Key Takeaways

• Importance of Trees: Trees provide essential shade, shelter, and contribute significantly to the environment.
• Arbor Day History: The first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska with the planting of around one million trees.
• Symbolism in Music: Many songwriters use trees as symbols in their lyrics, reflecting their significance in nature and life.
• Song List: This article features 40 songs that honor the essence of trees, even if they are not explicitly about them.

Where would the world be, really, without trees? Shade, shelter, foliage and all around an integral part of the environment.

The very first Arbor Day — a day dedicated to encouraging the planting of trees – took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska, where as estimated one million trees were planted. (Globally, though, organized arbor-related festivals have been going on since the 1500s.)

From a poetic perspective, there’s something awfully symbolic about trees – branches that reach out toward the sun, roots that anchor them in place, cyclical seasons that seem buds grow and leaves fall. It stands to reason that many songwriters have incorporated trees and their allegories in their music.

In recognition of Arbor Day, we’ve gather up 40 songs that, while not necessarily about physical trees themselves, still honor their essence.

1. “Lemon Tree,” Peter, Paul and Mary
From: Peter, Paul and Mary (1962)

“When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me / ‘Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree’ / ‘Don’t put your faith in love, my boy’ my father said to me / ‘I fear you’ll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree.’

2. “Under the Greenwood Tree,” Donovan
From: A Gift From a Flower to a Garden (1967)

“Under the greenwood tree / Who loves to lie with me / And tune his merry note / Unto the sweet bird’s throat.”

3. “The Trees,” Rush
From: Hemispheres (1978)

“There is unrest in the forest / Trouble with the trees / For the maples want more sunlight / And the oaks ignore their pleas.”

4. “Fake Plastic Trees,” Radiohead
From: The Bends (1995)

“Her green plastic watering can / For a fake Chinese rubber plant / In the fake plastic earth / That she bought from a rubber man / In a town full of rubber plans / To get rid of itself.”

5. “A Forest,” The Cure
From: Seventeen Seconds (1980)

“Come closer and see / See into the trees / Find the girl / While you can.”

6. “Redwood Tree,” Van Morrison
From: Saint Dominic’s Preview (1972)

“Oh redwood tree / Please let us under / When we were young we used to go / Under the redwood tree / And it smells like rain / Maybe even thunder / Won’t you keep us from all harm / Wonderful redwood tree.”

7. “A Day in the Life of a Tree,” The Beach Boys
From: Surf’s Up (1971)

“One day I was full of life / My sap was rich and I was strong / From seed to tree, I grew so tall / Through wind and rain, I could not fall.”

8. “English Trees,” Crowded House
From: Time on Earth (2007)

“English trees in my garden / They planted seeds in a faraway land / In between the palms and the succulent grow.”

9. "Little Willow," Paul McCartney
From: Flaming Pie (1997)

“Bend, little willow / Wind’s going to blow you hard and cold tonight / Life, as it happens / Nobody warns you, willow, hold on tight.”

10. “Bare Trees,” Fleetwood Mac
From: Bare Trees (1972)

“Bare trees, gray light / Oh, yeah, it was a cold night / Bare trees, gray light.”

11. “Boys in the Trees,” Carly Simon
From: Boys in the Trees (1978)

“I’m home again in my old narrow bed / Where I grew tall and my feet hung over the end /The low beam room with the window looking out / On the soft summer garden / Where the boys grew in the trees.”

12. “Go Back to Your Woods,” Robbie Robertson
From: Storyville (1991)

“Keep jerking rabbits outta your hat / Now can ya pull a disappearing act / Go back go back to your woods.”

13. “No More Walks in the Wood,” Eagles
From: Long Road Out of Eden (2007)

“No more walks in the wood / The trees have all been cut down / And where once they stood / Not even a wagon rut / Appears along the path / Low brush is taking over / No more walks in the wood.”