Circumstances (song)

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"Circumstances"

Single by Rush
from the album Hemispheres
Released	1978
Genre	Progressive Rock
Length	4:42
Rush singles chronology
"The Trees" (1978)	"Circumstances" (1978)	"The Spirit of Radio" (1980)
Hemispheres track listing
"Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" (Track 1)	"Circumstances" (Track 2)	"The Trees" (Track 3)

"Circumstances" is the second song off of progressive rock band Rush's 1978 album Hemispheres. Lyrically, it is an autobiographical account, written by Peart, about the time he spent living in England, and his eventual disillusionment with his then-current occupations. Musically, it's a hard-hitting rock song, complete with power-chords and riffs, similar to much of their early 70's albums. It also features a keyboard break, near the middle of the song, similar to the one in "The Trees," supplied by Geddy Lee's Oberheim 8-voice Polyphonic Synthesizer, backed by Taurus pedals, Neil Peart's orchestral bells and a simple, soft chord progression by Alex Lifeson, before breaking back into the song's hard rock feel. It was only played a handful of times in concert, on the "Tour of the Hemispheres" from late 1978 to early 1979.