1. |
Trees
02:46
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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
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2. |
To the Woods
02:02
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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!
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3. |
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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!
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4. |
Acorns
02:49
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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….
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5. |
Coniferous Trees
02:02
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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!}
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6. |
Angel Oak
02:29
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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
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7. |
Here Come the Trees
04:03
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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
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8. |
Two Trees, Old Friends
01:57
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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
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9. |
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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
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10. |
Meet You by the Roots
02:23
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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
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11. |
I, Wood
03:31
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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
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12. |
Count Your Rings
03:05
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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
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13. |
The Dichotomous Key
02:14
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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
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14. |
Standing by You, Sapling
02:41
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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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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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