"When I was just a little young boy, Papa said "Son, you'll never get far, I'll tell you the reason if you want to know, 'cause child of mine, there isn't really very far to go.""

"See here how everything leads up to this day. And it's just like any other day that's ever been. Sun going up and then, the sun, it going down. Shine through my window, and my friends they come around."

"Trouble ahead. A lady in red. Take my advice. You'd be better off dead!"

"Well, the first days are the hardest days, don't you worry anymore. When life looks like Easy Street there is danger at your door."

"Sometimes the light's all shining on me, Other times I can barely see, Lately it occurs to me, What a long strange trip it's been..."

"I won't slave for beggar's pay, likewise gold and jewels, but I would slave to learn the way, to sink your ship of fools."

"Let there be songs to fill the air."

"Inspiration, move me brightly, light the song with sense and color, hold away despair"

"But never give your love, my friend, Unto a foolish heart"

"Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world, but the heart has its beaches, its homeland, and thoughts of its own. Wake now, discover that you are the song that the morning brings, but the heart has its seasons its evenings, and songs of its own"

"The secret to life is, you get up in the morning, and you go to work - from the book Travelling Music"

"I can't play to that! - on Rock Band"

"Among the people whose thinking I like is Ayn Rand, but there are a whole lot of others. It's a kind of disciple mentality that people are applying to me that they think I applied to her and it's all wrong. I'm nobody's disciple and you know 'No god, no government' none of that, so I don't like it applied to me any more than to them."

"Genius is the fire that lights itself. -Commenting on Buddy Rich."

"When we are young Wandering the face of the Earth Wondering what our dreams might be worth Learning that we're only immortal For a limited time -- Dreamline (1991)"

"Unstable condition A symptom of life In mental and environmental change Atmospheric disturbance The feverish flux Of human interface and interchange -- Vital Signs (1981)"

"You can surrender Without a prayer But never really pray Pray without surrender You can fight Without ever winning But never ever win Without a fight -- Resist (1996)"

"Quick to judge -- Quick to anger -- Slow to understand Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand -- Witch Hunt (Part III of 'Fear') (1981)"

"I define my approach to each day I am given as, "What is the most excellent thing I can do today?" – from the book "Far and Near: On Days Like These""

"Adventures suck when you're having them. -- Roadshow (2006)"

"How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is after all so poorly lit -- Turn The Page (1987)"

"Everything in moderation, with occasional excess -- Ghost Rider (2002)"

"To you, is it movement, or is it action? Is it contact or just reaction? And you, revolution, just resistance? Is it living, or just existence? -- The Enemy Within (Part I of 'Fear') (1984)"

"Life is like an aimless river The time is now again -- Ceiling Unlimited (2002)"

"Danger plus survival equals fun. --From A Work in Progress"

"Life is just a candle, and a dream must give it flame... -- The Fountain of Lamneth (1975)"

"All the busy little creatures chasing out their destinies. Living in their pools they soon forget about the sea... -- Natural Science (1980)"

"A few guys with guns can spoil everything. -- The Masked Rider (1996)"

"A planet of playthings We dance on the strings of powers we cannot perceive The stars aren't aligned or the gods are maligned Blame is better to give than receive -- Freewill (1980)"

"No one gets to their heaven without a fight -- Armor and Sword (2007)"

"Name another drummer in the rock-pop-prog-fusion idiom who thoroughly composed his parts for every song, never deviating live or otherwise, applied his vision to a 30+ piece electric/acoustic 360 degree orchestral rock kit, and somehow managed to make every part musical, seamless, and iconic. He also wrote the lyrics almost every Rush song. I don't care if you don't like Rush, Neil is undeniable."

"They say there are strangers who threaten us In our immigrants and infidels They say there is strangeness too dangerous In our theaters and bookstore shelves That those who know what's best for us Must rise and save us from ourselves -- Witch Hunt (Part III of 'Fear') (1980)"

"I set a course just east of Lyra And northwest of Pegasus Flew into the light of Deneb Sailed across the Milky Way On my ship, the 'Rocinante' Wheeling through the galaxies Headed for the heart of Cygnus Headlong into mystery -- Cygnus X-1, Book One; The Voyage (1977)"

"Now there's no more oak oppression For they passed a noble law And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, axe and saw -- The Trees (1978)"

"I hear the sound of gunfire at the prison gate, Are the liberators here? Do I hope or do I fear? For my father and my brother, it’s too late but I must help my mother stand up straight. Are we the last ones left alive? Are we the only human beings to survive? -- Red Sector A (1984)"

"Anarchist reactionary, running-dog revisionist Hindu, Muslim, Catholic creation, evolutionist Rational, romantic, mystic, cynical, idealist Minimal expressionist, post-modern neo-symbolist Armchair rocket scientist, graffiti existentialist Deconstruction primitive performance photo-realist Be-bop or a one-drop or a hip-hop, lite-pop-metallist Gold adult contemporary, urban country capitalist -- You Bet Your Life (1991)"

"Wheels can take you around. Wheels can cut you down. We can go from boom to bust. From dreams to a bowl of dust. We can fall from rockets' red glare, down to "Brother can you spare..." Another war. Another wasteland. And another lost generation -- Between The Wheels (1984)"

"Imagine a man when it all began The pilot of 'Enola Gay' Flying out of the shockwave on that August day All the powers that be, and the course of history Would be changed forevermore -- Manhattan Project (1985)"

"No hero in your tragedy, No daring in your escape, No salutes for your surrender, Nothing noble in your fate, Christ, what have you done? -- The Pass (1989)"

"It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance I'm not giving in I'm not missing out I'm not giving up on implausible dreams -- The Enemy Within (Part I of 'Fear') (1984)"

"I feel the sense of possibilities I feel the wrench of hard realities The focus is sharp in the city -- The Camera Eye (1981)"

"Growing up it all seems so one-sided Opinions all provided The future pre-decided Detached and subdivided In the mass production zone Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone -- Subdivisions (1982)"

"The world weighs on my shoulders But what am I to do? You sometimes drive me crazy But I worry about you I know it makes no difference To what you’re going through But I see the tip of the iceberg And I worry about you... -- Distant Early Warning (1984)"

"You move me, you move me. with your buildings and your eyes Autumn woods and Winter skies. You move me, you move me. Open sea and city lights, busy streets and dizzy heights. You call me, you call me. -- The Analog Kid (1982)"

"Faith is cold as ice. Why are little ones born only to suffer for the want of immunity, or a bowl of rice? Well, who would hold a price on the heads of the innocent children if there's some immortal power to control the dice? -- Roll The Bones (1991)"

"Cast in this unlikely role Ill-equipped to act With insufficient tact One must put up barriers To keep oneself intact -- Limelight (1981)"

"The middle aged madonna calls her neighbor on the phone. Day by day, the seasons pass and leave her life alone. But she'll go walking out that door on some bright afternoon to go and paint big cities from a lonely attic room. -- Middletown Dreams (1985)"