Pair #5: "I Am a Tree"

"I AM A TREE"
Original Post Date: May 11, 2004
Runtime: 1:08
Genre: Rock Ballad
Compilation Album: Green Pants

Prompt Summary: write a song about a growing tree, referencing all four seasons

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If you have been following the blog up to now—all four posts—then you are probably thinking that STWPT is all wacky nonsense. In fact, a not-insignificant portion of these songs are wholesome and sweet. "I Am a Tree" is one of them.

This is one of the many "I Am…" songs that Andrew wrote, particularly earlier on in STWPT history. What (almost)* all "I Am…" songs have in common is: 1) the title starts with "I Am," and 2) the lyrics are written from the perspective of the song's subject.

Based on this information (and the prompt itself), you've probably figured out that "I Am a Tree" is a song about a tree, from the tree's perspective. The lyrics are rather existential in nature—heh, nature—focusing on how the world changes around the titular tree as time passes, whereas the tree itself, leaves notwithstanding, remains the same. One could even argue that the song is about aging in general, but I'm totally over writing literature analyses for the next fifty years, so I'll leave—heh, leaves—that to you.

Musically, the song is very much a rock ballad, with an ABA structure. The "A" sections are slow and contemplative, while the "B" section is louder and more emotional.

Who knew that a minute-long song could give anyone so many feels?

*An example of an "I Am…" song that is such in name only is "I Am a Clam," which is just hold music for when someone's on the phone. I honestly can't wait to write about that song because it's one of my absolute favorites. Priceless.