The Trees (Rush song)

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"The Trees"
The Treesrush.jpg
Single by Rush
from the album Hemispheres
B-side"Circumstances"
Released
  • February 1979 (US)
  • 7 July 1979 (NL)
GenreProgressive rock, hard rock
Length4:42
LabelAnthem
Songwriter(s)Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson
Producer(s)Rush & Terry Brown
Rush singles chronology
"Cinderella Man"
(1977) 		"The Trees"
(1979) 		"Circumstances"
(1978)
Music video
"The Trees" on YouTube

"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, 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 readers voted the song number 8 on the list of the 10 best Rush songs.[1]

Live365 ranked it the tenth best Rush song.[2]

Classic Rock readers voted "The Trees" the band's 11th best song.[3]

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."[4]

Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart was asked in the April/May 1980 issue of the magazine Modern Drummer 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."[5][6]

See also[]

  • List of Rush songs

References[]

  1. ^ Greene, Andy (2015-03-04). "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Rush Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  2. ^ "Top 10 Rush Songs". Live365.com. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  3. ^ "The 50 greatest Rush songs ever | Louder". Loudersound.com. 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  4. ^ Rush. "The Trees Lyrics". Rush.com. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  5. ^ Iero, Cheech (April 1980). "Neil Peart". Modern Drummer. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Trees by Rush Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 2004-06-02. Retrieved 2016-10-14.

External links[]

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