12/28: Headlong Flight

Oh, I wish I could live it all again.

All the treasures, the gold and glory—
It didn't always feel that way.
I don't regret it. I'll never forget it.
I wouldn't trade tomorrow for today.

I think “Headlong Flight” is probably as close to a perfect song as Rush ever recorded. It’s a beautiful encapsulation of everything that makes Rush Rush: machine-gun precise rhythms, soaring solos, playful ‘banter’ between the instruments, enchanting lyrical narrative. There’s even a silly spoken-word section! This song is a love letter to their own creativity.

(I mean that literally. “Headlong Flight” verges on self-plagiarism, re-using rhythms from “Bastille Day” and stretching out its solos in a way deeply reminiscent of “Working Man.” Think of it as musical Easter eggs.)

Musically, “Headlong Flight” feels like classic 70’s Rush, even down to Alex going absolutely bonkers in the solos. When he did that as a twenty-something, it felt like an eruption of frenetic, creative energy. Now, forty years later, it feels like defiance—age can’t slow him down. He’s as good as he ever was. Better, even.

“Headlong Flight” is a story about a life sometimes lived well and sometimes not, but above all, a life that was lived. We should all be so lucky to look back on the story of our own lives and feel the same. The song is joyful, explosive, exciting—but also wreathed in melancholy: As the narrator says, I wish I could live it all again.

As I come to the end of this year, and my One A Day Rush experiment, I too wish I could live this all again.