The Analog Kid

This song is about, as has been said, a boy who falls in love. It's not that hard to get when you know it, but I can understand some people might not come up with it because of Peart's formulation.

The best thing about this song is the lyrical co-operation with Digital Man. An analog signal is a signal that is written as it is recorded, without having anything encrypted. A digital signal is an encrypted signal that needs to be decoded, a digital signal only gives a positive or a negative signal, a 0 or a 1. This is something that shines through in the songs. The Analog Kid is about a boy who is overwhelmed with straight-forward emotion. Digital Man is about a heartless, calculating man.

My guess would be this is where the album title comes from. I can't say for sure though, as I don't know much Rush history.

First off, Bunkle's connection with Digital Man is spot on. To me, the song is not so much about love, but about moving forward versus and staking your claim in life or staying behind for the familar and comfortable.

First Stanza: metaphor for the flexibility (bending of tress in the wind/constant motion), even temper (hot and windy), and potential for great success (silver leaves) or failure (rocking in the breeze) that awaits analog kid if he pursues his 'nameless vision.'

Second Stanza: The use of 'quickens' could be related to 'quickening', which is described as the first time a mother can feel her fetus move. This occurs between 18 and 20 weeks generally. The kid in the song is probably around 18 to 20 years old. He feels that first sensation of wanting independce and success. Though he's not sure what his vision is, he's got something stirring in his soul driving him to want to pursue bigger things somewhere else.

Main Chorus: Only time he mentions being moved, it almost sounds like he's describing a city like New York or another metropolitan ocean front place and it's calling to him.

Third Stanza: The girl is on the edge of his dream, giving her less importance, but nonetheless, reminding him of what he'll leave behind. Her voice ringing in his ears, while sweet and nice to hear (like music of spheres) could be begging him to stay with her instead of pursue his dreams.

The hawk passing by as his mom calls out to him is his sign that it's time to strike out on his own. He ignores mom's call, and is beginning to grow and and possibly follow his amition.

I believe the last stanza pretty sums it all up.

Woke up this morning with this song ringing in my memory. It has always captured that period between the edge of childhood and adulthood. The time for stepping out into ones own in the world is close at hand. At this point I've heard about but have not experienced it yet on my own as a true individual. I'm about to step away from childhood, not fully appreciating/understanding the innocence that, naturally gets left behind. I'm only overwhelmed at this point by the awesome potential that could lie ahead. It's exciting, but also at moments, blinding. I look back on this time/space, now as a man, after it has long passed, and remember what it felt like to stand on the precipus of something for the first, and in a way, the last time. A moment of brand new awareness, that in and of itself, was a most meaningful experience.

The analog kid is the everyday normal person. The digital man is the Seeker. The New World Man is the Finder.

This song remindes me of tripping on LSD and laying in a field in absolute awe of the sky and nature. The Music of the spheres refers to the song of life and the universe. I think this song is really deep and not just about a boy moving to the city. That's not what Rush are about.

This song is about the internal struggles a person goes through to pursue his/her dream. Stay behind with the ones you love, or move forward and onward to great adventures. It speaks of a boy, but with lines such as "Autumn woods and winter skies," it states that it continues on in this person's life, through middle age and into old age. Neil definitely has his finger on the pulse of humanity and he had the gift to eloquently pen it to paper. RIP Neil Peart...

A really awesome song.

It's just some kid dreaming -- but it has to mean something deeper than that.

But I have no idea wtf it's supposed to mean. none at all.

that sort of freaks me out.

I love this song. The vocal melody is absolutely genius

I interpret it as a young person moving beyond simple living and going to the city to strike his fortune.

this is about the growing up of boys to men, it was summer, she was usualy out playing baseball, but this day was different, he dreamed of a girl for the first time and towards the end of the song his mother calls him and its back to reality for him, hes still just a boy