‘Witch Hunt’: The most prescient Rush song
Rush had many layers, and it was this multifaceted nature that enabled their long and celebrated career. While their musical dynamism is legendary among prog-rock enthusiasts, the Canadian trio also crafted some deeply intriguing themes. The most notorious example is when drummer and lyricist Neil Peart drew inspiration from the controversial works of Ayn Rand for their classic 2112. However, beyond that, Rush often produced lyrics that resonated on a more profound level, prompting listeners to reflect deeply on the world around them.
A majorly influential band, Rush are often afforded a comical dimension due to famous characteristics such as Geddy Lee’s distinctive vocal delivery and the late Peart’s oversized drum kit, not to mention some of their incredibly sci-fi efforts, which confirmed them as masters of prog. However, as the dalliance with Rand’s philosophy suggests, they were also a political band.
Although you would never have caught Lee furiously sloganeering on stage or the band labourously repeating their personal beliefs in interviews, every so often, their immense degree of self-awareness – another aspect that sets them apart from groups of their stature – would naturally make its way into their music.
As the band’s primary lyricist and the most politically and philosophically aware member of the trio, Neil Peart wrote what is arguably Rush’s most prescient song, ‘Witch Hunt’, taken from their 1981 hit album Moving Pictures. While the dark track was written within the political context of the time—a period marked by bleak socio-political and economic challenges—it has always stood out for its resonant lyrics. However, its relevance has only deepened over time, making it more poignant and significant in today’s climate than ever before.
In 2011, Lee told The Plain Dealer that ‘Witch Hunt’ was even more relevant then than when it was written: “It’s one of those songs that means as much today, if not more, considering what’s gone on in the world with racial profiling and all these different issues. The sentiment of that song is as appropriate as ever.”
Reading some of the lyrics, particularly as a citizen of contemporary Britain, we see how prescient ‘Witch Hunt’ is. One portion reads: “Mob moves like demons possessed / Quiet in conscience, calm in their right / Confident their ways are best”.
And another: “The righteous rise with burning eyes / Of hatred and ill-will / Madmen fed on fear and lies / To beat, and burn, and kill”.
Given the brutal racist riots that recently engulfed the United Kingdom, the following lines ring eerily accurate: “They say there are strangers who threaten us / Our immigrants and infidels / They say there is strangeness too dangerous / In our theatres and bookstore shelves”. At the song’s end, Lee sings: “Ignorance and prejudice / And fear, walk hand in hand”.
The track is so prescient that it seems as though Neil Peart was predicting the rise of figures like Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson long before they emerged. However, they are merely microcosms of a broader archetype that Peart captured perfectly—the populist political ideologue. These modern-day pied pipers cynically thrive by stoking fear and hatred of immigrants and ‘the other’ while their followers, blending ignorance and blind rage, fall into line, dancing in the palms of their hands. All the while, they remain oblivious to the bigger picture and the rug being steadily pulled from beneath them.
Although ‘Witch Hunt’ is particularly resonant for British listeners in the age of Brexit, “Stop the Boats” rhetoric and the rotten racist insurrections that just took place, fans from across the world can witness the truth in the words. From Trump’s general selling points to the rise of the National Rally in France and the AfD in Germany, far-right populist leaders are on the rise everywhere, and Peart’s lyrics have never been so crucial for a world that needs to wake up.
