The Tree

2 weeks ago by @gmcgath

The Tree

gmcgath

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Liner Notes

This song is based on a brief passage in Atlas Shrugged, a reminiscence by one of the characters.

Lyrics

The Tree
Music and lyrics: Gary McGath, Copyright 2025

The tree stood strong and safe upon the hill,
It weathered storms that shook but couldn't kill.
An anchor firm no wind would ever tear,
A refuge safe for people in despair.
Its branches sometimes twisted and awry,
But always it reached upward to the sky.

And yet the rot had set in long ago,
It grew within the trunk but did not show.
Its crown of leaves stood high and proud and strong
Where all could see its lifetime would be long.
Yet those who understood could see each sign
That underneath it was in deep decline.

So many came to rest beneath its shade,
It grew so tall from all that they had made.
A branch might fall and crush someone below,
But many thrived in spite of years of woe.
They said it was the finest of all trees,
But into it had crept a foul disease.

One autumn night, the lightning split the tree,
A hollow corpse for everyone to see.
Its heartwood gone, the rest soon fell away,
Its structure lost, now conquered by decay.
All that remains are small and ugly beasts
That crawl through what is left to make their feast.

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