"Nobody's Hero" is a song by Canadian prog-rock band Rush

Rush (band)

Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...

 from their album Counterparts

Counterparts (album)

Counterparts is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1993. It became Rush's highest charting album in the US, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200...

. The first stanza deals with the AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

-related death of a homosexual man named Ellis, a friend of Neil Peart

Neil Peart

Neil Ellwood Peart , OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario . During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer...

 when Peart lived in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. After the chorus, the second stanza speaks of a girl who was murdered in Peart's hometown, Port Dalhousie. The girl is rumoured to have been Kristen French

Kristen French

Kristen Dawn French was a Canadian Catholic school girl and the victim of a gruesome and much-publicized murder.-Biography:...

, one of Paul Bernardo

Paul Bernardo

Paul Kenneth Bernardo, also known as Paul Jason Teale , is a Canadian serial killer and rapist, known for the sexual assaults and murders he committed with his wife Karla Homolka and the serial rapes he committed in Scarborough.-Early life:Bernardo's mother, Marilyn, was the adopted daughter of a...

's victims. The song charted number three on the U.S. mainstream rock chart.

A music video was made for the song.

Track listing

Personnel

• Geddy Lee
  Geddy Lee
  Gary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee , is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush...
  
   - Synthesizer, Bass, Vocals
• Alex Lifeson
  Alex Lifeson
  Aleksandar Živojinović, OC, better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, is a second generation Serbian-Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson founded the band that would become Rush with friend, drummer John Rutsey...
  
   - Acoustic & electric guitars, Vocals
• Neil Peart
  Neil Peart
  Neil Ellwood Peart , OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario . During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer...
  
   - Drums
• Michael Kamen
  Michael Kamen
  Michael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...
  
  – String arrangements and conducting