The Mountain Goats

Treetop Song

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Treetop Song Lyrics

All along the interstate
the palm trees were calling out to me
the line of them stretched fown the highway forever
as far as I could see
I waited til the sun was coming up
light morning traffic and a cool spring breeze
I heard the old voices calling down
from the tops of the trees

when I got up to the top, my head got light
for a minute everything in the world was alright
I saw the next tree just 10 feet away
give or take a few feet I guess
then I pushed off into the air with all my might
headed out into the center of the morning light
I knew that I was gonna make it
the new tree hardly shook to acknowledge my arrival
I knew that I would be alright

Submitted by

shewouldnt On May 19, 2006

The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton

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Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

shewouldnt

Submitter

2006-05-19 19:30:35

4 Meanings

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Cover art for Treetop Song lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

by Cithaeron

14y ago

In my opinion it's about moving to a new place. And more importantly, moving out from the older place.

My Interpretation

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by ABookOnAShelf

17y ago

I love this song so much. So. Much.

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by AlphaRatsNest

14y ago

Yeah i agree, All of New Asian Cinema is pretty fantastic right now...

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by klemkb

11y ago

I don't really think this is necessarily what John had in mind when he wrote it, but to me, this song will always be about losing my virginity. Obviously, the song tells a literal story about a squirrel or something making it's first big jump from tree to tree, But this is really just a song about going for it, and doing what you know you're supposed to do even if it's kind of intimidating. Jumping into the known unknown to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld.

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