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1.
Trees 02:46
Trees, trees Bursting forth with leaves Swaying in the gentle summer breeze [Woody plant Standing taller than 13 feet] Trees, trees [Fibrous inner wood with an outer covering called bark] Pollen factories Making work for busy little bees [Leaves that manufacture food from sunlight Through a process known as Photosynthesis] Let's make time today To lie down in the shade Beneath the trees [Single trunk Whose diameter Is at least] Trees, trees [Three inches At a height of four and A half feet] Mighty as they please Lovely, surely everyone agrees [Crown of foliage that might stay evergreen Or might change color And fall off at times] Let's make time today To lie down in the shade Beneath the trees
2.
To the Woods 02:02
Let's go to the woods Maybe just a little farther than we should We'll be back by dinner I found a trail I think we'd better follow it Let's go to the woods Ride our bikes up to the lot where nothing's stood Past the branches where the world opens up Yeah, it's another Narnia When we go to the woods, we'll be on our own When we go to the woods, we can live by our own code Get your pocket knife Bet there's something on there You have never tried Got my compass and my Henry David Thoreau Yeah, I'm so ready to go When we go to the woods, I feel more alive When we go to the woods, it's up to us if we survive Ducking under every spider web Footsteps crunching in the leaves Clamboring up to walk along a log Nature's balance beam Who do these woods belong to? I don't know The woods, they should be free Or the property of animals The property of trees The property of trees! Let's go to the woods!
3.
Walking 'round town Walking down my street Right here on the ground Lying at my feet I found a stick (It's a stick, it's a stick) I found a plain old stick (Just a dumb ol' stick) Well, I picked it up with my hands Ain't nobody gonna tell me I can't: It's just a stick Branch was growing Nice and strong Ain't nobody knowing Why the branch fell off Now it's a stick (It's a stick, it's a stick) The former branch is a stick (Just a dumb ol' stick) Take as many of them as you please As a matter of fact they DO grow on trees! It's just a stick. All right! Put on your hiking boots Pull up your socks Get yourself a stick And go on out for a walk With a stick (It's a stick, it's a stick) With a walking stick (Just a dumb ol' stick) I myself could never understand Why is it easier to walk with a stick in your hand? It's just a stick Put it in the water See if it'll float Pretending all you wanna That it is a boat But it's a stick (It's a stick, it's a stick) It's just a floating stick (Just a dumb ol' stick) Watch it sail away until it's gone There's like a zillion more where that came from It's just a stick Throw it in the air See if you can catch it Toss it to the dog see if she will fetch it It's a stick (it's a stick, it's a stick) It's a fetching stick (Just a dumb ol' stick) Well, that's the end of this here old song It's already gone on for way too long! It's just a stick Oooh, what's brown and sticky? A brown stick!
4.
Acorns 02:49
In my life I'm finding acorns You know like a five you washed and dried Who knows how many times Checking my pockets, finding acorns A fluttering thought I guess I caught And just as quickly I forgot A little note I wrote to myself Oh, it might as well Be a note from somebody else In my world I'm finding acorns A bubblegum pile I hid for a while After all that bright pink ice cream was long gone On scraps of paper, finding acorns I gather them all whenever they fall You never know when one will grow into a song A melody into my phone at night By the porch light One day we're bound to reunite They say you can't count on acorns raining down There's a mystery to their numbers But last year was a mast year So I've got a stash to tide me I hide and then I seek Keeping my eyes peeled for acorns Remembering that miniature hats Rest upon the stuff that grows into a tree My favorite season brings me acorns So I'm going to let them fall on my head And when they hit, I'll shout, "Eureka!" Am I the squirrel or am I the tree? I can't wait to see What will these acorns mean for me….
5.
Coniferous trees, as you might have known Reproduce by growing little seeds inside of a cone Coniferous trees grow around the world And the tallest living thing on The Earth is a coniferous tree In case you're curious, Molly [Oh!] That's a coast redwood, or a sequoia tree, It's grown out there in California USA [Hey, thanks for the information] You're welcome, you're welcome It's 379 feet tall [not bad] Yeah, it's tall Coniferous trees [coniferous trees], so some folks believe [Yeah, I've seen those people] Don't have leaves because they have needles But guess what? Their needles are actually leaves It's just a different kind of a leaf Coniferous trees grow around the world And the oldest living thing on The Earth is a coniferous tree [And what is that?] Well, a tree? It's like a big, woody plant-like thing... [No, I mean, like] Oh, the oldest thing? [Yeah] The oldest thing is a bristlecone pine tree That's grown out there in California It's over 4,800 years old [You checked out a book on California, didn't you?] Coniferous trees [coniferous trees], I just got that Nicknamed 'evergreens' [they don't eat meat, do they?] No, those are carnivorous trees [oh, OK] On account of their tendency, year round, to keep their leaves. See I told you they had leaves! [Yep] Coniferous trees grow around the world And if you ask me One of the coolest kind of trees on The Earth is tree coniferous tree {One more time!}
6.
Angel Oak 02:29
Angel Oak, I'm not allowed to climb you Angel Oak, there are park rangers around Angel Oak, I've always wished to climb a tree and I see the way you lay your branches down Wish I could wander up the ramp of you And look down I'd love to stroll on up your branches But it's not allowed It's fair and square I'd never dare to lean on you Don't have to tell me that I'm not above the law Unlike the birds, unlike the squirrels They pass right through There are advantages to being wild and small If I could follow the same path they do Along your boughs I'd hold my arms straight out for balance They'd never get me down Back to the ground But you're a famous tree A tree that has a name And a postcard and a gate So I'll stay far enough away that brittle rules will never break But close enough to dream while I'm awake Oh, Angel Oak Angel Oak
7.
In the world before the dinosaurs Centimeters tall they stand By the rivers, lakes and ocean shores Plants The early plants Later on, before the dinosaurs Growing taller by degrees With their woody stems now for support Trees The early trees Here come the trees They come to take over the world They come in peace Here come the trees Later still before the dinosaurs Spreading out with greater speed Faster than they ever could with spores Seeds The world’s first seeds Here come the trees They come to take over the world They come in peace Here come the trees Since their appearance on Earth over 390 million years ago Trees have evolved and endured through dramatic climate changes And mass extinctions Surviving, thriving and spreading across The mighty supercontinent Pangea They colonized the land with great forests Still some 100 million years Before the appearance of the dinosaurs In the world before the dinosaurs Forming forests, fanning out The lycopods, calamites, conifers Now Their time is now Here come the trees They come to take over the world Here come the trees Across the supercontinent Nothing’s stopping them now Here come the trees They come to take over the world They come in peace Here come the trees
8.
Two trees that grew up together Two trees that lean on each other like old friends Like old friends Two trees so close they almost look like one Two trees The squirrels so easily jump from one to the other Two trees in love at the top of my yard I've got love inside and they're standing guard Two trees that grew up together My neighbor calls them the lovers They remind me of Two giraffes with their necks entwined I hear their music on a windy night Their branches swaying at the top of them pines I listen To the timbre of the timber keeping time Two trees in love at the top of the hill You can lean on me, and I know you will Two trees in love seems like a good sign As long as I'm yours As long as you're mine
9.
Sturdy reliable and strong Withstanding all that comes along Majestic resolute and proud Beneath a crown of mighty boughs Steadfast and dignified It's easy to see why the national tree of England is the oak The national tree of Ireland is the oak The national tree of Moldova is the oak Symbolic, stately and sublime Unyeilding through the test of time Commemorating storied past And persevering to the last History lignified it's easy to see why the national tree of Serbia is the oak The national tree of Cyprus is the oak The national tree of Poland is the oak The national tree of Estonia is the oak The national tree of Germany is the oak The national tree of Latvia is the oak The national tree of Wales is the oak The national tree of Bulgaria is the oak The national tree of Romania is the oak The national tree of France is the oak The national tree of Lithuania is the oak The national tree of the United States is the oak
10.
Meet you by the roots of the tree with my blue Lamborghini It's the one that you let me have There must be something wrong with it By the roots of the tree with my blue Lamborghini It's the only one I ever had And I'm still hanging on to it Rolling our cars Looking for a place to park That's all we do Parking cars on roots Sitting in the sand in the shade, oh, it feels far away The kids over on the swings Sound like seagulls on the wind Reverent hours spent in a magical place I hope you don't mind me lots You did give me a Matchbox I know these roots Stretch beneath us underground Almost touching the next tree They are family Even if they don't make a sound Still have my car Sand all in the tires Won't roll anywhere But it takes me right back to there Takes me right back to you Meet you over by the roots
11.
I, Wood 03:31
Take a look with me at this plant we call the tree It’s standing taller than All them other plants Makes you wonder “how’d it get so big?” Hah! How can it stand tall and yet still be flexible Enough to sway and bend In the wind? ‘Cause if it wasn’t it would break and fall Who's been supporting trees as long as trees have stood? Who could? I, Wood [He's Wood] That's me! Now let’s take a peek at the inside of the tree How does the water move From the roots [Ah ooh] To the leaves up in the canopy? [Ahhhh] I take it on up through millions of microscopic tubes In a tissue called ‘xylem’ And you’ll find it in Every tree from here to Timbuktu Who ‘s making sure that xylem’s working like it should? Who could? I, Wood Here we go now Strictly speaking I’m a strong and fibrous tissue Found in certain plants' roots and stems I lend support and I help transport Important water and food and nutrients Where was I?[Leaves] Oh yeah. Leaves! The leaves they get supplied With water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight Which they take And use to make Food Which is to say they photosynthesize But the food up in the leaves Is meant to feed the entire tree So phloem takes it down Spreads it all around And phloem’s just another part of me Who’s rollin’ with the phloem Delivering that food? Who could? I, Wood [He's literally wood] Strictly speaking I’m a strong and fibrous tissue Found in certain plants' roots and stems But if perchance You take a second glance You’ll quickly come to understand that I’m the best! Aw, I could talk about my many fine qualities all day But I...WOULD not want to bore you Hah! I kid, I kid around, but uh Really, this is a serious business You know, I gotta, I gotta hold them trees up Why, I'm used as a building material All through human history Houses… Boats You can make paper out of me Abraham Lincoln's log cabin? Ever hear of that? That was me I invented the splinter Uh... You ever been to the woods? That's some of my best work, I feel I'm quite proud of it Listen, I gotta go, man Somewhere out there, there's a There's a five-year-old needs a splinter in his thumb
12.
Count your rings, now I can Where you were, where I'm standing Trace your life with my hands Count your rings All your records, we can spin All the history hidden in It all begins, it all begins With your rings See the light You grew faster every spring Every spring See the dark, slow summerwood The late season would bring Strange for the sun to warm my head Where I'm used to shade and branches Where the birds first had the chance to use their wings Every nest in your canopy Every picnic at your feet Filled the air with something sweet So we should sing: We all loved you, tree We will miss you, tree There's no mystery to your age Now we can see Reading of flood and fire In your diary A Year without Summer back in 1816 A history written straight into cambium And published by the falling of a tree I've got something big to say Welling in my heart today So I will stand upon the place you used to be May I draw upon the height, How you towered at this site, Upon the grandeur, the sublime nobility We all loved you, tree We will miss you, tree
13.
One time my friend and I were walking in the forest When before us there appeared a certain kind of tree That we had never seen She said, "I wonder what it is" I said, "I wonder what it is" She said, "Perhaps we should use this" I said, "What's this" She said, "Oh, this is the dichotomous key" I said, "What's that" and she said: The dichotomous key will ask us questions Where the answer's always one of Two options that we must choose between It is a scientific system that has been designed To simplify identifying any kind of tree Or plant or rock or really anything And so my friend she had this book We took a look inside the book Wherein it asked a lot of questions About the tree that we had seen Like does the tree bear cones and have leaves That are needle-like and thin Or would we say that the leaves were broad and flat And stuff like that to the dichotomous key I said "But why?!" and she said: The dichotomous key is asking questions Where the answer's always one of Two options that we must choose between It is a scientific system that has been designed To simplify identifying any kind of tree Or plant or rock or really anything By process of elimination As we continued to discard the options that we Had decided just did not apply to this peculiar tree That we had seen We quickly came to understand That we were standing by a specimen Of tree called Staphylea Trifolia thankfully We had dichotomous key I said, "Oh cool!" and we said: The dichotomous key kept asking questions Where the answer's always one of Two options that we must choose between It is a scientific system that has been designed To simplify identifying any kind of tree Or plant or rock or really anything
14.
I'm standing by you, sapling This is where you get to grow I'm standing by you, sapling In the very spot you chose I'm standing by you, sapling No one's going to cut you down when I'm around I'll leave your branches low Perfect as they are One day you might become A ladder to the stars Take all the time you want because No one's going to cut you down when I'm around Nobody planned on you, but here you are Changing my landscape Some say I let this go to far But when I listen to the birds and to my heart They favor you So I'm standing by you, sapling I'm standing by you, sapling Taking a picture of us both I can look back on When you've grown past me, you know I want that to happen Want to stand there smiling up, up, up at you Nobody planned on you, and that's the fun Changing my landscape Leaning to the sun New leaves are turning, and no one's going to cut you down When I'm around When I'm around

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released March 20, 2015

All songs were written by Molly Ledford and Billy Kelly and produced by Dean Jones.

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Molly Ledford & Billy Kelly Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Molly Ledford & Billy Kelly have written an album's worth of songs about trees. This is that album.

"Trees" has been nominated for a 2016 GRAMMY® in the 'Best Children's Music' category.

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