Subdivisions
(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)
Sprawling on the fringes of the city In geometric order An insulated border
In between the bright lights And the far unlit unknown
Growing up, it all seems so one sided Opinions all provided The future pre decided
Detached and subdivided In the mass production zone Nowhere is the dreamer Or the misfit so alone
Subdivisions In the high school halls In the shopping malls Conform or be cast out
Subdivisions In the basement bars In the backs of cars Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help To smooth the unattractive truth But the suburbs have no charms To soothe the restless dreams of youth
Drawn like moths we drift into the city The timeless old attraction Cruising for the action
Lit up like a firefly Just to feel the living night
Some we'll sell their dreams for small desires Or lose the race to rats Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere To relax their restless flight Somewhere out of a memory Of lighted streets on quiet nights
Subdivisions In the high school halls In the shopping malls Conform or be cast out
Subdivisions In the basement bars In the backs of cars Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help To smooth the unattractive truth But the suburbs have no charms To soothe the restless dreams of youth
The analog kid
(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)
A hot and windy August afternoon Has the trees in constant motion With a flash of silver leaves As they're rocking in the breeze
The boy lies in the grass with one blade Stuck between his teeth A vague sensation quickens In his young and restless heart
And a bright and nameless vision Has him longing to depart
You move me You move me With your buildings and your eyes Autumn woods and winter skies
You move me You move me Open sea and city lights Busy streets and dizzy heights
You call me You call me
The fawn eyed girl with sun browned legs Dances on the edge of his dream And her voice rings in his ears Like the music of the spheres
The boy lies in the grass Unmoving, staring at the sky His mother starts to call him As a hawk goes soaring by
The boy pulls down his baseball cap And covers up his eyes
You move me You move me With your buildings and your eyes Autumn woods and winter skies
You move me You move me Open sea and city lights Busy streets and dizzy heights
You call me You call me
Too many hands on my time Too many feelings Too many things on my mind
When I leave I don't know What I'm hoping to find When I leave I don't know What I'm leaving behind
Chemistry
(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)
Signal transmitted Message received Reaction making impact Invisibly
Elemental telepathy Exchange of energy Reaction making contact Mysteriously
Eye to eye Reaction burning hotter Two to one Reflection on the water
H to O No flow without the other Oh but how Do they make contact with one another?
Electricity? Biology? Seems to me it's chemistry
Emotion transmitted Emotion received Music in the abstract Positively
Elemental empathy A change of synergy Music making contact Naturally
One, two, three Add without subtraction Sound on sound Multiplied reaction
H to O No flow without the other Oh but how Do we make contact with one another?
Electricity? Biology? Seems to me it's chemistry
Digital man
(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)
His world is under observation We monitor his station Under faces and the places Where he traces points of view
He picks up scraps of conversation Radio and radiation From the dancers and romancers With the answers but no clue
He'd love to spend the night in Zion He's been a long while in Babylon He'd like a lover's wings to fly on To a tropic isle of Avalon
His world is under anesthetic Subdivided and synthetic His reliance on the giants In the science of the day
He picks up scraps of information He's adept at adaptation Because for strangers and arrangers Constant change is here to stay
He'd love to spend the night in Zion He's been a long while in Babylon He'd like a lover's wings to fly on To a tropic isle of Avalon
He's got a force field and a flexible plan He's got a date with fate in a black sedan He plays fast forward for as long as he can But he won't need a bed, he's a digital man
He'd love to spend the night in Zion He's been a long while in Babylon He'd like a lover's wings to fly on To a tropic isle of Avalon
He's got a force field and a flexible plan He's got a date with fate in a black sedan He plays fast forward for as long as he can But he won't need a bed, he's a digital man
He plays fast forward for as long as he can But he won't need a bed, he's a digital man He plays fast forward for as long as he can But he won't need a bed, he's a digital man
The weapon (part II of Fear)
(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)
We've got nothing to fear but fear itself Not pain, not failure, not fatal tragedy Not the faulty units in this mad machinery Not the broken contacts in emotional chemistry
With an iron fist in a velvet glove We are sheltered under the gun In the glory game on the power train Thy kingdom's will be done
And the things that we fear Are a weapon to be held against us
He's not afraid of your judgement He knows of horrors worse than your hell He's a little bit afraid of dying But he's a lot more afraid of your lying
And the things that he fears Are a weapon to be held against him
Can any part of life be larger than life? Even love must be limited by time And those who push us down that they might climb Is any killer worth more than his crime?
Like a steely blade in a silken sheath We don't see what they're made of They shout about love but when push comes to shove They live for the things they're afraid of
And the knowledge that they fear Is a weapon to be used against them
He's not afraid of your judgement He knows of horrors worse than your hell He's a little bit afraid of dying But he's a lot more afraid of your lying
And the things that he fears Are a weapon to be held against him
He's not afraid of your judgement He knows of horrors worse than your hell He's a little bit afraid of dying But he's a lot more afraid of your lying
New world man
(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)
He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine
He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure
Learning to match the beat of the old world man Learning to catch the heat of the third world man
He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it
He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it
He's a new world man
He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and arranger And a young boy bearing arms
He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self control
Trying to save the day for the old world man Trying to pave the way for the third world man
He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it
He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it
He's a new world man
He's learning to match the beat of the old world man He's learning to catch the heat of the third world man
He's a new world man He's a new world man
Losing it
(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)
The dancer slows her frantic pace In pain and desperation Her aching limbs and downcast face Aglow with perspiration
Stiff as wire, her lungs on fire With just the briefest pause The flooding through her memory The echoes of old applause
And she limps across the floor And closes her bedroom door
The writer stare with glassy eyes Defies the empty page His beard is white, his face is lined And streaked with tears of rage
Thirty years ago, how the words would flow With passion and precision But now his mind is dark and dulled By sickness and indecision
And he stares out the kitchen door Where the sun will rise no more
Some are born to move the world To live their fantasies But most of us just dream about The things we'd like to be
Sadder still to watch it die Than never to have known it For you, the blind who once could see The bell tolls for thee
The bell tolls for thee
For you, the blind who once could see The bell tolls for thee
The bell tolls for thee
Countdown
(Lee/Lifeson/Peart)
Lit up with anticipation We arrive at the launching site The sky is still dark, nearing dawn On the Florida coastline
Circling choppers slash the night With roving searchlight beams This magic day when super science Mingles with the bright stuff of dreams
Floodlit in the hazy distance The star of this unearthly show Venting vapours like the breath Of a sleeping white dragon
Crackling speakers, voices tense Resume the final count All systems check, T minus nine As the sun and the drama start to mount
The air is charged A humid, motionless mass The crowds and the cameras The cars full of spectators pass
Excitement so thick you could cut it with a knife Technology high on the leading edge of life
The earth beneath us starts to tremble With the spreading of a low black cloud A thunderous roar shakes the air Like the whole world exploding
Scorching blast of golden fire As it slowly leaves the ground Tears away with a mighty force The air is shattered by the awesome sound
Like a pillar of cloud The smoke lingers high in the air In fascination with the eyes of the world We stare
Excitement so thick you could cut it with a knife Technology high on the leading edge of life
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