This is the fifth post in a series of six, in which I’m lyricblogging the 1976 Rush album 2112. To start at the beginning, see the post that started it all here.
“Tears” is where the album gets philosophically interesting to me again, as its longing, reflective lyrics seem to pose a profound question about the value of compassion and its limits.
“What would touch me deeper?”, the song asks, “Tears that fall from eyes that only cry?” Tears draw our natural sympathy, but their meaning is diluted when coming from someone for whom we know they flow frequently and freely.
“Would it touch you deeper, than tears that fall from eyes that know why?” Whose tears carry the greater sorrow, or should be ascribed the greater gravity? Those of the ignorant and consequently helpless, or the more reservedly given tears of one who sees and understands the world through the lens of reason, and is moved by a deeper understanding of its workings and flaws?
Tears
All of the seasons and all of the days
All of the reasons why I’ve felt this way
So long…
So longThen lost in that feeling I looked in your eyes
I noticed emotion and that you had cried
For me,
I can seeWhat would touch me deeper…
Tears that fall from eyes that only cry?
Would it touch you deeper
Than tears that fall from eyes that know why?A lifetime of questions, tears on your cheek
I tasted the answers and my body was weak
For you,
The truth.What would touch me deeper…
Tears that fall from eyes that only cry?
Would it touch you deeper
Than tears that fall from eyes that know why?
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2112 — The Complete Album
