Lock and Key (Rush song)
| "Lock and Key" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Promotional single by Rush | |
| from the album Hold Your Fire | |
| Released | 1987 |
| Format | Vinyl |
| Recorded | 1987 |
| Genre | Progressive rock |
| Length | 5:10 |
| Label | Anthem Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart |
| Producer(s) | Peter Collins |
"Lock and Key" is a song written, produced and performed by Canadian rock band Rush. It is a promotional single from their twelfth studio album, Hold Your Fire. The song focuses on keeping a "killer instinct", meaning to kill somebody for no reason, under control. Critics gave the song liking reviews, with some saying it had quality of a hit single, and would make it on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song's music video was originally released in 1987, and was produced by Bob Jason and directed by T. Vanden Ende.
"Lock and Key" is an atmospheric, darkprogressive rock song, composed in a G♯ minor key, and played at a moderate tempo and in common time. The intro follows the chord progression G♯m—F♯/A♯—B6—C♯7—G♯m—F♯/A♯—E—G♯m—F♯ (no. 2)/A♯—B (no. 2), the versus following G♯m—F♯/A♯—B, the pre-chorus following D#5—E♯5—F♯5—G♯5—A♯5—F♯5, the chorus following G♯m—F♯/A♯—B6—C♯—C#sus—G♯m—F♯/A♯—E5, and the bridge following G♯5—A♯5—B5.
Lee said the song to have been a mix of sounds and ideas.Instrumentation includes keyboards, a rough-toned electric guitar, a smooth, creamy-toned bass guitar, and drums.Geddy Lee played both keyboards and bass in the song, which he found to be a "battle". He also said in 1988 that, unlike most songs from Hold Your Fire, he played a 5-string bass for the song: "I find that low string really means more today, because we're living in the world of synthesizers that go lower than basses ever went before." Drummer Neil Peart said that in the song, he performed "a solo while Geddy and Alex keep time behind me. That's fantastic, a beautiful exchange of roles: a drum solo in the terms of a guitar solo, where the rest of the band supports, Geddy and Alex playing the actual rhythmic pulse. It allows us to try out a new suit, to take on a new interrelationship between us." The song also includes a guitar solo by Lifeson that, according to a review on Sputnikmusic, deviates "from his melodic aspirations elsewhere on the album [Hold Your Fire]."
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