Earthshine
Background and Commentary
“Earthshine” is reflected earthlight visible on the moon’s night side, giving the portion of the moon bathed in earthshine a ghostly glow. Upon seeing earthshine, you would see a regular crescent moon, but with the rest of the moon, which is normally obscured, visible in a ghostly light. (“Its circle shows / In a ghostly glow / Of earthly luminescence.”) The idea of the pale image, rendered visible not by its own light but by the reflected light of another body, signifies how one can be visible to others but only as a pale facsimile in the same way that’s referenced in “A Secret Touch,” in which you’re a part of what’s going on, but because of your experience, you’re also apart from what’s going on.—Rob Freedman, Rush Vault
“‘Earthshine’ was the first song we wrote for Vapor Trails but was completely rewritten. Even the lyrics were changed around. Musically, it was a completely different song from what it was, and it was a complete song in the beginning. We had all the parts, the lyrics, we worked it out. But there was something about it that just didn’t knock us out.” —Alex in Contents Under Pressure
“‘Earthshine’ was just not right in its original incarnation. The lyrics were very interesting, and very evocative, but I didn’t feel in the end—and Alex agreed—that the music really equaled what was there lyrically. We were selling the lyrics short. So we had this jam music that we really were excited about, especially this riff, this main riff, that became the verses for Earthshine, and I rebuilt the song vocally around that riff. Then we proceed to just carry on with it, and before we knew it we had a whole new song that was really exciting.” (Rockline, 2002)—Geddy in Songfacts
Lyrics
On certain nights
When the angles are right
And the moon is a slender crescent
It’s circle shows
In a ghostly glow
Of earthly luminescence
Earthshine
A beacon in the night
I can raise my eyes to
Earthshine
Earthshine
A jewel out of reach
Form a dream to rise to
Earthshine
Floating high
In the evening sky
I see my faint reflection
Pale facsimile
Like what others see
When they look in my direction
Earthshine
Stretching out your hand
Full of starlit diamonds
Earthshine
Reflected light
To another’s sight
And the moon tells a lover’s story
My borrowed face
And my third hand grace
Only reflect your glory
You’re still out of reach
Form a dream to rise to
Earthshine
Tablature
By Eyes-radio-lies
Excerpted from Ultimate Guitar.
I didn’t write the rhythm for the chorus or the pre-chorus.
Intro and verse
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—-9–7–9–7–9–7–9–7—-10h12—10h12—–
—-7–7–7–7–7–7–7–7—-10——10——–
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-9–7–9–7–9–7–9–7—-5—5–
-7–7–7–7–7–7–7–7—-5—5–
PreChorus
–0——5—–5—————————————-
–0——5—–5—————————————-
–1——7—–6—————————————-
–2—————————————————–X4
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For complete tab, go to Ultimate Guitar.
Tutorials
“Earthshine” guitar cover
“Earthshine” drum cover
rush vault 