about stopping to enjoy that; with a warning against too much looking back. Instead of getting nostalgic about the past, it’s more a plea for the present.

This is the first Rush song to feature a guest vocalist, in this case a woman named Aimee Mann of Til Tuesday. Its music video is infamous for its overuse of green screen special effects depicting the band members flying all over the screen on various landscape backdrops, though at the time it was considered cutting-edge.