History of Sorts

The title of this blog is the opening lines of the song “Red Sector A” by the Canadian Rock band “Rush.”

It is a song from their 1984 album, Grace Under Pressure. It’s one of Rush’s most emotionally charged songs, heavily influenced by Geddy Lee’s personal family history. The song’s poignant lyrics, written by drummer Neil Peart, reflect the horrors of war, totalitarianism, and human suffering and were inspired by the Holocaust.

Background and Inspiration:

The core inspiration for “Red Sector A” came from Geddy Lee’s(aka Gary Lee Weinrib) parents, Manya and Morris Weinrib, who were survivors of Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.

They were about 13 years old when they were initially imprisoned at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, close to the same age as Anne Frank at that time. After a period, his mother was transferred to Bergen-Belsen and his father to Dachau.

Lee, born in Canada after his parents had emigrated, grew up hearing the stories of their experiences. These stories of survival, loss, and the unimaginable conditions inside the camps made a profound impact on him. His mother, in particular, had shared her memories of being in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.

One of the most moving parts of her story, which directly influenced the song’s lyrics, was her memory of the Allied forces arriving at the concentration camps to liberate them. She and others were so starved, isolated, and traumatized that they could hardly believe they were being freed. They couldn’t even comprehend whether the soldiers they saw were real, as they had lost all sense of reality during their imprisonment. This profound moment of disbelief and emotional confusion would become a central theme in “Red Sector A.”

Themes and Lyrics:

“Red Sector A” doesn’t directly name the Holocaust, and Rush intentionally made the lyrics more ambiguous so that they could apply to various situations of oppression and tyranny. However, the imagery of suffering, despair, and survival unmistakably aligns with the experiences of Holocaust survivors. The lyrics convey both personal pain and the larger human condition in the face of extreme hardship.

The opening lines, “All that we can do is just survive / All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive,” capture the desperate struggle to survive in a dehumanizing environment. The song expresses the feeling of disbelief and shock at the possibility of freedom, with lines like:

“I hear the sound of gunfire at the prison gate, Are the liberators here? Do I hope or do I fear?”

This expresses the emotional numbness and confusion survivors felt upon being freed, unsure whether they could trust that their suffering was finally over.

The Title:

The title “Red Sector A” has often been interpreted as a reference to a specific area within a concentration camp, though it’s a fictional name. Rush avoided directly using real historical references, preferring to create an abstract world that could resonate with listeners on a broader level. The “Red Sector” could be a metaphor for any oppressive, brutal system or regime.

Musical Composition:

The music of “Red Sector A” complements the somber tone of the lyrics. With an intense, driving rhythm and synthesizer-heavy sound characteristic of Rush’s 1980s era, the song has a cold, dystopian feel, reflecting the isolation and bleakness of the subject matter. Geddy Lee’s vocals are particularly haunting, conveying the deep sense of loss and disbelief central to the song’s narrative.

“Red Sector A” stands out in Rush’s catalog as a song with deep emotional resonance and historical significance. Though Rush was primarily known for progressive rock with technical, philosophical lyrics, this song is more directly human and personal. For Geddy Lee, the song was a tribute to his parents and to all survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides, making it a rare personal statement in the band’s body of work.

Over time, “Red Sector A” has been recognized as a powerful commentary on the resilience of the human spirit in the face of horrific circumstances, transcending its specific inspiration to speak to anyone who has faced oppression or survived the war.

Sources

Red Sector A: Background

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/rush/red-sector-a

https://rush.fandom.com/wiki/Red_Sector_A

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sector_A#:~:text=Lyricist%20Neil%20Peart%20has%20stated,mother’s%20accounts%20of%20the%20Holocaust.