Xanadu is a song by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It is from the band’s 1977 album A Farewell to Kings. It is about eleven minutes long, starting with a five-minute-long instrumental section. Then it moves to a story written by Neil Peart. That story was inspired by the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem Kubla Khan.
In the lyrics, the narrator talks about looking for a place called "Xanadu" that will make him live forever. After he finds it, a thousand years pass. The narrator is left "waiting for the world to end", talking about himself as "a mad immortal man".
The song is based on the poem Kubla Khan. This poem was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Although the song does not say where "Xanadu" is, mentions of Kubla Khan hint that it is a mythical place based on Shangdu, the historical summer capital of the Mongol Empire.
Rolling Stone magazine readers asked about the top 10 Rush songs of all time voted "Xanadu" as number six.
- List of songs recorded by Rush
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Studio albums |
- Rush (1974)
- Fly by Night (1975)
- Caress of Steel (1975)
- 2112 (1976)
- A Farewell to Kings (1977)
- Hemispheres (1978)
- Permanent Waves (1980)
- Moving Pictures (1981)
- Signals (1982)
- Grace Under Pressure (1984)
- Power Windows (1985)
- Hold Your Fire (1987)
- Presto (1989)
- Roll the Bones (1991)
- Counterparts (1993)
- Test for Echo (1996)
- Vapor Trails (2002)
- Snakes & Arrows (2007)
- Clockwork Angels (2012)
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Live albums |
- All the World's a Stage (1976)
- Exit... Stage Left (1981)
- A Show of Hands (1989)
- Different Stages (1998)
- Rush in Rio (2003)
- R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2005)
- Snakes & Arrows Live (2008)
- Grace Under Pressure Tour (2009)
- Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland (2011)
- Clockwork Angels Tour (2013)
- R40 Live (2015)
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Live videos |
- Exit... Stage Left (1982)
- Grace Under Pressure Tour (1986)
- A Show of Hands (1989)
- Rush in Rio (2003)
- R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2005)
- Rush Replay X 3 (2006)
- Snakes & Arrows Live (2008)
- Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland (2011)
- Clockwork Angels Tour (2013)
- R40 Live (2015)
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Compilations |
- Rush Through Time (1979)
- Chronicles (1990)
- Retrospective I (1997)
- Retrospective II (1997)
- The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987 (2003)
- Gold (2006)
- Retrospective III: 1989–2008 (2009)
- Working Men (2009)
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Video compilations |
- Through the Camera Eye (1985)
- Chronicles (1990)
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Box sets |
- The Studio Albums 1989–2007 (2013)
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Extended plays |
- Feedback (2004)
- Cygnus X-1 (limited-edition EP) (2017)
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Singles | 1970s |
- "In the Mood"
- "Fly by Night"
- "Lakeside Park"
- "The Twilight Zone"
- "Closer to the Heart"
- "Circumstances"
- "The Trees"
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1980s | |
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1990s-2010s | |
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Other songs | |
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Tours |
- Moving Pictures Tour (1980–1981)
- Exit... Stage Left Tour (1981)
- Power Windows Tour (1985–1986)
- Snakes & Arrows Tour (2007–2008)
- Time Machine Tour (2010–2011)
- Clockwork Angels Tour (2012–2013)
- R40 Live Tour (2015)
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Related articles |
- Discography
- Songs
- Awards
- Instrumentals
- Victor
- My Favourite Headache
- A Work in Progress
- Anatomy of a Drum Solo
- Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road
- Hugh Syme
- Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
- Working Man – A Tribute to Rush
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