cts this very lifestyle can have.The office door closed earlyThe hidden bottle came out.The salesman turned to close the blinds.A little slow now, a little stout.But he's still heading down those tracksAny day now for sure.Another day as drab as todayIs more than a man can endure.Within these lyrics, taken from Rush's song Middletown Dreams, we are able to see the effects the large city can have on the population. We are given the image of a businessman who drinks at work and grows "slow and stout" because of his daily routine. He constantly plans to get out of town; but the reader or listener knows that he never will based on the conversational tone Peart uses when he says "any day now for sure". It's as if the character in the song is attempting to convince himself of something he knows will likely never happen. All in all life in the big city is portrayed as being one of great purpose and mission; but one with little enjoyment for the natural things in life- the simple things. On one level it is looked upon as a sad and lonely existence, but from an opposing angle it could be looked upon as the reason for our country's ability to remain competitive in an overly aggressive world. Contrasting the industry-based hustle and bustle of a city like Toronto we will now look to Canada's East coast where the people seem to have embraced an opposing lifestyle. It seems that the further east one moves through Canada the more relaxed the lifestyle becomes. Gone are the landscapes cluttered with buildings; they have been replaced by landscapes littered only with trees, lakes and open sky. It is this major change in the scenery that seems to have had the most effective outcome on Canada's East coat. This change of scenery not only effects the landscape of the area it has a direct impact on the music created in that area. Whereas Rush was discussed as being a band with all of the clang and clutter of a downtown Toronto street at five o'cl...
