Sunday Rock: Rush, The Trees
Had to be Rush today. For one, I haven’t put them up in a while. Second, have your heard about the new film, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage? Here’s the trailer.
A friend clued me in this morning. And, it turns out VH-1 is airing it. Luckily, by the time I got it all groked, I found that the next showing was just in 20 minutes. Got the DVR in gear and hope to watch it later tonight.
So here’s a nifty live version of The Trees. You might detect that the tempo was slower in these earlier versions.
Of course, a libertarian such as myself couldn’t possibly put up that song without including the lyrics. A veritable picture of democracy (socialism, they are one in the same, differing only in practical degree, not principle).
There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble with the trees,
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their please.
The trouble with the maples,
(And they’re quite convinced they’re right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light.
But the oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made.
And they wonder why the maples
Can’t be happy in their shade.
There is trouble in the forest,
And the creatures all have fled,
As the maples scream "Oppression!"
And the oaks just shake their heads
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights.
"The oaks are just too greedy;
We will make them give us light."
Now there’s no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.
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Free The Animal is an eclectic writing project about everything since November 2003. 23 years, 5,500 posts, 5 million words.
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Wow that video brings back some major High School memories…. I used to be a big Rush nerd back in the day, saw them live a bunch of times way back when. I actually caught the tail end of the VH1 special last night, they sure do sound different now than they did back in the early 80’s.
Watched the Doc Saturday night on VH1 Classics.
I will be buying the dvd at Best Buy tomorrow for the extra features that VH1 left out.
I really enjoyed it.
Saw it last night and loved it. Honesty and integrity rang out as the two best words to describe these guys. Loved how Gene Simmons recounted his experiences with them. Funny shit.
I was channel-flipping on Saturday night and stumble upon “Beyond the Lighted Stage”….awesome show. I loved listening to Jack Black give his opinions. Even better was seeing the evolution of the band.
Jack Black can be such a riot. Totally unselfconscious. I loved School of Rock.
I’ll be thinking of you this weekend when I go watch these guys. Is there anything better than libertarian rock lyrics?
The extra’s disc is great, especially the 4 hour dinner scene (edited down of course) where several bottles of wine are consumed and Alex has pork belly for an appetizer. We were laughing so much.
We don’t see the current tour until September but I bet we see this disc more than once between now and then.