Lakeside Park

Background and Commentary

“‘Lakeside Park’ evokes lazy summer days and nights, the kind of life the band had given up in order to ‘make it.’ Geddy’s vocal has a poignancy that shows that at least part of him misses those carefree days. It’s the kind of song to which just about every listener can relate because most of us have a Lakeside Park of our own.”—Bill Banasiewicz, Rush Visions

“Neil grew up in Port Dalhousie, where there was an amusement park on the lakeshore. The lyrics try to capture the feelings of being adolescent and being free on Victoria Day (May 24), [Queen Victoria’s birthday and the traditional start of the summer season in Canada)].”—Robert Telleria, Merely Players

“In my early teens I achieved every Port kid’s dream: a summer job at Lakeside Park. In those days it was still a thriving and exciting whirl of rides, games, music, and lights. So many ghosts haunt that vanished midway; so many memories bring it back for me. I ran the Bubble Game—calling out ‘Catch a bubble; prize every time’ all day—and sometimes the Ball Toss game. When it wasn’t busy, I would sit at the back door and watch the kids on the trampoline. . . . I got fired.”—Neil in “A Port Boy’s Story,” quoted in Merely Players

Geddy in a 1993 Raw interview says the song makes him cringe when he hears it on the radio. If one were to guess why, it’s probably because of its unvarnished sentimentality.

Lyrics

Midway hawkers calling
“Try your luck with me”
Merry-go-round wheezing
The same old melody
A thousand ten cent wonders
Who could ask for more
A pocketful of silver
The key to heaven’s door

Lakeside Park
Willows in the breeze
Lakeside Park
So many memories
Laughing rides
Midway lights
Shining stars on summer nights

Days of barefoot freedom
Racing with the waves
Nights of starlit secrets
Crackling driftwood flames
Drinking by the lighthouse
Smoking on the pier
Still we saw the magic
Was fading every year

Everyone would gather
On the twenty-fourth of May
Sitting in the sand
To watch the fireworks display
Dancing fires on the beach
Singing songs together . . .
Though it’s just a memory
Some memories last forever

Tablature

By Jimmy Pena (jimmy@walrus.com), with thanks to WaveStudio. I was able to slow the song down and tab the solo right. Now it’s definitely correct. Thanks to Rich Soto for some corrections.

Excerpted from Ultimate Guitar.

| = not a standard bar line; just used to separate music
~ = vibrato or held note
h = hammer on
p = pull off
s = slide
tr = trill; play the note(s) indicated rapidly and repeatedly (same thing
as tremolo picking)
\ = slide down into infinity
o \_
o / repeat sign (always look for these!)

[Riff 1]

A5 G D C G A G Gsus4
e:-5–3-3–3-2————|–5–3-3–3-2—7-8\————-|
B:-5—-3–3-3—3–3–2–|–5—-3–3-3—8-8\–2———-|
G:-2—-0—-2—0–0–2–|–2—-0—-2—7-7\–2———-|
D:——0—-0—x–0–2–|——-0—-0———2———-|
A:—————3–x–0–|———————-0———-|
E:——————3—–|———————————|

[Riff 2] – with phaser _________________________
Dm7 G C |1. |2.
e:—5–5~–5–5–5–6p5—-|—3–3-3—-0–|————|———–|
B:—6——6————6–|—3–3-3—-1–|————|———–|
G:o–5——5—————|—0–0-0—-0–|–0h2-0-0–o|—0tr7—-|
D:o–0——0—————|—0–0-0—-2–|———–o|———–|
A:————————–|————-3–|————|———–|
E:————————–|—————-|————|———–|

[Riff 3] – with phaser
Fmaj7 Cmaj7 phaser off
e:—————————————|—————————–|
B:—————————————|————————–2~-|
G:—-2~—-2~—-2~——-0~—-0~—0~-|—-2~—-2~—-2~—–0–2~-|
D:-3~—-3~————-2~—-2~———|-3~—-3~———–2~—-2~-|
A:—————————————|————————–0~-|
E:—————————————|—————————–|

[Riff 4] – Slow (with phaser)
D C9 C Cmaj7 Csus2 Cmaj7
e:–5-5-5-5-7—-3-3-3–3——-|—————————2~-|
B:–7—7—7—-3—1—-0—–|—–3—–3—————3~-|
G:–7—7——–0—0—-0—–|—5—–4—-2-0———-2~-|
D:–0—0——–2—2—-2—–|-5—–5———-4—-2—0~-|
A:——————————|———————3—0—-|
E:——————————|——————————|

For complete tab, go to Ultimate Guitar.