Editing 2112 (album) (section)

== Songs ==
=== Side one ===
Side one is occupied by the 20-minute futuristic science-fiction song "[[2112 (song)|2112]]". The seven-part track is based on a story by Peart who credits Russian-American novelist [[Ayn Rand]], inventor of the philosophy of [[Objectivism]] and author of the dystopian fictional novella ''[[Anthem (novella)|Anthem]]'', the plot of which bears several similarities to "2112". The band had read the book, and Peart added the credit in the album's liner notes to avoid legal action.<ref name=scene1976>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760603scene.htm|title=Rush's "Concept" Is Rock And Roll|first=Nick|last=Shofar|date=June 1976|magazine=Scene|volume=7|issue=22|location=Northeast Ohio|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918054232/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760603scene.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In the British paper ''[[NME]]'', [[Barry Miles]] made allusions of the Rand influence to [[Nazism]], which particularly offended Lee, whose parents were [[Holocaust]] survivors.<ref name=40theditionnotes/> "Overture" begins with a soundscape from musician and album cover artist [[Hugh Syme]] performed on his [[ARP Odyssey]] synthesizer with an envelope filter and [[Echoplex]] Delay pedal.<ref name=CR2012>{{cite web|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/20120611classicrockfanpack.htm|title=Classic Rock Presents: Rush - Clockwork Angels|publisher=Classic Rock|date=June 11, 2012|access-date=February 18, 2024}}</ref> Music writer and professor [[Rob Bowman (music writer)|Rob Bowman]] calculated that in the entire piece, 2:34 of the song contains improvised guitar solos.<ref name="40theditionnotes" /> "Overture" contains the lyric "And the meek shall inherit the earth", a reference to the Biblical passages [[Book of Psalms]] 37:11 and [[Matthew 5:5]] and borrows a short sequence from [[Tchaikovsky]]'s ''[[1812 Overture]]''.<ref name="40theditionnotes" /><ref name="guitarworld2013" />

"2112" tells a story set in the city of Megadon in the year 2112, after an intergalactic war in 2062 forces many of the planets to be ruled by the Solar Federation (symbolized by the Red Star on the cover artwork), where music is unknown and individualism and creativity are outlawed. The population is controlled by a cabal of priests living in the temples of Syrinx, who take orders from giant banks of computers that control all aspects of life ("The Temples of Syrinx").<ref name=40theditionnotes/><ref name=creem1976>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760300creem.htm|title=RUSH Pebbles & Bam-Bam in Alphaville|first=Rick|last=Johnson|date=March 1976|magazine=Creem|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=19 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919080555/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760300creem.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> An unnamed protagonist finds a guitar inside a cave and rediscovers the lost art of music ("Discovery").<ref name=creem1976/><ref name=circus1976>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760427circus.htm|title=Rush Goes into Future Shock|first=Dan|last=Nooger|date=27 April 1976|magazine=Circus|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126232102/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19760427circus.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon playing the guitar to the priests, they destroy it and declare music a waste of time and against the computers' plan ("Presentation"). In a dream, an [[oracle]] shows him a planet established simultaneously with the Solar Federation, where an elder race flourish in creativity and individuality ("Oracle: The Dream").<ref name=circus1976/> He awakens, depressed that music is part of such a society that he can never be part of and kills himself ("Soliloquy").<ref name=40theditionnotes/> Another planetary war begins and the elder race successfully take down the Solar Federation,<ref>''[[Classic Albums]]'' episode on ''2112'' and ''Moving Pictures'', 2010.</ref> but the song ends with an ambiguous spoken ending: "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation: We have assumed control" ("Grand Finale"). Peart described the ending as a "double surprise ... a real [[Alfred Hitchcock|Hitchcock]] killer".<ref name=creem1976/><ref name=scene1976/><ref name=40theditionnotes/>

=== Side two ===
Side two contains five individual songs that display the band's more traditional hard-rock sound and Lee's higher-pitched vocals featured on their previous albums.<ref name=circus1976/> Lifeson said while having a title track more serious, the rest of the album was to be "just a little lighter and a little more fun".<ref name=40theditionnotes/> Bowman wrote that the variation of styles on side two offers "a very different listening experience" in comparison.<ref name=40theditionnotes/> Though the tracks are not specifically about the "2112" concept, they do contain ideas that can relate to its overall theme.<ref name=scene1976/> Lee wrote the lyrics for "Tears" and Lifeson the lyrics to "Lessons", while Peart wrote the rest.<ref name=RS2016>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rushs-alex-lifeson-on-40-years-of-2112-it-was-our-protest-album-177351|title=Rush's Alex Lifeson on 40 Years of '2112': 'It Was Our Protest Album'|last=Grow|first=Kory|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=29 March 2016|access-date=30 March 2016}}</ref>

"[[A Passage to Bangkok]]" is a song about [[marijuana]]; Lee said it is "a travelogue for all the places in the world that grow the best weed". The track mentions a number of cities and countries, specifically [[Bogotá]], [[Jamaica]], [[Acapulco]], [[Morocco]], [[Bangkok]], [[Lebanon]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Kathmandu]].<ref name=radar2016/> Rush started to write "[[The Twilight Zone (Rush song)|The Twilight Zone]]" at a time when they needed one more song to fill side two. It was quickly put together, Peart said it was written and recorded in one day.<ref name=tourbook>{{cite web |url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/signals.html#tourbook |title=Stories from Signals |first=Neil |last=Peart |date=1982 |publisher=Anthem Records |access-date=July 6, 2018 |archive-date=July 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708135114/http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/signals.html#tourbook |url-status=live }}</ref> The band were big fans of the television series ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' and based the track on the stories written for it from its host, [[Rod Serling]].<ref name=radar2016/> "Lessons" is one of the few Rush songs written solely by Lifeson. For him, the process of songwriting is more seldom and spontaneous in comparison to dedicating time to write, rehearse and scrap parts that do not work.<ref name=lifeson1980/> "Tears" is a romantic ballad and is the first Rush track to incorporate the [[Mellotron]], which Syme performs.<ref name=radar2016/> "Something for Nothing" is a song about freewill and decision making.<ref name=radar2016/> Peart was inspired by graffiti on a wall that he saw while on his way to perform at the [[Shrine Auditorium]] in Los Angeles that read "Freedom isn't free", which he adapted into the song.<ref>Peart, Neil. ''Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to My Life and Times''. 2004.</ref> Lifeson asserted that its lyrical tie-in with the "2112" suite makes the track act as a coda to the record.<ref name=RS2016/>