Words and music © 2007 by Tom Maynard
Tom Maynard: Vocal, guitars, midi percussion
The lyrics of this song were inspired by The Overstory by Richard Powell and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, as well as the documentary Fantastic Fungi directed by Louis Schwartzberg. Musically, the Peter Mulvey Songwriting class was given the assignment to write a song with a single chord. That didn’t quite pan out!
Lyrics
Nestled in the roots
Sitting with the trees
I can hear the music
Branches dancing in the breeze
I can feel the leaves
Drinking in the sun
It’s so green I taste it
And it’s only just begun
Forest family
Moss and mushroom
Bush and creeper all entwined
Talking, listening
Helping, holding
Floor to canopy aligned
Listen to the trees
Although I’m deep inside
This life surrounding
I see myself as separate
Exiled by my history
Yearning to be one
Searching for a way
To come back together
We might hear what they would say
Forest family
Grass and lichen
Beech and birch and oak combined
Embracing, nurturing
Feeding, healing
All the web of life in kind
Listen to the trees
Ancient knowledge
Held for centuries
Secrets shared and ripe to find
Sacred Mother
All her children
How did we ever leave them behind?
And we must never leave them behind!
Listen to the trees
Listen to the trees
Listen to the trees
Listen…
Tom Maynard 