How Neil Peart Ended Up Writing Lyrics For Rush

As explained by Ultimate Classic Rock, Neil Peart joined Rush at a time when they were under pressure to "deliver new music quickly." Not helping was the fact that the band went on tour soon after Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey, thus leaving them with little to no time to get acclimated to each other in a more relaxed environment. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Peart to familiarize himself with Rush's songs; this convinced his bandmates that it was time to try something new in terms of their approach to songwriting. 

When Rush entered the studio to record what would become their sophomore release, 1975's "Fly By Night," they opted to have Peart handle lyric-writing duties because he was a well-read individual, though as Geddy Lee admitted, it wasn't an easy choice at first. "It wasn't his idea to write the lyrics," he recalled. "Alex [Lifeson] and I sort of said, 'Make him do it. He reads a lot of books. Let him do it.'"

According to Lee, Rush's new creative direction with Peart as the main lyricist was mostly well-received, though there were some fans who were "disturbed" by how much the trio had changed musically from their self-titled debut to "Fly By Night." However, the making of the latter album proved to be instrumental in improving Rush's chemistry as a band, while establishing Peart as a perfect fit alongside Lee and Lifeson, so much so that this three-man lineup remained in place until Rush disbanded in 2018.