"Redwood Tree" is the sixth song on Northern Irish singer-songwriter

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

's 1972 album, ''

Saint Dominic's Preview ''Saint Dominic's Preview'' is the sixth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in July 1972 by Warner Bros. Records. ''Rolling Stone'' declared it "the best-produced, most ambitious Van Morrison record y ...

'', released in July 1972 by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

It was later released in October as the second of three singles from the album and charted at number 98 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Recording

"Redwood Tree" was recorded in April 1972 at the

Wally Heider Studios Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio founded in San Francisco in 1969 by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider. Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jef ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, along with "

" and " I Will Be There".Wrench. ''Saint Dominic's Flashback'', p.1818/3575 Salisbury arranged all three songs for the album, as he had

absolute pitch Absolute pitch (AP), often called perfect pitch, is a rare ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone. AP may be demonstrated using linguistic labeling ("naming" a note), associating ...

, which allowed him to write down the music over phone calls with Morrison with ease.

Writing

In April 1971 Morrison and his family moved to

Marin County, California Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is across ...

, before he recorded his previous album, ''

Tupelo Honey ''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to ...

''. Their new home was on the side of a hill in rural countryside close to San Francisco, with

redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. Description The three redwood subfamily genera are '' Sequoia'' from coas ...

trees nearby. Biographer

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Da ...

believes the song "Redwood Tree" "enshrined the beauty of Marin county". The song evokes nostalgia and memories of growing up, in a similar way to his songs "

And It Stoned Me "And It Stoned Me" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It is the opening track on his 1970 solo album, ''Moondance''. Composition and recording "And It Stoned Me" was recorded in summer 1969 at Warner Publishing Studio in ...

", "Country Fair" and "Take Me Back". The difference with "Redwood Tree" is that it is not set in Belfast or Northern Ireland, where Morrison grew up, as

Brian Hinton Brian Hinton, MBE (born 21 September 1950) is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen's Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts. Education Born in Southampton, Hinton studied Engl ...

remarks:

Reception

When released as a single it was not as successful as ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' reviewer Steven Holden had anticipated: "The affirmation of ''Saint Dominic's Preview'' is translated to the past in 'Redwood Tree', an ecstatic boyhood reminiscence centering on the image of a sheltering redwood tree. This beautiful, sensuous cut has the album's greatest potential as a hit single." It was released as a single but only charted at number 98 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which made it less of a success than the album's lead single "

Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" is a song written and performed by Van Morrison and featured as the opening track on his sixth studio album, '' Saint Dominic's Preview''. It was released by Warner Bros. in July 1972 as the fi ...

", which reached number 61. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' recommended the single and called it a "strong folk rock ballad." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that the "Nice self-production and steady stream of melody combine to make this an easy-programming example of singer-songwriter's art." John Collis describes the song as "A charming if somewhat folksy reminder of Morrison's interest in country music at the time."Collis. ''Inarticulate Speech of the Heart'', p.132

Personnel

vocals, rhythm guitar *Jules Broussardtenor saxophone *Bill Churchbass *

Gary Mallaber Gary Mallaber (born October 11, 1946 in Buffalo) is a Los Angeles session drummer, percussionist and singer. He attended Lafayette High School, where he and Bobby Militello, along with other musicians, were mentored by saxophonist Sam Scam ...

drums *Doug Messengerguitar *Janet Planetbacking vocals *Tom Salisburypiano *Ellen Schroerbacking vocals *Jack Schroeralto and baritone saxophones *Mark Springerbacking vocals

Notes

References

*Collis, John (1996). ''Inarticulate Speech of the Heart'', Little Brown and Company. *Hage, Erik (2009). ''The Words and Music of Van Morrison'', Praeger Publishers, * Hinton, Brian (1997). ''Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison'', Sanctuary. * Rogan, Johnny (2006). '' Van Morrison: No Surrender'', London: Vintage Books. *Wrench, Peter (2012). ''Saint Dominic's Flashback: Van Morrison's Classic Album, Forty Years On'', FeedARead. Kindle Edition. {{Authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles Van Morrison songs Songs written by Van Morrison Song recordings produced by Van Morrison Warner Records singles