Rush ~ Red Barchetta ~ Time Machine - Live in Cleveland [HD 1080p] [CC] 2011

Click on "CC" icon for Closed Captioning (Lyrics on Screen)

The song "Red Barchetta" is the second song from the band's eighth studio album "Moving Pictures" which was recorded in October & November 1980 and released on February 12, 1981.

The song was inspired by the futuristic short story "A Nice Morning Drive", written by Richard Foster and published in the November 1973 issue of Road & Track magazine. The story describes a similar future in which increasingly stringent safety regulations have forced cars to evolve into massive Modern Safety Vehicles (MSVs), capable of withstanding a 50 mile-per-hour (80 km/h) impact without injury to the driver. Consequently, drivers of MSVs have become less safety conscious and more aggressive, and "bouncing" (intentionally ramming) the older, smaller cars is a common sport among some. There are many differences between the song and the short story, most notable is that the short story features an MGB roadster.

Barchetta, literally "small boat" in Italian, is the diminutive form of barca ("boat" or "craft"). In the automotive industry, the term is used for a two-seat car without any kind of roof. The proper Italian pronunciation is [barˈketta], although it is sung with /tʃ/ (ch) by Geddy Lee. (According to the book The Complete Ferrari by Godfrey Eaton, the name of the car is pronounced "Barketta." Geddy Lee admitted that he had incorrectly pronounced the word after an Italian friend pointed out the correct pronunciation). Neil Peart's favorite car was the 1948 Ferrari 166MM ″Barchetta″, which is most likely the reason this car is featured in the song.

The song's lyrics tell a story set in a future in which many classes of vehicles have been prohibited by "the Motor Law". The narrator's uncle has kept one of these now-illegal vehicles (the titular red Barchetta sports car) in pristine condition for some "fifty-odd years" and keeps it hidden at his secret country home (previously a farm before the enactment of the aforementioned Motor Law). Every Sunday, the narrator sneaks out to this location and goes for a drive in the countryside, which he describes as "his weekly crime". During one such drive, he encounters a "gleaming alloy air car" (police is assumed) that begins to chase him along the roads. A second such vehicle soon joins the pursuit, which continues until the narrator drives across a one-lane bridge that is too narrow for the air cars. The song ends with the narrator returning safely to his uncle's farm.

The Barchetta is a classic example of a car built for speed, a hot rod, made by Ferrari. The first car to leave the Maranello factory in 1947 was a red, V12-engined Barchetta. From the beginning it was designed as a racing car and it went on to win at its second outing in the Grand Prix of Rome. Alongside the racing cars, development continued apace for a road-going version. This is how the 166 MM - the first Ferrari to win the Le Mans 24 Hours and also see use as a high-performance, road-going two-seater was created. The history of the V12 front-engine Ferraris started here.

Alex Lifeson ("In The Studio" for Moving Pictures): "That was the intention with Red Barchetta - to create a song that was very vivid, so that you had a sense, if you listen to it and listen to the lyrics, of the action. It does become a movie. I think that song really worked with that in mind; it was successful with that intention. It's something that I think we've tried to carry on - become a little more visual with our music, since then. But that one in particular was very satisfying. It was always one of my favorites. I think it's probably my favorite from that album. I like the way the parts knit together. I like the changes. I like the melody of the song. I love the dynamics of it, the way it opens with the harmonics and creates a mood, then gets right into the driving, right up to the middle section where it's really screaming along, where you really feel like you're in the open car, and the music's very vibrant and moving. And then it ends as it began with that quiet dynamic, and lets you down lightly. So it picks you up for the whole thing and drops you off at your next spot."

On the "Exit Stage Left" DVD, Drummer Neil Peart says, "Well it seems to me that a car has been one of the standard metaphors and volumes have been written about the sociological and cultural impact of the car and what it represents, but, it also has a very fundamental, sensual appeal, and it's a metaphor for sexuality and for freedom."

*There is a 1981 movie starring Lee Majors and Burgess Meredeth called The Last Chase, which was inspired by the same story. The movie left a lot to be desired, but the final showdown scene is straight out of "Red Barchetta."

#MysticRhythmsLive