Album: Grace Under Pressure (1984)

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• An ill wind comes arising
  Across the cities of the plain
  There's no swimming in the heavy water
  No singing in the acid rain
  Red alert (red alert)
  Red alert (red alert)
  
  It's so hard to stay together
  Passing through revolving doors
  We need someone to talk to
  And someone to sweep the floors
  Incomplete (incomplete)
  Incomplete (incomplete)
  
  The world weighs on my shoulders
  But what am I to do?
  You sometimes drive me crazy
  But I worry about you
  I know it makes no difference
  To what you're going through
  But I see the tip of the iceberg
  And I worry about you
  
  Cruising under your radar
  Watching from the satellites
  Take a page from the red book
  And keep them in your sights
  Red alert (red alert)
  Red alert (red alert)
  
  Left and rights of passage
  Black and whites of youth
  Who can face the knowledge
  That the truth is not the truth
  Obsolete (obsolete)
  Absolute, yeah
  
  Oh
  
  The world weighs on my shoulders
  But what am I to do?
  You sometimes drive me crazy
  But I worry about you
  I know it makes no difference
  To what you're going through
  But I see the tip of the iceberg
  And I worry about you
  
  The world weighs on my shoulders
  But what am I to do?
  You sometimes drive me crazy
  But I worry about you
  I know it makes no difference
  To what you're going through
  But I see the tip of the iceberg
  And I worry about you
  
  Not to love, not to love, not to love Writer/s: Alex Zivojinovich, Gary Lee Weinrib, Neil Elwood Peart
  Publisher: Anthem Entertainment
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 15

• AbsolomabsolutelyIf one pays careful attention to the lyrics, it is clear that the references Cold War and climate change are more context and metaphors rather than the subject matter. The subject is far a more personal one having to do with a parent speaking to child, or even one on the verge of becoming teenager. The global issues are not the primary source of worry but rather how they will affect the child as she/he becomes more aware of them while also serving as metaphors for the inner turmoil and uncertainty that comes with transforming from childhood to adulthood. i only understood the song this way when my children became 10-15 or so…
• Brian from San DiegoThis song is a definite period piece that can only be understood in the very 1983-84 context where there was a strong growing fear of an inevitable nuclear war, which never took place, and this fear was largely due to media hype and movies like "The Day After". It's also about a father's fear for his child and what the future would bring. The reference to "The Red Book" is a book written by Carl Jung, which explores imaginations and the unconscious directions they can take. Absalom is a reference to the translation "Father of Peace" (and the third son of David). The rest of it is mainly references to the feelings of powerlessness and worry over what is coming, although the "acid rain" remark is a bit out of place, as this was a purely environmental concern of the time (pollution being pretty heavy in most major cities during the 70s/80s). In a way, the song is an expression of a father's imagination run wild about the Earth that his child would inherit.
  
  I was in high school at the time and my father told me during the time this album was being made that he was worried: "...., and believe it or not I'm worried about a nuclear war!". Funny thing about the band commenting on the song at the time; it is really mature subject matter. So the comments they put out when asked about the lyrics are rather vague, and I get the sense that they kept mysteries about their work due to the fact that many of their songs were loved by patron's that didn't understand it (and that was OK with them). Most of the material put out by other bands during this era was juvenile. I don't think Peart in interviews wanted to really get into the deeper meanings of it because it almost reflects some sort of personal (and perhaps very private) insecurity. That's my take anyway...
• Dale Troy from Milan, IndianaThe boy in the video IS NOT Geddy's son Julian, it is actually Alex Lant
• James from Norfolk, VaDealing with Ronald Reagan deciding to go along with the Strategic Defense Initative, aka Star Wars. It would be a budget breaker which would alarm special interest groups who think the money could be better spent. Remember this was still the Cold War raging on with the Soviet Union still powerful. So you have a litany of problems underlining the lyrical structure of this song, while Reagan makes his counterpoints during the chorus. Neil likes to use allusions in some of his songs and DEW is a primary example. Deuterium, cold fronts as an omen, Gene Kelly, William Faulkner, Atlas , Ernest Hemingway, the Roman Colisseum, Sodom & Gomorrah, sci-fi scenarios, and am I forgetting anything? Yes, the original Distant Early Warning for protecting the US, Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, etc. An imaginary line of defenses which would detect any nefarious activity aimed at our borders. Clever use of that for the title of a song. + The video used the "cut and paste" method. It looks pretty ugly IMO. Also a pivotal scene in Doctor Strangelove was alluded to.
• Jesse from Madison, WiHere's a funny little tidbit of pointless information... The scene when the "bomb" (or missile) is released was straight-jacked right out the movie The Right Stuff. Looking forward from the bombay toward the cockpit was the scene in T.R.S. when the Bell X-1 was released and Yeager broke the sound barrier. I own both this video on DVD and the movie on DVD and they're the same! I've reviewed it a hundred times!
• Kevin from New York, Ndawesome song why would GEDDY say he son was not in the video???
• John from Asheville, NcAnother fav from a great album in Grace. Song and album hold a special place for me.
• Jordan from Port Hope, CanadaJesse - This WAS on the Hold Your Fire tour, but originated on the Grace Under Pressure tour, which this song was from.
• Jake from Bellevue, IaIn a Rockline interview on May 9, 2007, Geddy said that his son Julian was not in this video.
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesI love the way that Rush mixed the chattering synth loops and explosive guitar riffs and blended them into a high-energy bass line in this song. The lightning-fast drums sound like they were given far less of a bashing on the Grace Under Pressure album than on Signals, the guitars were treated with less reverb, and in this song, the reed organs (which are featured in each chorus riff) are made less apparent at the climax, and are replaced by a distorted sequencer line, which comes in during that long instrumental just before the song finishes. While not the best song that Rush ever released, it could be argued that this song effortlessly demonstrated the musical versatility at the band's disposal perhaps more than any other song they ever recorded
• Jesse from L.a., CaOn the Hold Your Fire tour, a "symphonic prelude" was played to introduce this song.
• Wayne from Halifax (at Present), CanadaWOW, I can't believe what I'm reading.
  I worked on the Distant Early Warning Line (Canadian Sector) from 1982 to 1985. I heard that the song was written by a friend of the band. A woman who's boyfriend worked on the DEW Line at the time. It's about the loneliness those of us experienced who worked on the Line for months at a time and the loneliness and worry of those we left behind.
• Semor Butts from Cairo, Egyptwhat is wrong with you? the video is flipin awsome! this is one of the best songs ever!
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesShana - yes it's a good song, alright, but as for the video... like "Red Sector A" (which also came from 1984's 'Grace Under Pressure') album, this song - and its video - appears to be a testament to early 80s life, written in a climate of a society self-destructing and veering towards catastrophe. All the sontgs on 'Grace Under Pressure' had a touch of pensive and sad moodiness about them. Unlike "Red Sector A", which was a 1984-ish look towards hardship in the 21st Century, this song appears to be rooted in the past, reflecting past disasters, and warning that history is about to repeat itself...
• Shana from Pembroke, CanadaReally good song, terrible video though...so 80's lol

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