"The Trees" is a song by Canadian rock band
Rush, from its 1978 album ''
Hemispheres''. The song is also featured on many of Rush's
compilation albums
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
, and was long a staple of the band's live performances. 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, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' readers voted the song number 8 on the list of the 10 best Rush songs.
Live365 ranked it the tenth best Rush song.
''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
'' 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 OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...
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, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public. ''Mo ...
'' 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."
See also
*
List of Rush songs
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
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