Richardcyoung.com

  • Home
  • Debbie Young
  • Jimmy Buffett
  • Key West
  • Your Survival Guy
  • How We Are Different
  • Paris
  • About Us
    • Foundation Principles
    • Contributors
  • Investing
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
  • The Swiss Way
  • My Rifles
  • Dividends and Compounding
  • Your Security
  • Dick Young
  • Dick’s R&B Top 100
  • Liberty & Freedom Map
  • Bank Credit & Money
  • Your Survival Guy’s Super States
  • NNT & Cholesterol
  • Your Health
  • Ron Paul
  • US Treasury Yield Curve: My Favorite Investor Tool
  • Anti-Gun Control
  • Anti-Digital Currency
  • Joel Salatin & Alfie Oakes
  • World Gold Mine Production
  • Fidelity & Wellington Since 1971
  • Hillsdale College
  • Babson College
  • Contact Us

“My Effin’ Life,” by Geddy Lee of the Band Rush

March 8, 2024 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Your Survival Guy’s been reading “My Effin’ Life,” by Geddy Lee of the band Rush. To understand Lee, one needs to know where he came from: the suburbs of Toronto, Canada, a child of holocaust surviving parents. His father died when Lee was only 12, and as such, Lee knew about loss at a young age. His mother, grief-stricken, made it hard for Lee to realize his own pain from the loss of his dad.

When Lee looks back, writing “My Effin’ Life” at age 69, he realizes he, too, was a survivor and not just a quiet kid. He was determined. He had calloused fingers from playing, he was hardened emotionally from being kicked out of one of his early bands, and he quit high school to become a full-time musician, much to his mother’s dismay (“Oy vey!).

And it took a long time for the band Rush to be known as well as they are today. Playing 200 gigs a year and still not making it was a grind and then some. It’s a hard life, Lee notes, being a musician, and it is not for the faint of heart. They didn’t have many breaks, but there were a couple. One was that the drinking age in Canada was lowered to 18 years, expanding the band’s bar audience overnight. Another was the explosion of punk rock’s three-chords-and-a-scream sound, which created a niche for a bigger group of fans looking for a more nuanced sound like Rush’s.

Then there is the talent. The talent was there. You know about drummer Neil Peart, but how about guitarist Alex Lifeson? “I know I’m biased,” Lee writes, “but I do think he’s the most underrated guitarist in the rock pantheon. Rush fans appreciate him, naturally, but I don’t believe he’s gotten his due from the mainstream or critical rock world.”

Is Your Family Prepared for the Next Disaster? Click Here to Survive and Thrive

After a UK gig, Rush’s producer Terry Brown found a residential recording studio called Rockfield Studios, a rustic spot in Monmouthshire just over the Welsh border. It was the band’s first recording session abroad and resulted in the 1977 album “A Farewell to Kings.” On the song “Xanadu,” you can hear the birds outside while Neil Peart plays his wood blocks. You can also hear the sensitivity in their playing. A rock symphony by three kids from Canada.

Action Line: We all have our own journey. Explaining how you “made it” cannot be captured in “I worked hard.” You forget the day-to-day grind. But you did it. Understanding that keeping what you make is a different skill than actually making it is not intuitive. When you want help, I’m here.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy. 

If you’re willing to fight for Main Street America, click here to sign up for the Richardcyoung.com free weekly email.

Related Posts

  • RIP Rush Limbaugh
  • RIP Rush Limbaugh
  • Rick Perry Pro-Life
  • Rubio-Lee Tax Plan
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy
E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998.

E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention.

E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris.

Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com

Click here to sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy
Latest posts by E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy (see all)
  • Epic Man Cave with Car Elevator in Utah - June 13, 2025
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement Special Bonus: God Only Knows - June 12, 2025
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #20: Life in Reverse - June 11, 2025

Dick Young’s Must Reads

  • The Clock is Ticking: You Must Protect Your Family
  • The Government Attack on Americans’ Independence
  • Will Government Spending Spur Hyperinflation?
  • Are You Looking for Investment Counsel? 2 Questions
  • Joel Salatin and Alfie Oakes, America’s Food Kings
  • The Worst President in American History
  • Early Advice from Her Dad on Tipping at Charlie Trotter’s
  • “We’re Not Going Back”
  • Who Owns Your Assets?
  • Vermont Abandoned, Dairy Farm Economy Devastated

Our Most Popular Posts

  • Whoa, Hang on Here. There’s Trouble in Culver City
  • Is Salt Bad for You?
  • RON PAUL: Can Musk and Trump Reconcile?
  • $25 Million Down; $175 Million to Go
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #19: A Teacher for Life
  • Saving Western Civilization
  • There Are Only Two Ways to Cut Entitlements
  • Ukraine’s Attack Underlines Need for Trump-Style Border Control
  • The Federal Reserve Finally Killed the Penny
  • Remembering Desi Arnaz

Compensation was paid to utilize rankings. Click here to read full disclosure.

RSS Youngresearch.com

  • Epic Man Cave with Car Elevator in Utah
  • Oil Prices Spike as Markets Brace for Potential Middle East Conflict
  • Is Private Capital Appropriate for 401(k)s?
  • US Underground Natural Gas Storage Capacity Grew in 2024
  • Trump Revokes Biden Policy on Snake River Dams
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement Special Bonus: God Only Knows
  • US Secures LNG Export Deals Worth $200 Billion
  • High-Voltage Cable Crunch Hits Global Electrification
  • May PPI Lower than Expected
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #20: Life in Reverse

RSS Yoursurvivalguy.com

  • Epic Man Cave with Car Elevator in Utah
  • Is Private Capital Appropriate for 401(k)s?
  • Strikes Expose Israel’s Hidden Drone Operations Inside Iran
  • Even If You Don’t Golf: Part 2
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement Special Bonus: God Only Knows
  • Private Equity: Moody’s Warns There’s Ample Cause for Concern
  • Your Survival Guy: Castle Hill, Newport
  • Containerized Missiles and the New Rules of War
  • Graduating from Work to Retirement #20: Life in Reverse
  • America’s Silent Army with 423M Guns

US Treasury Yield Curve: My Favorite Investor Tool

My Key West Garden Office

Your Retirement Life: Traveling the Efficient Frontier

Live a Long Life

Your Survival Guy’s Mt. Rushmore of Investing Legends

“Then One Day the Grandfather was Gone”

Copyright © 2025 | Terms & Conditions | About Us | Dick Young | Archives