Rush “Subdivisions” released

Subdivisions Rush

Writer(s): Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart (see lyrics here) Released: October 22, 1982 First Charted: September 25, 1982 Peak: 8 AR, 53 UK, 36 CN, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 22.8 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: After pulling off their only top-40 hit with “New World Man,” the lead single from Signals, Rush went right back to familiar territory. “Subdivisions” was released as the second single from the album but failed to dent the Billboard Hot 100. The song did reach the top 10 on the album rock chart. In fact, it hit that chart a month before it was released as a single. Rush would place 42 songs on that chart with 20 of them reaching the top 10. The number would have been even more impressive had the chart existed prior to 1981. Lyrically, the song explores “how narrow-minded and judgmental people can get when they are confined to certain groups.” SF It deals with “the pressure to adopt certain lifestyles,” WK specifically for teenagers “dealing with a ‘cool’ culture and a comfortable yet oppressively mundane suburban existence in housing divisions. Anyone who does not obey social expectations is regarded ias an outcast; the lyrics flatly describe a choice of ‘conform or be cast out.’” WK Drummer and lyricist Neil Peart said it is “an exploration of the background from which all of us (and probably most of our audience) have sprung.” SF This was a turning point for Peart as Rush lyrics had typically been based in fantasy. He said, “I didn’t believe yet that I could put something real into a song…’Subdivisions happened to be an anthem for a lot of people who grew up under those circumstances, and from then on, I realized what I most wanted to put in a song was human experience.” SF Musically, Peart said, “It was an important step for us, the first song written that was keyboard-based. The upside of that: people don’t realize is that it made Alex and I the rhythm section. So the first time he and I tuned in to each other's parts was when Geddy was playing keyboards. It was a great new way for us to relate.” WK Peart is the one who says the title of the song during the chorus although the video portrays guitarist Alex Lifeson saying it. The video interspersed shots of the band playing live with images of suburbs in Scarborough, Ontario, and high school scenes shot at L’Amoreauex Collegiate Institute in the same area. WK The lead character was played by Dave Glover, a student there. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Rush SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/28/2022.