Joni Mitchell once sang that they “took all the trees and
put them in a tree museum”. But, perhaps they took all the trees and put them
in songs instead! Here is my list of the top ten tree songs – and you don’t
even have to pay a dollar and a half just to see it!
I am excluding Christmas songs from the list, but better
give a quick shout out to Brenda Lee – Rocking around the Christmas Tree, and
Sufjan Stevens – Put the Lights on the Tree, which are probably the best two
Christmas tree songs. (but as I was excluding the genre, didn’t put much
thought into it, so might have missed another obvious choice)
As always, keep your comments flowing – re suggestions for
other songs, and your thoughts on the order of the list. (let’s see how many
Radiohead fans I have let down with this list – truth is, I don’t know their
stuff very well, so I actually don’t even know the song I am expecting to get
in the comments section)
10 - Lemon Tree –
Peter, Paul and Mary
To kick the list off, some folk music from Peter, Paul and
Mary.
9 - Home Among the
Gum Trees - Bob Brown
Gotta have a bit of Australiana, and this one was
interesting because I thought it was an old song, it sounds old, but it was
only written in the 1970’s. I guess the references to the supermarkets should
have dated it a bit better for me. Another interesting piece of useless information, the guy that
wrote it also wrote the awful “I’m an Indvidual” by Mark Jackson – talk about
variability in output!
8 - Tree Hugger –
Kimya Dawson & Antsy Pants
Kimya Dawson features prominently on the soundtrack to that
great film “Juno”, and that is how I came across this little track, a sweet
little acoustic number.
7 - Family Tree –
Loretta Lynn
Not really the kind of tree I had in mind, but here is
Loretta out there speaking her mind sticking up for her family, great stuff.
Can’t find a youtube link for this one.
6 - Tall Trees –
Crowded House
A solid album track from Woodface. Never going to be considered
up there as one of their best tracks, but its worthy of its spot on this list.
5 - English Trees –
Crowded House
From Time on Earth, Crowded House’s comeback album with a
new lineup (given the tragic death of Paul Hester). The Hester era Crowded
House and the post Hester era are so different that they are almost completely
different bands. This is a strong track though, and its almost got a mournful feel
to it, both in lyrics and melody.
4 - Apple Suckling
Tree – Bob Dylan and the Band
Quite a simple song, but I like it, and once you listen to
it, its hard to get out of your head.
3 - Lemon Tree –
Fool’s Garden
No, not that same lemon tree that Peter, Paul and Mary sung
about, but a different one entirely. I can’t say that German pop features
prominently in my music collection, but this song is a piece of class from
start to finish. Its so catchy, and stands well above some of the other stuff
that was around at the time of its release in the 90’s.
2 - A Thousand Trees
– Stereophonics
One of the early Stereophonics songs, and listening to this,
you probably wouldn’t have predicted the direction their career would take. One
of music’s great lyrics are contained in this song though: “it only takes one
tree to make a thousand matches, only takes one match, to burn a thousand
trees.” There’s a good one for all you philosophers out there!
1- Flame Trees – Cold
Chisel
This week’s number one song goes to those legends of Aussie
rock, where the Don Walker lyrics reflect on his memories of Grafton, the town
in which he grew up. Many would consider this song Cold Chisel’s finest moment
(haven’t taken time to reflect on my top ten Chisel songs).
So there it is, the top ten tree songs. Which songs shake your tree?
Yeah, that first Stereophonics album is streets ahead of anything they've recorded since. I love that Loretta Lynn track... and let me be the first to moan about the lack of Radiohead. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, I would add...
Felt - Penelope Tree
Huey Lewis & The News - Forest For The Trees
KT Tunstall - Black Horse & The Cherry Tree (her best)
Nick Drake - Fruit Tree
Pulp - The Trees