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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
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
Lyrics submitted by crackermcnacca, edited by Ronyklee
The Trees Lyrics as written by Neil Elwood Peart Geddy Lee Weinrib
Lyrics © Anthem Entertainment
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I've been listening to these guys for 23 years. Love 'em. My adolescence was spent listening to this rock and roll instead of the "sex and drugs" variety. They helped form my libertarian leanings and inspired me to read Ayn Rand. My gain, indeed
I don' think we should be too restrictive about who the oaks and maples are. They are any groups who have differences beyond their control (they can't help how they are made). One group feels the other gets what they want. Any artificial means of equalizing will make both groups equally deficient. We will not be made equally great, only equally mediocre. It is a libertarian anthem - not just about business. In whatever attribute a government tries to make people equal, it will only make them equally deficient - equally poor, equally unemployed, equally uneducated, equally victimized....
I used this song in a poetry project in high school some 20 years ago. I interpreted the differences as racial - my teacher commented that it might not just apply to race. In retrospect, I think my interpretation might have betrayed a bit of racism on my part to assume that one race was inferior to another, as the Maples apparently were to the Oaks.
I love a rock song that makes me think. Few do.