Released in 1976 on April Fools' Day, “The Twilight Zone” is the third track on Rush’s fourth studio album, 2112.

The song is a clear homage to Rod Serling and the 1959 sci-fi anthology TV show that he created, The Twilight Zone. The song describes two episodes of The Twilight Zone: “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” (first verse) and “Stopover in a Quiet Town” (second verse). In addition to this, it also briefly paraphrases the iconic opening narration of the series.

It is no surprise that Rush, including primary lyricist and drummer Neil Peart, were huge fans of Mr. Serling and his series, as it was not the first time, nor last time, that credits to Rod Serling had appeared on a Rush album. On their previous album, Caress of Steel, released in 1975 (3 months after the death of Rod Serling), the liner notes state:

Dedicated to the memory of Mr. Rod Serling.

-Caress of Steel liner notes (Rush – Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart.)

In addition to this, their following album, 1977’s A Farewell to Kings, was fully dedicated to Rod Serling.

The new album is dedicated to Rod Serling, because he was one of our great teachers, and at times, the band tends to be very Rod-like.

-Geddy Lee