Force Ten (song) worked with Rush on their song "Tom Sawyer", had sent Neil Peart some lyrics for the song, and Peart would add more verses to it. Lyrically, the song describes the "storms of life," making a reference to a very high level of the Beaufort scale ("force ten" is defined as a 'storm', being near the scale's maximum of 12) as an analogy, according to the book "Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United". Musically, "Force Ten" is composed in A minor, with changes into A major scale occurring in the song. The song is set in common time at a
1887 Halloween tropical storm the storm was in Virginia. Cape Henry was hit with a combination of wind, rain, and blown sand on October 31 and communications between Cape Henry and Norfolk were lost. In Norfolk, the storm was the longest-lasting and most damaging since the Great Beaufort Hurricane of 1879. The storm conditions made beaches in the area so hazardous that they were watched day and night. Effects from the storm reached as far north as Provincetown, Massachusetts, where winds of were recorded. Despite causing damage along the East Coast, the storm is best known for causing a record number of maritime incidents.