Far Cry

Background and Commentary

“Far Cry,” about the surprising turn the world’s taken over the years, is the first piece on Snakes & Arrows, although it was one of the later pieces written. The song emerged almost spontaneously, with the main riff coming out of a jam between Alex and Geddy shortly after their return to the studio after a break.

“‘Far Cry’ was a really good day. We had just taken a break for the summer, and we got back together in the fall, and Al and I were fired up to start writing again. So we got into the studio and had this awesome jam. We were just roasting. It was so much fun. Then Alex took his normal position on the couch and went to sleep and I just took the bits and pieces and started playing with them. And at the same time Neil had dropped off some lyrics that we just loved. They were just so right. We loved the sentiment in them. And they seemed to match perfectly with this jam we had just done. It was one of those magic songs that just came together. My friend Ben Mink [collaborator with Geddy on his solo album My Favorite Headache] has this phrase: ‘All you really need is a good six minutes,’ and that jam was an example of a good six minutes.”—Geddy in The Game of Snakes & Arrows DVD

Neil in his essay on the album describes the piece, along with a few others like “Faithless,” as having a blend of spirituality and raw sophistication.

“It was almost like we already knew the song when we wrote it. We just played it. And that was realy cool. That doesn’t happen very often. We were high-fiving and the whole thing, because it’s a relief when something like that happens, for sure.”—Alex in The Game of Snakes & Arrows

Lyrics

Pariah dogs and wandering madmen
Barking at strangers and speaking in tongues
The ebb and flow of tidal fortune
Electrical changes are charging up the young

It’s a far cry from the world we thought we’d inherit
It’s a far cry from the way we thought we’d share it
You can almost feel the current flowing
You can almost see the circuits blowing

One day I feel I’m on top of the world
And the next it’s falling in on me
I can get back on
I can get back on
One day I feel I’m ahead of the wheel,
And the next it’s rolling over me
I can get back on
I can get back on

Whirlwind life of faith and betrayal
Rise in anger, fall back, and repeat
Slow degrees on the dark horizon
Full moon rising lays silver at your feet

It’s a far cry from the world we thought we’d inherit
It’s a far cry from the way we thought we’d share it
You can almost feel the current flowing
You can almost see the circuits blowing

It’s a far cry from the world we thought we’d inherit
You can almost see the circuit growing
You can almost feel the planets glowing

One day I fly through a crack in the sky
And the next it’s falling in on me
I can get back on
I can get back on . . .

Tablature

By Richard Soto

Excerpted from Ultimate Guitar.

E E5
0 2 2 1 x x 0 2 2 x x x

Gtr I (E A D G B E) – ‘Overdriven Guitar’
Gtr II (E A D G B E) – ‘Distortion Guitar’
Gtr III (E A D G B E) – ‘Chorused Guitar’
Gtr IV (E A D G B E) – ‘Mandola’
Gtr V (E A D G B E) – ‘Compressed Rhythm Guitar’
Gtr VI (E A D G B E) – ‘FX Guitar’

Intro
Q=132
E
4/4
Gtr IV
S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Gtr I
E E E Q E Q E E E Q E S E S
|———————————|———————————|
|———————————|———————————|
|-4—4—4———————–|-4—4—4———————–|
|-2—2—2———–2———–|-2—2—2———–2—–2—–|
|-2—2—2———–2———–|-2—2—2———–2—–2—–|
|-0—0—0———–0———–|-0—0—0———–0—–0—–|
|
| Gtr II
| E E E Q E Q E E E Q E S E S
|———————————|———————————|
|———————————|———————————|
|———————————|———————————|
|-2—2—2———–2———–|-2—2—2———–2—–2—–|
|-2—2—2———–2———–|-2—2—2———–2—–2—–|
|-0—0—0———–0———–|-0—0—0———–0—–0—–|

6/4
S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

E E E E E E E Q E Q
|—————————————————|
|—————————————————|
|-4—4—4——-1——-1———–1————-|
|-2—2—2——-2——-2———–2————-|
|-2—2—2——-2——-2———–2————-|
|-0—0—0——-0——-0———–0————-|
|
| E E E E E E E Q E Q
|—————————————————|
|—————————————————|
|—————————————————|
|-2—2—2——-2——-2———–2————-|
|-2—2—2——-2——-2———–2————-|
|-0—0—0——-0——-0———–0————-|

E
4/4
S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

E E E Q E Q
|———————————|
|———————————|
|-4—4—4———————–|
|-2—2—2———–2———–|
|-2—2—2———–2———–|
|-0—0—0———–0———–|
|
| E E E Q E Q
|———————————|
|———————————|
|———————————|
|-2—2—2———–2———–|
|-2—2—2———–2———–|
|-0—0—0———–0———–|

F#11
6/4
S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S W
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Gtrs II, III
E E E E E E E E E E E E H.. E
|———————————|—————–^0———–||
|———————————|—————–^0———–||
|-4—4—4——-1——-1——-|-4—4—4——-^3———–||
|-2—2—2——-2——-2——-|-2—2—2——-^4———–||
|-2—2—2——-2——-2——-|-2—2—2——-^4———–||
|-0—0—0——-0——-0——-|-0—0—0——-^2———–||
|
| Gtrs I, IIIGtrs III, V
| E E E E E E E E E E E E H.. E
|———————————|—————–^0———–||
|———————————|—————–^0———–||
|———————————|—————–^3———–||
|-2—2—2——-2——-2——-|-2—2—2——-^4———–||
|-2—2—2——-2——-2——-|-2—2—2——-^4———–||
|-0—0—0——-0——-0——-|-0—0—0——-^2———2-||

Pre-Verse
N.C. E5 C5
4/4 3/4
Gtrs III, V
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
+Q Q E E E E +Q Q E E E E +Q Q E E E E +E E +E E E E
|—————–|—————–|—————–|——————-|
|—————–|—————–|—————–|——————-|
|—————–|—————–|—————9-|-(9)-9-(9)\-5-5—-|
|—————–|—————–|—————9-|-(9)-9-(9)\-5-5—-|
|—————–|————-3—|—————7-|-(7)-7-(7)\-3-3—-|
|-(2)–0–2-0-4-2-|-(2)–0–2-0—2-|-(2)–0–2-0-0—|—————-2–|

N.C. D5 E5 A5
4/4
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
+Q Q E E E E +Q Q E E E E +Q Q E E E E +E E E E E E +E E
|—————–|—————–|—————–|————————|
|—————–|—————–|—————–|————————|
|—————–|—————–|—————7-|-(7)-7—9—14-(14)\—|
|—————–|—————–|—————7-|-(7)-7—9—14-(14)\—|
|—————–|————-3—|—————5-|-(5)-5—7—12-(12)\—|
|-(2)–0–2-0-4-2-|-(2)–0–2-0—2-|-(2)–0–2-0-0—|———————-2-|

For complete tab, go to Ultimate Guitar.