"Circumstances" is the second track on Rush's 1978 album Hemispheres. Lyrically, it is an autobiographical account, written by Peart, about the time he spent living in England, and his eventual disillusionment with his then-current occupations.
Musically, it's a hard-hitting rock song, complete with power-chords and riffs, similar to much of their early 70s albums. It also features a keyboard break, near the middle of the song, similar to the one in "The Trees," supplied by Geddy Lee's Oberheim 8-voice Polyphonic Synthesizer, backed by Taurus pedals, Neil Peart's orchestral bells and a simple, soft chord progression by Alex Lifeson, before breaking back into the song's hard rock feel. It was only played a handful of times in concert, on the Tour of the Hemispheres from late 1978 to early 1979, before the 2007 Snakes & Arrows Tour when it was played every night in the first set of the band's 3 hour live show.