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A Day In The Life Of A Tree Lyrics
Feel the wind burn through my skin
The pain, the air is killing me
For years my limbs stretched to the sky
A nest for birds to sit and sing
But now my branches suffer
And my leaves don't bear the glow
They did so long ago
One day I was full of life
My sap was rich and I was strong
From seed to tree I grew so tall
Through wind and rain I could not fall
But now my branches suffer
and my leaves don't offer
Poetry to men of song
Trees like me weren't meant to live
If all this world can give
Pollution and slow death
Oh Lord I lay me down
No life's left to be found
There's nothing left for me
Trees like me weren't meant to live
If all this earth can give
Is pollution
Trees like me weren't meant to live
(Oh Lord I lay me down)
If all this earth can give
(My branches to the ground)
Is pollution and slow death
(There's nothing left for me)
Oh Lord I lay me down
My branches to the ground
There's nothing left for me
The pain, the air is killing me
For years my limbs stretched to the sky
A nest for birds to sit and sing
And my leaves don't bear the glow
They did so long ago
My sap was rich and I was strong
From seed to tree I grew so tall
Through wind and rain I could not fall
and my leaves don't offer
Poetry to men of song
If all this world can give
Pollution and slow death
No life's left to be found
There's nothing left for me
If all this earth can give
Is pollution
(Oh Lord I lay me down)
If all this earth can give
(My branches to the ground)
Is pollution and slow death
(There's nothing left for me)
My branches to the ground
There's nothing left for me
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this is a beautiful under-rated piece of work from brian wilson. an environmental plee decades before such matters were really in the public psyche. i can't help feeling that the pessimistic tone of the tree is brian himself. there is an overwelming sense of giving up in these lyrics, and the decade that followed was certainly non productive for wilson. a shame considering the excellent 'surf's up' had finally made it onto record - what else could wilson need as a confirmation of his genius and relevance in popular music?
This song is actually a meditaton about suicide, a surprisngly frequent subject of Beach Boys songs.
The songs lyrics were written by Jack Rieley and aren't about suicide... in the words of Jack Rieley:
"Brian Wilson and I had been talking a lot about the sorry state of the planet back then. He was filled with questions and we went on for hours about it. Forests were dying, the air had turned brown, the earth's future was beginning to appear hazardous to health. When Brian first played the chords and sang the tentative melody for me, he asked what the song should be about and I suggested a single tree as metaphor for the earth; that single tree as metaphor for more than ecology"
It's a really somber song but it's really catchy.
It's also about celebration of life and the promise of recognition and amelioration. Nothing like it. By far one of my favorite songs. I believe this may have had a potential home for Smile, the classic .
The title of this song made me chuckle, but after reading its lyrics I don't find it as funny. p.s If you've read the lyrics and think that they're really sad, please don't judge me for laughing - it's called "a day in the life of a tree"!