The Fountain of Lamneth

"The Fountain of Lamneth"
Song

This is the fifth song from Rush's third album Caress of Steel. The music was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson and the lyrics were written by Neil Peart. It chronicles a man's journey to find the Fountain of Youth. It is the first truely "epic" song Rush had recorded. It consists of six parts:

"I. In the Valley" – 4:18
"II. Didacts and Narpets" – 1:00
"III. No One at the Bridge" – 4:19
"IV. Panacea" – 3:14
"V. Bacchus Plateau" – 3:16
"VI. The Fountain" – 3:49

Trivia

"The Fountain of Lamneth" is the first of three sidelong epics Rush would write. It is broken into six smaller parts; however, unlike later extended songs such as "Xanadu" or "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres," the individual parts "The Fountain of Lamneth" do not segue seamlessly, but rather each segment fades out as the next fades in.

A few measures of the "No One at the Bridge" section of "The Fountain of Lamneth" can be heard on the song "The Universe in You", by fellow Canadian band I Mother Earth. Additionally, Alex Lifeson is credited with a guest appearance on their second album, Scenery and Fish.

Regarding "Didacts and Narpets" (which consists mostly of a drum solo), in the October 1991 news release from the Rush Backstage Club, Neil Peart said: "Okay, I may have answered this before, but if not, the shouted words in that song represent an argument between Our Hero and the Didacts and Narpets - teachers and parents. I honestly can't remember what the actual words were, but they took up opposite positions like: "Work! Live! Earn! Give!" and like that." A didact is a teacher, and "narpet" is an anagram of "parent".