Rush “Free Will” released on Permanent Waves

Free Will Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart (see lyrics here) Released: January 1, 1980 (as album cut) First Charted: -- Peak: 4 CL, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 9.7 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rush established themselves as an album-oriented band. Their seventh studio effort, Permanent Waves, was their first of eleven top-10 studio albums. Every studio album they released achieved at least gold status. When it came to singles, however, “The Spirit of Radio,” the lead single from Waves, gave the band only its third chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the band built a following at album-rock radio with classics like “Fly by Night,” “Closer to the Heart,” and “The Trees.” “Freewill,” from Permanent Waves, became another such staple, despite not being released as a single.Eduardo Rivadavia of Ultimate Classic Rock described the song as a "cerebral but remarkably radio-friendly song.” WK Rush started writing songs for Permanent Waves in July 1979. “Freewill” was completed in the first few days. WK They tested that song and “The Spirit of Radio” with audiences before the album came out. It marked the first time the band introduced a song live before recording it in the studio. WK Guitarist Alex Lifeson calls the guitar solo “frenetic and exciting” and “one of the most ambitious pieces of music Rush has ever done.” WK The song also marked the last time singer Geddy Lee would sing in the “shrieking high range” characteristic of the band’s ‘70s output. Lyrically, the song is, according to Lee, “about freedom of choice and free will, and you believing in what you decide you believe in.” WK The memorable line, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice” was originally written as “If you choose not to decide, you cannot have made a choice.” SF Because the song “champions the idea that we are in control of our own destinies” some have viewed it as “an atheist screed.” SF The song has also been interpreted as aspousing libertarian values, although author Brett Barnett says the song “more explicitly explores the theme of individualism.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Rush SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/28/2022; last updated 12/23/2022.