User:DrewMan2112/sandbox

"Distant Early Warning" is a song written by the Canadian progressive rock band Rush, which is featured as the opening song the band's tenth studio album, Grace Under Pressure. The song peaked on at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and remained of the charts for 14 weeks. Distant Early Warning was released in April 1984 as a single, with the vinyl featuring Between The Wheels on the B-side.

The song has been featured on many compilation albums, including Chronicles, Retrospective ll, Gold, and The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987. A promotional music video was made for the song, and has reached over 3.7 millions views on YouTube. The video was featured on Through the Camera Eye and Chronicles: The Video Collection.

Writing and Composition
The song talks about the Distant Early Warning Line, which was system of radar stations used during the Cold War. It was used to detect USSR bomber planes, and send an early warning of any invasions in relation to them. News stories from The Globe and Mail, a Toronto-based newspaper, inspired some of the lyrics in the song.

The song is mostly in the key of A minor, but switches to the fourth, D minor, during chorus and jam sections. It features Geddy Lee playing on a Steinberger XL-2 bass guitar and a synth riff that starts in 7/8, and then switches between 5/8 and 7/8.

Live Performance
Distant Early Warning has been a staple of Rush’s live performances, as it has been played on every tour since it’s release, up until it was dropped from the Counterparts Tour and Test For Echo Tour. It returned for the Vapor Trails tour, and was removed again during the R30 Tour. It was then put back in on the Snakes and Arrows Tour, and then dropped for the Time Machine Tour and Clockwork Angels Tour. It was then added to the setlist for the R40 Live Tour. The song has been played a total of 524 times by the band.