"The Trees" is a song by Canadian rock band
Rush, from its 1978 album ''
Hemispheres
Hemisphere may refer to:
In geometry
* Hemisphere (geometry), a half of a sphere
As half of Earth or any spherical astronomical object
* A hemispheres of Earth, hemisphere of Earth
** Northern Hemisphere
** Southern Hemisphere
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''. The song is also featured on many of Rush's
compilation albums
A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from one artist, then generally the tracks we ...
. On the live album ''
Exit...Stage Left'', the song features an extended acoustic guitar introduction titled "
Broon's Bane."
''
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.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' readers voted the song number 8 on the list of the 10 best Rush songs.
Live365
LIVE365 is an Internet radio network which enables users to create their own online radio stations and listen to thousands of human curated stations. Online radio stations on the Live365 network were created and managed by music and talk enthus ...
ranked it the tenth best Rush song.
''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
'' readers voted "The Trees" the band's 11th best song.
Lyrics
The lyrics relate a short story about a conflict between maple and oak trees in a forest. The maple trees want more sunlight, but the oak trees are too tall. In the end, "the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw."
Rush drummer and lyricist
Neil Peart
Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...
was asked in the April/May 1980 issue of the magazine ''
Modern Drummer
''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, columns offering advice on technique, and information for the general public. ''Modern Dru ...
'' if there was a message in the lyrics, to which he replied, "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."
However, in his 2007 book ''Roadshow: Landscape With Drums. A Concert Tour by Motorcycle'', Peart clarified that the song was "a parable about
collectivism
In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, struct ...
".
In November 2023,
Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee Weinrib (; born Gary Lee Weinrib, July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Rock music, rock band Rush (band), Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968 at the request o ...
pondered that the song was "a comment on forced equality"; he also stated that he"may have also been a little naive in
isoriginal intent.
..There were a few things we sang about in our early twenties that seemed very important. But as time has gone on, you ameliorate those views because life has told you it's not so simple.
..You learn a lot about how much of life has lived in the gray areas as opposed to the black and white areas".
See also
*
List of songs recorded by Rush
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trees, The
1978 singles
Rush (band) songs
Songs about trees
Song recordings produced by Terry Brown (record producer)
Songs written by Neil Peart
Songs written by Geddy Lee
Songs written by Alex Lifeson
1978 songs