Resist: Background

“Originally called ‘Taboo’ (following ‘Totem’ as in Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud), the song has a simple structure like ‘Bravado’ (with piano recalling ‘War Paint’). ‘I can resist anything except temptation’ is from Oscar Wilde’s play Lady Windermere’s Fan.”—Robert Telleria, Merely Players

“‘Resist’ is one of the best songs we’ve written. I knew from the beginning that this was a special Rush song just by the kind of energy that came from all of us when we wrote and recorded it.” (Canadian Musician, 1996)—Geddy in Merely Players

“The instrument played at the beginning of the song is a hammer dulcimer, not a guitar. Neil wanted to include that instrument on a track.”—Songfacts

“Alex and Geddy began performing the piece acoustically on the Vapor Trails tour and released the acoustic version on Rush In Rio. They repeated the acoustic version in their set for the 30th anniversary tour two years later.”—Songfacts

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