The Trees

[USB Connector]

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 1 2012, 12:39 PM)

QUOTE (USB Connector @ Apr 1 2012, 10:47 AM) The song is very well written both lyrically and musically. The fact that you take anything spouted by anyone associated with Rolling Stone/RRHoF as truth without verification tells me a lot about you as a person. Who are you talking to here? http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/554/facepalm.jpg

[danielmclark]

QUOTE (USB Connector @ Apr 1 2012, 11:43 AM)

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 1 2012, 12:39 PM) QUOTE (USB Connector @ Apr 1 2012, 10:47 AM) The song is very well written both lyrically and musically. The fact that you take anything spouted by anyone associated with Rolling Stone/RRHoF as truth without verification tells me a lot about you as a person. Who are you talking to here? http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/554/facepalm.jpg Your comment confuses me.

[USB Connector]

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 1 2012, 01:57 PM)

QUOTE (USB Connector @ Apr 1 2012, 11:43 AM) QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 1 2012, 12:39 PM) QUOTE (USB Connector @ Apr 1 2012, 10:47 AM) The song is very well written both lyrically and musically. The fact that you take anything spouted by anyone associated with Rolling Stone/RRHoF as truth without verification tells me a lot about you as a person. Who are you talking to here? http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/554/facepalm.jpg Your comment confuses me. Which is why I facepalmed.

[LyndseyG]

QUOTE (Geddyleegenes @ Mar 31 2012, 12:28 PM)

One of Rush's most fantastic songs musically and lyrically.

+1

 

Love it!

[Tommy Sawyer]

Okay just read that article today with no expectation of this reference.

 

I lol'ed.

 

 

[JohnnyBlaze]

QUOTE (goose @ Apr 1 2012, 11:47 AM)

QUOTE (laughedatbytime @ Mar 31 2012, 09:41 PM) Well, I'm one of those people who think it's a damning indictment of socialism. I think it's pretty clear that this is the point Neil is making. Demand equality, and you may get your wish. Everyone will be relegated to the lowest deniminator.   The kid movie "The Incredibles" has the same message embeded in it, although with somewhat more subtlety than Neil. http://www.chrisdiclerico.com/wp/wp-content/incredibles_200.jpg

[Gompers]

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 30 2012, 11:53 PM)

QUOTE (losingit2k @ Mar 30 2012, 11:50 PM) QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 30 2012, 10:49 PM) Lyrics are overrated. You're Overrated!   I'm flattered!   I simply think melody trumps lyrics. Win!

[goose]

QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 1 2012, 11:53 PM)

QUOTE (goose @ Apr 1 2012, 11:47 AM) QUOTE (laughedatbytime @ Mar 31 2012, 09:41 PM) Well, I'm one of those people who think it's a damning indictment of socialism. I think it's pretty clear that this is the point Neil is making. Demand equality, and you may get your wish. Everyone will be relegated to the lowest deniminator.   The kid movie "The Incredibles" has the same message embeded in it, although with somewhat more subtlety than Neil. http://www.chrisdiclerico.com/wp/wp-content/incredibles_200.jpg   Love watching that with the kids!

[goose]

QUOTE (GeddysMullet @ Apr 1 2012, 07:43 AM)

I think the lyrics to The Trees are a brilliant unintentional parody of Objectivism.

Unintentional brilliance...not sure how to take that. I will remember the phrase, though. Seems a useful one, especially over at SOCN...

 

[drbirdsong]

QUOTE (laughedatbytime @ Mar 31 2012, 09:41 PM)

Well, I'm one of those people who think it's a damning indictment of socialism.

[That One Guy]

Funny, my friends who are in the "gray" area of being-a-Rush-fanism don't know much about songs outside the popular ones, but always point out The Trees as having "neat" or "clever" lyrics.

 

I personally find them worthwhile. Neil was ~25 and possibly high when they were conceived.

[Thrak]

Neil called the lyrics "doggerel" somewhere down the line, but they make a particular point, one that most rock critics are bound by oath to dismiss. I've often been amused at how strongly some people object to The Trees - tells me more about them than Peart's allegorical whimsy.

 

 

[Geddyleegenes]

QUOTE (Union 5-3992 @ Mar 31 2012, 10:42 PM)

Another of Neil's Rand inspired songs. Other than The Trees & 2112, what other songs have lyrics inspired by her novels?

I know that the authors of the rather bizarre book "Mystic Rhythms - The Philosophical Vision of Rush" think that "The Trees" was inspired by the works of Ayn Rand, but it wasn't.

 

Here's what Neil had to say about "The Trees" in an interview with Modern Drummer Magazine in 1980:

 

Though it seems to be steeped in meaning, according to lyricist/drummer Neil Peart, there is no meaning at all in this song. When asked about whether there is a message to "The Trees", 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."

Edited April 4, 2012 by Geddyleegenes

[BigBob]

QUOTE (goose @ Mar 31 2012, 09:47 PM)

QUOTE (laughedatbytime @ Mar 31 2012, 09:41 PM) Well, I'm one of those people who think it's a damning indictment of socialism. I think it's pretty clear that this is the point Neil is making. Demand equality, and you may get your wish. Everyone will be relegated to the lowest deniminator.   The kid movie "The Incredibles" has the same message embeded in it, although with somewhat more subtlety than Neil. Huh? I thought it was about trees battling, kind of like Bytor and the Snow dog were dogs Battling. I never knew there was any kind of metaphor at all in these songs. But now that you mention it....   So then, who are the good guys in this song the Oaks or the Maples?

[goose]

QUOTE (Geddyleegenes @ Apr 3 2012, 09:30 PM)

QUOTE (Union 5-3992 @ Mar 31 2012, 10:42 PM) Another of Neil's Rand inspired songs. Other than The Trees & 2112, what other songs have lyrics inspired by her novels? I know that the authors of the rather bizarre book "Mystic Rhythms - The Philosophical Vision of Rush" think that "The Trees" was inspired by the works of Ayn Rand, but it wasn't.   Here's what Neil had to say about "The Trees" in an interview with Modern Drummer Magazine in 1980:   Though it seems to be steeped in meaning, according to lyricist/drummer Neil Peart, there is no meaning at all in this song. When asked about whether there is a message to "The Trees", 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." Cartoonish...yes. From the mouth of the Professor himself.