"Manhattan Project" is a 1985 song by Canadian progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 band Rush

Rush (band)

Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...

 named for the WWII project

Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...

 that created the first atomic bomb. Lyricist Neil Peart

Neil Peart

Neil Ellwood Peart , OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario . During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer...

 read ten books about the Manhattan Project before writing the lyrics so that he had a proper understanding of what the project was really about.
This song first appeared in the 1985 album Power Windows

Power Windows (album)

Power Windows is the 11th studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1985. Power Windows was the first Rush album to be produced by Peter Collins and the album was recorded at The Manor in England, Air Studios in Montserrat and at Sarm East Studios in London.Power Windows introduced more...

, Rush's eleventh studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

. "Manhattan Project" is the third track on Power Windows at 5:07 long. It consists of four versus, addressing:

1) A time, during the era of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

,

2) A man, a scientist (such as J. Robert Oppenheimer),

3) A place, Los Alamos

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

 in New Mexico,

4) A man, Enola Gay

Enola Gay

Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...

 pilot and mission commander Paul Tibbets

Paul Tibbets

Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, best known for being the pilot of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in the history of warfare. The bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima...

.

The chorus refers to the explosion as "the big bang", in allusion to the start of a new universe following the singular event, repeating the theme of the verses marking when and where "it all began". While nuclear warfare

Nuclear warfare

Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...

 may be seen as the ultimate pinnacle of human fear

Fear

Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...

, lyricist Neil Peart does not include this song as being part of Rush's Fear series

Fear series

The "Fear Series" is a set of four songs by the band Rush. The series consists of Part I: "The Enemy Within" , Part II: "The Weapon" , Part III: "Witch Hunt" and Part IV: "Freeze"...

.