‘New World Man’ is a hit single from the 1982 album Signals by Canadian rock band Rush. The song was the last and most quickly composed song on the album, stemming from a suggestion by then-Rush producer Terry Brown to even out the lengths of the two sides of the cassette version. It went to No. 1 in Canada, where it remained for two weeks in October 1982. It was the only single by a Canadian act to top the RPM chart that year.
Less successful in the United States, it nonetheless remains Rush's only American top 40 hit, peaking at No. 21 on the Billboard singles chart in October and November 1982. On the Cashbox Top 100, it peaked at No. 35. It also hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart (the first Rush single to do so). ‘New World Man’ reached No. 42 in the United Kingdom. A remixed version (released as a double A-side with "Countdown") later reached No. 36 in the UK in early 1983.
Geddy Lee wrote in ‘Success Under Pressure’: "It wouldn't have been on the record if we didn't have four minutes space available. We tend to have pretty strict ideas on how long an album should be and basically it's just a matter of value. Our shortest albums are about 18 minutes a side and that's a pretty good value. I couldn't see us going below that; it doesn't make sense to me. But, at the same time, we're now recording digitally and so we do have certain considerations as to how the whole thing's going to sound when you cut it. There, you're dealing with quality, which is again down to value for money. I think what it really boiled down to was that we'd worked so hard getting all these slick sounds that we were all in the mood to put something down that was real spontaneous. In the end, the whole song took one day to write and record. It's good to put something together like that."
Neil Peart wrote: "Writing it in one day and recording it the next! We wanted to capture a spontaneous, relaxed feel for this one, not even spending much time getting the sounds together. Thus, it could stand in contrast to the rest of the album, being much more raw and "live" in its affect. Two days is very close to a record for us to write and record a song."Cash Box said that "synth blips pave the way for this pulsing change of pace" for Rush, with "a more compact, almost Police-like drive." Billboard said that it may give Rush a hit single due to its "hypnotic synthesizer pop with flashes of guitar rock."
Label – Mercury
Songwriters – Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson
Producers – Rush, Terry Brown
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]He's a rebel and a runner
He's a signal turning green
He's a restless, young romantic
Wants to run the big machine
He's got a problem with his poisons
But you know he'll find a cure
He's cleaning up his systems
To keep his nature pure
[Pre-Chorus]
Learning to match the beat of the Old World Man
Learning to catch the heat of the Third World Man
[Chorus 1]
He's got to make his own mistakes
And learn to mend the mess he makes
He's old enough to know what's right
But young enough not to choose it
He's noble enough to win the world
But weak enough to lose it
He's a New World Man
[Verse 2]
He's a radio receiver
Tuned to factories and farms
He's a writer and a ranger
And a young boy bearing arms
He's got a problem with his power
With weapons on patrol
He's got to walk a fine line
And keep his self-control
[Pre-Chorus]
Trying to save the day for the Old World Man
Trying to pave the way for the Third World Man
[Chorus 2]
He's not concerned with yesterday
He knows constant change is here today
He's noble enough to know what's right
But weak enough not to choose it
He's wise enough to win the world
But fool enough to lose it
He's a New World Man
[Outro]
Learning to match the beat of the Old World Man
He's learning to catch the heat of the Third World Man
He's a New World Man
He's a New World Man