"2112" (pronounced twenty-one twelve) is a song by the Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Rush. It was released as a 20 minute song on their 1976 album of the same name. The overture and the first section, "The Temples of Syrinx", were released as a single and have been featured in most of Rush's setlists since. Starting with the 1996-97

Test for Echo Tour Rush was a Canadian rock band formed in 1968 in Toronto, that was comprised primarily of Geddy Lee (bass, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitar), and Neil Peart (drums, percussion, lyricist). The band formed in Toronto in 1968 by Lifeson, drummer John ...

, when any parts of the song were performed live, they were transposed down one full step, as heard on every live album and DVD from '' Different Stages'' forward. With the combined movements being twenty minutes and thirty-three seconds long, it is the longest song or suite in Rush's library. The song was adapted into a comic booklet, which used the lyrics of the song as lines for the characters and the narrations from the cover as intros.

Parts

* (*) Starting times and lengths approximate.

Composition

This song is described in the liner notes of the album—its interior and back cover—in two ways: # by the actually-sung ''lyrics'', and # by the ''narrative'' of the song's Protagonist—identified as "Anonymous, 2112"—quoted and italicized like entries from a personal journal—on the back cover and before the lyrics of all songs except "Overture" and "Grand Finale". Lyricist/drummer

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

is credited in the liner notes as acknowledging "the genius of

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

." Neil Peart explained the influence that she had on his music,See blog reviews on
SongMeanings , Lyrics , Rush – 2112
' saying in a 1991 "

Rockline ''Rockline'' was a nationally syndicated radio interview program hosted by Bob Coburn that was broadcast live via satellite every Monday and Wednesday night from 8:30pm-10pm PT to radio stations in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1981, ...

" interview:

I ''Overture''

The "sci-fi" sounds in the beginning of the song were created using an

ARP Odyssey The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972. History ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "perf ...

synthesizer and an Echoplex tape delay. On the "2112 / Moving Pictures" episode of the documentary series ''

Classic Albums ''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music. Format The TV seri ...

'', producer Terry Brown states the synth intro is composed of various parts played by

Hugh Syme Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC) who is best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has appeared on some Rush ...

that were put together in a collage. This part musically foreshadows the rest of the song—incorporating movements from "The Temples of Syrinx", "Presentation", "Oracle: The Dream", and "Soliloquy"—as well as a guitar adaptation of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

1812 Overture ''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon ...

. Its sole lyric, at the end, "And the meek shall inherit the Earth", is a reference to the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes are sayings attributed to Jesus, and in particular eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirr ...

of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

and

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

37:11.

II ''The Temples of Syrinx''

The song introduces life within the "Solar Federation" under control of the "Priests of the Temples of Syrinx". The computerized nature of The Priests' system was a concept envisioned by Neil Peart in the 1970s.Telleria, Robert: Rush Tribute Mereley (sic) Players, page 149. Quarry Press, Inc. 2002

III ''Discovery''

The Protagonist finds a guitar in a cave by a waterfall. He figures out how to tune and play it, enabling him to make his own music. He states "How different it could be from the music of the Temples." He decides to perform it before the Priests, believing they will "praise my name" for letting "

he people He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

make their own music". In this song, guitarist

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

builds up from simple open string guitar playing into increasingly complex patterns and chords, showing the man's progress as he teaches himself to play the guitar. Printed on the album were the lyrics "''Chords'' that build high like a mountain" and Geddy sang it this way for the 1996 live album, but the original recorded lyrics were "sounds" instead of "chords" ("''sounds'' that build...").

IV ''Presentation''

The Protagonist performs before the Priests, but they tell him that "we have no need for ancient ways", and dismiss the instrument as a "silly whim" that "doesn't fit the plan". The Protagonist tries to explain, "our world could use this beauty; just think what we might do". However, the Priests tell him, "Don't annoy us further." Vocalist/bassist

Geddy Lee Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...

and guitarist

alternately represent the Protagonist with gentle, low-pitched vocals and clean guitar, and the Priests with high-pitched vocals and distorted,

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

guitar. The song ends with a guitar solo.

V ''Oracle: The Dream''

The Protagonist "wanders home" and has a vision of the past and future. An

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

shows him the way it was before the Federation rose, a society where creativity and individuality flourished, with great "sculptured" works of beauty driven by "the pure spirit of man." He now sees that without these things, life has become "meaningless." He also sees "the hand of man arise with hungry mind and open eyes". The "elder race" was ''not'' destroyed, but "left our planets long ago", plotting to ultimately return "home to tear the Temples down."

VI ''Soliloquy''

The protagonist returns to the cave and broods for "days". He imagines "what my life might be in a world like I have seen", and now considers life under the Federation "cold and empty", with his spirits "low in the depths of despair". He resolves that, in order to "pass into the world of my dream, and know peace at last", he must take his own life, his narrative ending as "my life blood spills over."

VII ''
Grand Finale Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
''

The song concludes with a

instrumental part. ''Pingree's Music Reviews'' says, "'2112' ends with the oppressive government being attacked by another entity, left entirely up to the listener's interpretation."
Pingree's Music Reviews, Tag Archive: Geddy Lee, Rush – 2112
', January 26, 2011 On the ''

'' episode on ''2112'' and '' Moving Pictures'', Lee comments on the ambiguity of the ending, but Peart states that his intent was that the Elder Race successfully deposed the Solar Federation. As the ''Grand Finale'' ends, the lines "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation" followed by "We have assumed control" are spoken three times each.

Popular culture

This song is on '' Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock'' where it is used within the game's storyline (four band warriors find Demigod's Battle Axe Guitar and must play all parts of "2112" on basic controllers). The level is narrated by Rush. It was made available to download on December 31, 2011 as both 3 pieces and as the complete 20-minute track, for play in ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'' Basic, and PRO mode which utilizes real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits in addition to vocals. The song and its universe feature in the novel ''

Ready Player One ''Ready Player One'' is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality ga ...

'' by

Ernest Cline Ernest Christy Cline (born March 29, 1972) is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet, and screenwriter. He wrote the novels ''Ready Player One'', '' Armada'', and ''Ready Player Two'' and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation o ...

as fundamental plot elements, and also get a visual reference in its film adaptation.

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1976 singles 1976 songs Rush (band) songs Dystopian music Songs written by Alex Lifeson Songs written by Geddy Lee Songs written by Neil Peart Song recordings produced by Terry Brown (record producer) Science fiction music Rock operas