Dreamline

Background and Commentary

“Some of the inspiration for the song came from Lifeline (retitled The Trinity Paradox in 1990) by Kevin Anderson.”—Robert Telleria, Merely Players

“Each of us experiences a time when we feel immortal, when time is not passing and we’re never going to die. But it’s a limited-time offer. Time does pass, and soon enough the realities of life comes crowding in on us, whether were ready for them or not, and we have to get serious. This is called “facing the real world.” (Row the Boats)—Neil in Merely Players

“I love the spirit of ‘Dreamline’ and the way Neil captures that feeling of wanderlust and invulnerability that comes in a particular trying time in your life.”—Geddy in Heeb

“Roll the Bones opener ‘Dreamline’ is strafed by a crouching-then-striking verse and clouds-breaking chorus. It is a track that proved to be strong enough to open the Different Stages live album seven years later and then stay tenaciously in the set for the Vapor Trails tour.”—Martin Popoff, Contents Under Pressure

“The piece, released as a single, charted at number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and was performed on every Rush tour since the inaugural Roll the Bones tour until 2010, when it was dropped for the Time Machine tour. When played live, the band uses laser lights based on the tempo of the guitar and plays a slightly protracted version of the song, with Alex integrating an extended guitar solo.”—Wikipedia

Lyrics

He’s got a road map of Jupiter
A radar fix on the stars
All along the highway
She’s got a liquid-crystal compass
A picture book of the rivers
Under the Sahara

They travel in the time of the prophets
On a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun
Like lovers and heroes, and the restless part of everyone
We’re only at home when we’re on the run
On the run

He’s got a star map of Hollywood
A list of cheap motels
All along the freeway
She’s got a sister out in Vegas
The promise of a decent job
Far away from her hometown

They travel on the road to redemption
A highway out of yesterday—that tomorrow will bring
Like lovers and heroes, birds in the last days of spring
We’re only at home when we’re on the wing
On the wing

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

Time is a gypsy caravan
Steals away in the night
To leave you stranded in Dreamland
Distance is a long-range filter
Memory a flickering light
Left behind in the heartland

We travel in the dark of the new moon
A starry highway traced on the map of the sky
Like lovers and heroes, lonely as the eagle’s cry
We’re only at home when we’re on the fly
On the fly

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

We travel on the road to adventure
On a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun
Like lovers and heroes, and the restless part of everyone
We’re only at home when we’re on the run
On the run

Tablature

By Joe T. Kung (jtkung@caf.mit.edu)

Excerpted from Fretplay.

Intro and verse:
(played with extreme compression and distortion, muted picking)

—–5-0-5-7-5-0—–5-0-5-7-5-9-
-0-7————-0-7————-
———————————
———————————
———————————
———————————
[repeat 5 times for verse]

sixth time (cut off intro lick):

—–5-0-5-7-5-0—–5-0-
-0-7————-0-7—–
————————-
————————-
————————-
————————-

Then the song jumps into the powerchords.

Powerchords (all no-3rds, see *)

G, F#, E,
G, F#, D (then some fills, see **)
F#, E, B,
C, D, E
G, F#, E
G, F#, D (again, see **)
F#, E, B
C, D, E

Then the into intro/verse sequence again, followed by power-chords.
After that the “cut off intro lick”.

The song then goes into the chorus (“We are young …”) section which doesn’t
sound like there’s any distinct guitar parts, but chords that would go well
are :

Asus2, Gmaj, Dmaj, and Cmaj, based on Geddy’s bass line. You can just
follow along with Geddy and do a muted rhythm with the guitar.

Then the intro/verse and powerchord part again. After this,
the solo begins:

———————————————-22>(24)-(24)-(24)-(24)-
———10–8!–12–15>(17)-(17)-(17)->15—————————
-7—7—————————————————————
———————————————————————
———————————————————————
———————————————————————
light
whammy after
sounding drone
note

——-22>(24)-(24)-(24)-(24)—————————
——————————-(17)>15-12—-15>(17)>15-
——————————————14————
——————————————————–
——————————————————–
—0—————————————————-
dive
bomb

For complete tab, go to Fretplay.