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Rush - Witch Hunt
The night is black, without a moon.
The air is thick and still.
The vigilantes gather on
The lonely torchlit hill.
Features distorted in the flickering light,
Faces are twisted and grotesque.
Silent and stern in the sweltering night,
The mob moves like demons possesed.
Quiet in conscience, calm in their right,
Confident their ways are best.
The righteous rise
With burning eyes
Of hatred and ill-will.
Madmen fed on fear and lies
To beat and burn and kill.
They say there are strangers who threaten us,
Our immigrants and infidels.
They say there is strangeness to danger us
In our theatres and bookstore shelves,
That those who know what's best for us
Must rise and save us from ourselves.
Quick to judge,
Quick to anger,
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
And fear walk hand in hand.
"Witch Hunt" is a song by progressive rock trio Rush from their album Moving Pictures. It is a part of the "Fear Series," or as it's more commonly known among Rush's fanbase, "The Fear Trilogy," which is a set of four songs dealing with fear in different incarnations. Though this was the first song of the trilogy to be released, it is actually the third song in the trilogy, as lyricist Neil Peart found its concept easier to tackle than the other two concepts he had in mind for the trilogy as a whole. The concept of Witch Hunt explores how manipulators use fear to "possess the ignorant masses", recalling the infamous the Salem Witch trials. Trivia: At the beginning, the "mob sounds" were in fact the band layering sounds they made while drinking outside the studio in the snowy winter. It was recorded the night John Lennon died on December 8, 1980.
