"Tears" is a song by the Canadian rock band Rush. It appears on their 1976 album '' 2112''. It is the first Rush song to feature the

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

, played by

Hugh Syme Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC), best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has contributed as a keyboard player ...

Background

Geddy Lee Geddy Lee Weinrib (; born Gary Lee Weinrib, July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Rock music, rock band Rush (band), Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968 at the request o ...

said in an interview about the song: "'Tears' is a romantic ballad to give the album even more variety and depth. Mellotrons are unique-sounding; they sound sorta electric, but also kinda stringy, they have this real resin-y sound to them, which is very cool and unique to that period."

Reception

Music Emissions said that it was the most underrated song on the album and that it was a departure for the band as a very heart-felt song of loss and regret. Bill Banasiewicz said in the book ''Rush Visions'' that "It's better produced than 'Lessons', which immediately precedes it. It is very much in the mode of 'Rivendell' and marks one of the few times that

Neil Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. As a surname ...

plays in a straight four-time signature." Robert Telleria, in the book ''Merely Players'', said about the song "once again Geddy proves he's not just a screamer and his lyrics improved."

Personnel

Credits are adapted from ''2112'' liner notes. Rush *

– vocals, bass * Alex Lifeson – guitar *

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

– drums, percussion Additional musician *

–

Alice in Chains version

American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

covered the song and released it as a single. The cover was their first studio recording in three years. Their cover was also included on the second disc on the 40th anniversary edition of ''2112''. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine said about the cover: "Singer William DuVall delivers a grittier approach to Geddy Lee's original melody, and

Jerry Cantrell Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internatio ...

spices up the instrumental sections with grandiose, harmonized electric guitar lines." The American horror genre website

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...

thought that the band "took the song, which was already mysteriously beautiful and added a slightly eerie element, making the song their own yet still preserving all the identifiable earmarks."

Nerdist Nerdist Industries, LLC (also simply known as Nerdist) is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast ( The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a net ...

said that the cover had "stunning and haunting harmonies that Alice in Chains is known for". ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'' said that "while almost an exact recreation of the original, Alice in Chains can't help but put a touch of their own

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

sound on things."

References

{{Alice in Chains singles, border=child Rush (band) songs 1976 songs Songs written by Geddy Lee Song recordings produced by Terry Brown (record producer)