5/23: Everyday Glory

A quietly beautiful song that embodies the sound of 1993.

If the future's looking dark,
We're the ones who have to shine.
If there's no one in control,
We're the ones who draw the line.
Though we live in trying times,
We're the ones who have to try.
Though we know that time has wings,
We're the ones who have to fly.

I’d be willing to wager that “Everyday Glory” isn’t anybody’s favorite Rush song. Like “Face Up,” it’s kind of a throwaway. Yet it actually really freakin’ rocks? Neil and Geddy create some lovely syncopations in the rhythm section, and the guitar—whoo-ee.

Let’s talk about that guitar part for a hot minute. The guitar notes have this lovely, haunting distortion, giving them a very particular waa-waa sound that had a Hot Moment in 1993. I wish I had better words to describe it here, but you can hear it on when Geddy sings that soaring “No matter what they say,” at the 1:20, 2:28, and 4:18 marks. Every alt-rock band from Deep Blue Something to Dishwalla was using this particular sound, and whenever I hear it, I’m taken right back to my childhood: long, hot summers with nothing to do but bake at the pool, make mixtapes from the radio, and read the same trashy R. A. Salvatore novels over and over again.

Oh and the lyrics. This song has some of the most earnest and authentically optimistic lines in the Rush catalogue: “Though we live in trying times/ We’re the ones who have to try” and “If the future’s looking dark/ We’re the ones who have to shine.” AUGH. I love those lines. So beautiful. Rush made me an optimist, a believer in our better natures, despite all the evidence to the contrary. I’ll always be grateful to them for that.

“Everyday Glory” may not be a fan favorite, but honestly, it really should be.