UPDATE - 2/15@9:01PM: The strange script at the end of Rivendell are runes saying Rivendell by Neil Peart (thanks Jon P).

Today is the 34th anniversary of the release of Rush's 2nd album and first with Neil Peart - Fly By Night. Andrew Olson recently got his hands on some scans of the handwritten Fly By Night lyrics sheets from the sleeve of the original LP version of the album and posted them to his Neil Peart site. Beginning with Fly By Night Neil Peart hand wrote in elaborate fashion all the lyrics for Rush's albums up through Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Several of these lyrics sheets were included in The Words and Pictures tour books Volumes 1 and 2 including By-tor and the Snow Dog from Fly By Night. Here are some interesting observations from Andy O regarding the Fly By Night lyrics sheets:

1) When Rush released the remastered versions of all the Mercury CDs, they also included a CD-size version of the lyrics sheets with Fly By Night.

2) Neil signs each of the lyrics "NP" in the illustration.

3) The cities where the songs or lyrics were written are listed at the bottom of the lyrics sheet.

4) In "Best I Can," there is an early allusion to an arrow illustration before the chorus.

5) In "By-Tor and the Snow Dog," part III, the Battle, includes "Challenge and Defiance, 7/4 War Furor" (alluding to the time signature of this section), Aftermath, Hymn Triumph -- something I'd never noticed before.

6) "Fly By Night" contains a Prologue, which was never included in the finished song (even the first time they played this at the Agora Theater).

7) In Rivendell, there's a strange script at the end.

Here's Anthem, Best I Can, Beneath, Between and Behind and By-tor and the Snow Dog:

And here is Fly By Night (complete with the Prologue), Making Memories, Rivendell and In the End:

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