Time Stand Still

The first lyric Peart wrote for the album, and one of Rush's most emotionally direct songs. It's a plea to slow down and appreciate the fleeting moments of life — written from hard-won experience after years of relentless touring where, as Peart reflected, they spent so much time on the road that they "missed a lot of our own lives."

The song features Aimee Mann of 'Til Tuesday on co-lead vocals — Rush's first-ever collaboration with another vocalist. The band initially wanted Cyndi Lauper, then approached Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, but both were unavailable. Mann's ethereal voice blends with Lee's to create a duet-like intimacy unique in the Rush catalog. Lifeson noted that "her voice blends with Geddy's perfectly."

"Time Stand Still" reached #3 on the Mainstream Rock chart. Its music video, directed by avant-garde Polish filmmaker Zbigniew Rybczyński, features the band and Mann floating around a green-screen set in deliberately surreal fashion. The song returned to setlists on the Time Machine tour in 2010, and the band's 2015 farewell tour documentary was named Time Stand Still in its honor.