The Trees (Rush song)
| "The Trees" | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Rush | |||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Hemispheres | |||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Circumstances" | ||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Format | 7" | ||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Hard rock, progressive rock | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:42 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson | ||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Rush & Terry Brown | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rush singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||
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The Trees is a song by progressive rock band Rush from their 1978 album Hemispheres. The song is also featured on many of Rush's compilation albums and has been a perennial fan favorite of the band's live shows. On the live album Exit...Stage Left, the instrumental "Broon's Bane" is performed as a short classical guitar introduction to the song.
Lyrics message
The lyrics relate a short story about a conflict between maple and oak trees in the forest. It has been assumed the story has a meaning, one of libertarian leanings, with some play given to the supposed connection between the maples (who could represent Canada, a generally left-leaning country) and the oaks (possibly the USA).[1] It is also noticed how the song ends "and the trees all kept equal/by hatchet, axe, and saw!" Some believe this is a metaphor for socialism, which could be keeping the people equal by oppressive measures.[2] However, the lyricist/drummer Neil Peart has affirmed there is none. When asked in the April/May 1980 Modern Drummer magazine if there was a message in the lyrics, Peart said, "No. It was just a flash. I was working on an entirely different thing when I saw a cartoon picture of these trees carrying on like fools. I thought, 'What if trees acted like people?' So I saw it as a cartoon really, and wrote it that way. I think that's the image that it conjures up to a listener or a reader. A very simple statement."[3]
In other media
- The song is featured in an episode of King of the Hill titled "The Witches of East Arlen."
- The song is featured in the film SLC Punk.
- Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine covered the song for their 2006 Christmas album Silent Nightclub.
- A vault edition of "The Trees" is a playable song in Rock Band 2 and also Rock Band Unplugged.[4]
External links
- Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
- Discussion of the song's meaning @ http://www.last.fm/group/Rush/forum/222/_/410497/1
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