I am the Spirit: Background

Album closer “I am the Spirit” serves as the foil to album opener “Don’t Care.” Where the former is about taking out one’s anger on one’s mate, using one another as a means of release, the latter is about our journey through life and our capability of connecting with our Other in the deepest way. “You only have you / I only have me / You lonely with you / Me lonely with me.” When you contrast the anger of “Don’t Care” with the coming-together in “I am the Sprit,” you see that the album is ultimately a confirmation of love’s durability. As Alex says in a 2002 Classic Rock interview, “By nature I’m very optimistic, a little romantic, a little funny maybe, but I felt really impassioned by all the stuff that was going around, and that was reflected in that album.”—Rob Freedman, Rush Vault

“‘I am the Spirit’ ends the album with a bang. This song has a true Rush feel on it. This song features what I believe to be the most uplifting lyrics on the album. Lifeson once again has a great feel with the riff and the heavy interludes.”—Cygnus X-2 on Prog Archives

“‘I am the Spirit’ is more like it! Tempo and mood changes in this one are plentiful. Overall, though, an average tune.”—Mellotron Storm on Prog Archives

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