Neil was into a lot of puns and phrases with multiple meanings around this time - like Moving Pictures and the album cover. Subdivisions is no different - you have the literal subdivisions of neighborhood streets and then you have the metaphorical subdivisions that people create... in the song the teenage / high school context is the most apparent but I think the message overall can be spread wider - obvious it starts with how we tend to separate into cliques and circles from a young age - and the greater idea that if you don't necessarily fit into some neat segment, then you are on your own. I think the part later about the "rat race" wrap up the song nicely... how adulthood brings about its own ideas of class, separation, and conformity.
This has always been my favorite Rush song and one of my favorites by anyone, anywhere.... few pieces of music speak to me like this one did, and continues to do. I have seen the band play it live a few times, and each time I found it to be a very personal and moving experience, as I found my formative years very difficult socially.
Neil was into a lot of puns and phrases with multiple meanings around this time - like Moving Pictures and the album cover. Subdivisions is no different - you have the literal subdivisions of neighborhood streets and then you have the metaphorical subdivisions that people create... in the song the teenage / high school context is the most apparent but I think the message overall can be spread wider - obvious it starts with how we tend to separate into cliques and circles from a young age - and the greater idea that if you don't necessarily fit into some neat segment, then you are on your own. I think the part later about the "rat race" wrap up the song nicely... how adulthood brings about its own ideas of class, separation, and conformity.
This has always been my favorite Rush song and one of my favorites by anyone, anywhere.... few pieces of music speak to me like this one did, and continues to do. I have seen the band play it live a few times, and each time I found it to be a very personal and moving experience, as I found my formative years very difficult socially.