Neil Peart |
I've already admitted I come from "that Rush/Genesis place." As a young literary and musical fellow who was learning to play drums, I worshiped both the playing and the lyrical creations of the great Neil Peart.
This morning I was enjoying the soft springtime quiet of my backyard. As I reclined, I looked up at the trees overhead out into the woods behind my house. This song lyric came back into my mind. The reason is obvious. There were...lots of...you know...trees. But I guess my mind has been chewing on the idea of a mediocrity borne of good intentions, especially in both education and in modern parenthood. I even spoofed the idea here, in my new column for When Falls the Coliseum, last week.
Whatever the reason, I always loved this lyric by Peart -- so succinct; so objectively-toned, despite its incisive point. The political point may be debatable, but the outcome of the quest to make everyone equal is all too familiar, especially these days. It's just such a great little fable...
The Trees
Lyrics by Neil Peart
There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas
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
Indeed, Neil. Indeed.
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