Trees in Song: Season 1 Finale

This Old Tree with Doug Still
Trees in Song: Season 1 Finale (Transcript)
Season 1, Episode 19
Published Sept. 8, 2023

Doug Still: [00:01] 
​I'm Doug Still, and I've got a lot of fun planned for you today as we reflect back on some of the people we met during the first 18 episodes and the tree stories they shared. I'm going to be playing songs about trees, at least some songs that I like. As a child of the 1970s, I'll definitely be showing my age by some of my selections. But it turns out that there are certain themes that surround old trees and their stories that pop up again and again in songs, and in our collective imagination. In addition, you are going to get to meet Dee Lee, the person who wrote and sang our theme song. Sit back and enjoy this music filled episode of This Old Tree. 

​[This Old Tree theme] [00:46] 
This old tree, standing here for more than four centuries. 
Wonder what you’d say if you could talk to me 
About what it’s like to be this old tree.

Doug Still: [01:05] 
Since our very first episode about the Betsy Williams Sycamore, old trees have been a source of comfort and shelter to people in need in our stories. Think of the pioneers taking refuge under the birthing tree in Central Tennessee on their way westward; or, Robin Hood's men hiding from the authorities in Sherwood Forest beneath what's now known as the major oak; or the escape from the hot Florida sun provided by the shade of the Edison Banyan tree. Trees were pivotal within our evolution. Our prehistoric ancestors lived in trees which provided protection from predators. Comfort and shelter was central in the very last episode, Texas Shade, The Founder's Oak. Here's what guest, Kelly Eby, had to say.

Audio Clip
Kelly Eby: [01:51] 
The tree is a little less than 50ft tall and has 100-foot-wide canopy spanning in different directions. It just creates like a cover, a canopy, a roof where you feel like you are secure under the shelter of that tree with two main branches that come out. 

Doug: [02:17] 
Here's a great song by Van Morrison called The Redwood Tree, which is about a boy who lost his dog, which his father helped him search for. I think the redwood in this song is a lovely metaphor for both physical and emotional protection. 

Van Morrison: [02:33] 
Boy and his dog 
Went out looking for the rainbow 
You know what did they learn 
Since that very day 
Walking by the river 
And running like a blue streak 
Through the fields of streams and meadows 
Laughing all the way 
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 
And a boy and his father 
Went out, went out looking for the lost dog 
You know what oh haven't they learned 
Since they did that together 
They did not bring him back, he already had departed 
But look at everything they have learned 
Since that, since that very day 
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. 
Da-da, da-da-da da, da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da 
Du-du-du, du-du-du, du-du-du, du-du-du-du-du-du, du-du-du-du 
Du-du-du, du-du-du, du-du-du, du-du-du-du-du-du, du-du-du-du 
Da-da, da-da-da da, da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da.

Doug Still: [05:17] 
A heritage tree is a living connection to the past. But to add to that, there can be very strong cultural associations as well. Trees can be symbols of bigger ideas, such as progress, art, or religion. They can provide affirmation of cultural identity. The Imperial Pine was a gift from Japan to the US that represented a peace offering decades after World War II. The elm tree in Concord, Massachusetts, that Henry David Thoreau wrote about symbolized to him the higher ideals of the past, as well as a burgeoning sense of pride in his young nation. 

In our show about the major oak of Sherwood Forest, guest Richard Townsley, known some days as the Sheriff of Nottingham, feels that visiting the 1,100-year-old oak tree associated with Robin Hood continues to be a cultural rite of passage. 

Audio Clip
Richard Townslee: [06:11] 
It's just absolutely part of my heritage. It's part of my personal upbringing. As I say, I've got two granddaughters. One is three, the other is not yet one, and I'm looking forward to bringing the second one here. I think they're not a Townley until they've been into Sherwood, until they've dressed up as Robin Hood and they've run around and we've had a picnic. So, I'm very looking forward. Her name's Edith and she lives in Bath. We were discussing her being christened. She's going to be christened in a church in Bath. But I think for me, the christening will be when we bring her to the forest and introduce to the major oak. So, it's part of my family and my personal heritage. 

Doug Still: [06:50] 
I'm a big fan of the Australian band, Crowded House. The song I'm about to play is about the memory of a lost relationship that began in England, but transplanted to Australia. It's called English Trees. 

Crowded House [07:15] 
English trees in my garden. 
We planted seeds in a faraway land 
In between the palms and the succulent grove 
They lose their leaves in the winter 
Mark the seasons for him and for her 
Once upon a time in the fallen snow 
Up against the sky made a silhouette show 
England cries and she plays for him 
The chords entwined like a requiem 
Although it's springtime and color is new 
In Regent's Park 
I will mourn for you 
And I must be wise somehow 
'Cause my heart's been broken down
It's so far to fall 
And so hard to climb Nothing's sadder, I know 
Than the passing of time
Won't forget me 
You won't forget me 
English trees in my garden 
Summer's missed you, my darling 
Yet all your crimes are forgiven 
Yet all your crimes are forgiven 
And I must be wise somehow 
You won't forget me 
You won't forget me 
And England cries, oh 
There's English trees in my garden

Doug Still: [10:41] 
Stories about trees sometimes center around hope rising above terrible adversity. The first 9/11 survivor trees were symbols of resilience after that unthinkable act of terrorism that shook New York City, Washington, D.C., and the country. Their replanting and survival was a gesture to the future and better times. We found similar themes in the tale of the birthing tree, and also The Founder's Oak. In our episode, Harlem's Tree of Hope, about a street tree that became a good luck charm to black performers in the 1920s looking for their big break. Abra Lee beautifully expressed that the Harlem community reclaimed the symbolism around trees while creating their own modern, hopeful culture. 

Audio Clip
Abra Lee: [11:28] 
The connection to the tree is certainly ancestral, it's communal. I think of trees of black people gathering under these mighty oak trees in the south that are along the river and having baptism. I think about people having full on church up under these trees. I think about the first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation stating that the Civil War was over and that slavery was no longer legal in the United States happens under a tree. So, that is where community happens for many black people. 

Tuskegee, one of the greatest universities in the United States, certainly the historic HBCU, historically black college university, is built on a former plantation covered in trees at that time. So, trees are, I think about them almost like you think about the grand ceilings of these churches all across the world. That's what that canopy is to people, to black people. These places where we can gather, and feel free, and be our unapologetic selves, and speak in the language that we want to speak and the street slang-- This is where we can create music, this is where we can exchange words and ideas. So, that is why that was important to that community. And honestly, I still would argue to this day. 

Doug Still: [12:53] 
Listen to this lovely song by Louis Armstrong with Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra, Trees.  It is Joyce Kilmer's poem of the same name, put to music.

Louis Armstrong: [13:30] 
I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed Against the earth's sweet flowing breast 
O, a tree that looks at God all day 
And lifts her leafy arms to pray 
A tree that may in summer wear 
Yeah, a nest of robins in her hair 
Upon whose bosom snow has lain 
Who intimately lives with rain [Incomprehensible] 
Poems are made by fools like me 
But only God can make a tree

Doug Still: [16:04] 
When we come back from a break, I'll continue our look back with Season 1 guests and bring you more songs about trees. I'm Doug Still, and you're listening to This Old Tree.

[theme music]

Doug Still: [16:30] 
Standing up against the big guy always makes a great story. Whether it's the king's henchmen in the Charter Oak tale, the Sheriff of Nottingham in the major oak of Sherwood Forest, or the profit seeking corporations featured in the Bronte Oak or in Luna, A Redwoods Survival tale. It turns out the story about Luna the Redwood was our most popular episode. Who can resist hearing about a two-year tree sit and its aftermath? Here's Stuart Moskowitz, the lead monitor of The Luna Covenant, struck with the logging company. 

Audio clip
Stuart Moskowitz: [17:05] 
That was New Year's Day 1997. And yes, that's what-- They continued to log up on that hillside in the vicinity of the mudslide, and that's what attracted Earth First to target that hillside for a tree sit. And Luna was the largest tree. And so, different activists, they rotated sitting in Luna for several months in early 1997. It was towards the end of 1997 when Julia Butterfly Hill, a young woman who was recovering from an automobile accident, 23 years old, and looking for something to change her. 

She knew that she felt a calling to come out to do something in the redwood forests. The platform that was put 180ft up in Luna and installed during the dark of night, which is where the name Luna came from, meaning, moon, because that platform was built in the moonlight. Julia volunteered to take a turn up at the top of Luna. She had never climbed a tree before, but they showed her how to climb and she got herself up to the top. I think what made Julia different from the other tree sitters is that she is articulate and could speak to the cause well. And once she started talking and people started listening, she stayed. 

Doug Still: [18:44] 
One song that speaks to me about California and the questioning of tree loss is Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. Love this song. 

Joni Mitchell: [19:03] 
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot 
Don't it always seem to go 
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone 
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot 
Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop 
They took all the trees put 'em in a tree museum 
And they charged the people a dollar an' a half just to see 'em 
Don't it always seem to go 
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone 
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot 
Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop 
Hey farmer, farmer put away that DDT now 
Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees Please 
Don't it always seem to go 
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone 
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot 
Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop
Late last night I heard the screen door slam 
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man
Don't it always seem to go 
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone 
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot 
Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop 
I said don't it always seem to go 
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone 
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot 
Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop 
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot 
Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop 
They paved paradise 
Put up a parking lot [laughs] 

Doug Still: [21:07] 
Someone has to speak for the trees. How about the 87-year-old retired schoolteacher in Oakville, Ontario who spoke at regional council to save the 200 plus year old Bronte Oak tree from a road widening project? Her advocacy turned the tide of public perception and saved the tree, as told by guest in Oakville Councilor, Alan Elgar. 

Audio Clip
Alan Elgar: [21:30] 
But you also have an 87-year-old woman named Joyce Burnell who came and spoke at the region and very colorful speech she gave to the region. She was the one that convinced the counselors. I sent out something about the oak tree, and she responded back to me and said, "What you're trying to do? I don't know you, but what you're trying to do, I really like and I like what you're trying to do." She had been a high teacher all of her life, a schoolteacher, and she said, "I'll do that," and she did. It was unbelievably beautiful. When she spoke, who was going to argue with an 87-year-old woman that was so passionate? 

She broke into a song singing, God, save our great oak tree and everything, that we have to save this tree. It's an important tree. It's historic. There's hardly any left in Oakville at all. They've all been cut down for massive ship years and years ago. It was here. It was a seedling in 1760. There is no way this tree should be cut. We have to save it. 

Doug Still: [22:43] 
The King of Trees by Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam, is about the exact same thing - losing a noble tree to a road project. 

Cat Stevens: [24:02] 
He was the king of trees Keeper of the leaves, A deep green guard of young Love-stained memory, We used to meet by him Far from the hustling town I loved you, Now they've come to cut you down... down
He was the guardian of Days we held the same, 
Beneath the shade he gave Shelter from the rain, 
Oh Lord how it's empty now 
With nothing save the breeze I loved you, 
Now they've come to burn the leaves 
Don't burn the leaves
And if my mind breaks up in all 
So many ways, I know the meaning of the words "I love you", 
And if my body falls inside 
An early grave, 
The forest and the evergreens 
Are coming to take me back, 
So slowly 
As I roll down the track
The forest and the evergreen 
Are coming to take me back, 
The forest and the evergreen 
Are coming to take me back, 
Please take me back! 
He was the king of trees 
Keeper of the glades, 
The way he lightened my life 
Makes me so amazed, 
We used to meet by him 
Many years ago I loved you, 
Now they've to lay the road-oh-oh, 
Oh! Don't lay the road

Doug Still: [27:42] 
For some people, a tree can bring back memories of a time in life when inner thoughts were important and growth happened. Maybe this occurred while sitting below in the shade or better yet, climbing up into its branches. We've had a series of tree story shorts submitted by listeners, which we're still accepting, by the way. If you feel the inspiration, here's a bit of one tree story short, submitted by author, Gil Reavill.

Audio Clip
Gil Reavill: [28:08] 
Early on, I was able to scramble into every area of the tree, into both of the asymmetrical branch networks. At the top of one was a thick, horizontal crook that served as a hammock. I could lounge there, close to the sky, largely invisible from Earthbound humans. As a kid, I was an inveterate reader. So, there are pictures of me in my apple tree aerie engrossed in a book. I remember being called down to the dinner table, but leaving books up there, so I could get to them later.

But I think this solitary backyard apple tree represented a refuge, providing vital and necessary aid to my early physical development, yeah, but also helping to foster my imagination. The view from up there provided perspective. My ground level problems and preoccupations appeared puny. I could dream freely. 

Doug Still: [29:09] 
One of my favorites all time songs is about inner turmoil while watching others get to freely climb the trees. This is Boys in the Trees by Carly Simon. So beautiful. And oh yeah, that's James Taylor on guitar. 

Carly Simon: [29:45] 
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
Here I grew guilty 
And no one was at fault 
Frightened by the power in every innocent thought 
And the silent understanding passing down 
From daughter to daughter 
Let the boys grow in the trees
Do you go to them or do you let them come to you? 
Do you stand in back afraid that you'll intrude? 
Deny yourself and hope someone will see 
And live like a flower 
While the boys grow in the trees 
Last night I slept in sheets the color of fire 
Tonight I lie alone again and curse my own desire 
Sentenced first to burn and then to freeze 
And watch by the window 
Where the boys grew in the trees 

Doug Still: [32:34] 
One thing everyone can relate to is that trees are a place to meet. They serve as neighborhood landmarks for locals or council trees for First Nation tribes. One of our episodes focused on the birthing tree, a huge white oak with a spreading canopy in McMinnville, Tennessee. Guest, Tom Simpson, explains. 

Audio Clip
Tom Simpson: [32:55] 
Well, the way the story is, is that many of the old settlement trails in Tennessee, one of them was called the Kentucky trail, the other one was called the Old Walton trail, which was in Middle Tennessee, this tree stands in Middle Tennessee. But the confluence of several of those trails came right up under the birthing tree. And so, as settlers would move down the trail, going toward Alabama or coming back from Alabama, going toward Kentucky or Virginia, they knew about this place. They had it as a meeting place for many, many years. And so, parties would wait for other parties to hook up with them on the trail. And as they were waiting, some of the women would deliver babies underneath the trees, hence the name birthing tree. 

Doug Still: [33:46] 
Here's a fun song about meeting at a tree, in this case, for love. This is The Mango Tree by the Zac Brown Band featuring Sara Bareilles. 

Zac Brown Band ft. Sara Bareilles: [34:04] 
Waiting for the sunlight to come rising from the sea 
We lay undercover Shaded by the mango tree 
We could stay forever Never leave this paradise 
Swaying in the ocean breeze to the rhythm of the tide
Tomorrow, oh tomorrow 
Take your time, 'cause we got Time to borrow
I love you 
Say that you love me too 
And we can turn the whole world upside down 
Just us two Nobody else will do 
'Cause baby, you're the only one for me 
Underneath the mango tree 

Drifting like the ocean 
Daydreams dancing in the wind
Sand is sticking to our bodies 
Just like sugar on our skin 
The day is getting older 
Oh, but we are still so young 
Higher than the stars above 
And faded like the sun

Tomorrow, oh tomorrow 
Take your time, 'cause we got 
Time to borrow
I love you 
Say that you love me too 
And we can turn 
The whole world upside down 
Just us two 
Nobody else will do 
It's me and you
'Cause baby, you're 
The only one for me 
Oh, you're so sweet 
Underneath the mango tree
I love you 
I know you do 
Say that you love me too 
I love you too 
We can turn 
The whole world upside down 
Ah, just us two 
It's me and you 
Nobody else will do 
Baby, you're 
You're the only one for me 
Baby, you're the only one for me 
Baby, you're the only one for me 
Baby, you're the only one for me 
Underneath the mango tree

Doug Still: [37:36] 
Speaking of songs about trees, you know our theme song? Yeah, that's the one. Well, it was written and sung by a fellow arborist in Illinois named Dee Lee. After the break, we're going to meet him and find out what makes him tick. Coming up on This Old Tree. 

Doug Still [38:06] 
Dee, how are you? 

Dee Lee : [38:08] 
I am terrific. 

Doug Still: [38:10] 
Thanks so much for joining the show. 

Dee Lee: [38:12] 
My pleasure. My pleasure, indeed. It's been a great joy to watch your journey and it's just wonderful to tune in. So, I'm a big fan.
 
Doug Still: [38:24] 
People tell me all the time, they love your song, This Old Tree, which you've allowed to be our theme song. When it comes on at the beginning, some people tell me, they like to sing along. 

Dee Lee: [38:37] 
Oh, no kidding.  [laughter] Ah, that's a wee bit for me heart.  

Doug Still: [38:42] 
Yeah. [laughs] So, I thought it would be great for listeners to get to know you a little bit. I've introduced you on the show as an arborist and a songwriter. Which comes first? 

Dee Lee: [38:53]
 [chuckles] Songwriter, actually, came first.

Doug Still: [38:58] 
Really?

Dee Lee: [39:01] 
It actually was my next-door neighbors, this wonderful family called The Barrys. And they had four or five children, all of them musical, mother and father were musical. Their whole family between them. I don't know how many instruments they knew how to play. 

Doug Still: [39:23] 
This is when you were a kid? 

Dee Lee: [39:24] 
Yes. We lived right next door to them. As a matter of fact, the boy whose age was closest to mine was named Lee Barry. And they were thinking of naming me Barry Lee because I was one year younger than him. [laughter] They were wonderful harmonists. They could harmonize. They could play.

Doug Still: [39:47] 
Really, a whole family. Like the Carter family or something. 

Dee Lee: [39:50] 
Yeah. They would do a Mama's & a Papa's with all the harmonies and the guitars. I remember one night hearing that, and I was just thunderstruck. I knew I had to learn how to do that. 

Doug Still: [40:03] 
Wow. And so, you learned guitar as a boy? 

Dee Lee: [40:08] 
Yeah. My cousins also were guitarists, and we would vacation with them. One of them brought a guitar up to the vacation spot, a little place across Lake Michigan, and they made the mistake of teaching me one chord. [laughs] 

Doug Still: [40:28] 
Oh, yeah. That first one is… I play guitar. 

Dee Lee: [40:32] 
Yes. 

Doug Still: [40:34] 
Amateur. But there's something about that first chord, and you're like, "I made that sound." 

Dee Lee: [40:40] 
Yes. It goes right into your chest. Oh, boy, they finally had to send me upstairs because [laughs] I was just playing an E and an E minor all night. 

Doug Still: [40:51] 
Yeah. You don't have to have a song. Just play some chords, and then you figure out how to tie them together. 

Dee Lee: [40:59] 
That's right. You let it come to you. 

Doug Still: [41:02] 
You're a finger picker, which I try to do, but it's pretty inconsistent. Did you learn the finger picking technique when you were a kid also? 

Dee Lee: [41:15] 
I'm not too sure when I started finger picking, but I think it was after hearing John Prine with his Travis Picking. I think I figured out how to do it. And then once I did that, it was just little experiments on moving things around, and I think it went off from there. 

Doug Still: [41:36] 
Right. How to move your thumb?

Dee Lee: [41:39] 
Yeah. 

Doug Still: [41:40] 
So, then you needed a day job and you became an arborist?

Dee Lee: [41:44]
 [laughs] Well, that came generations ago. My grandfather was a well-known nursery man in the area, Ralph Sinisvet.. Matter of fact, he has six or seven patents on plants which I get to see in my rounds as an arborist. I see something he created and hello, grandpa. [laughs] 

Doug Still: [42:07] 
Wow. So, you're in Illinois. 

Dee Lee: [42:10] 
Yes. 

Doug Still: [42:11] 
What's the name of the nursery? 

Dee lee: [42:13] 
Ralph Sinsvet.

Doug Still: [42:16] 
Sinsivet.

Dee Lee: [42:17] 
Yeah. 

Doug Still: [42:18] 
What were some of the cultivars they developed? 

Dee Lee: [42:20] 
Well, he had a wonderful Cornus mas. I can't remember the name of it. He had two varieties of Viburnum dentatum. I think one was Chicago Jazz. And I think another one might have been lustre. But he bred them out, so that they were nicely thick leaves and could put up with Chicago winters. And then he had locust. I don't think it was used much. I don't think it caught on much. It was the Green Glory locust. And then he had the most successful one, I think, was his low-grow-Sumac or grow-low, one of those two. And I see that everywhere. 

Doug Still: [43:04] 
Is that along highways and stuff? 

Dee lee: [43:07] 
Yeah, it's a great ground cover. It's woody. So, it can catch papers and things like Tony Aster's, [laughs] but it's beautiful. I see it a lot in islands where it just covers up the island and the weeds say, "No, I'm going somewhere else." [laughs] 

Doug Still: [43:26] 
So, trees were in your DNA early on as well? 

Dee Lee: [43:29] 
Yes. And then my father, he went to Northwestern for literature on the G.I. Bill, and then he ended up as the head arborist-- He worked for my grandfather, and he married the boss's daughter, so that was more tree stuff. And then as soon as I was allowed to, I worked in the Christmas tree lot, selling Christmas trees, and loading flowers and plants for clients in the retail shop. And then when I was old enough, I got up in the trees and I just loved it. 

Doug Still: [44:13] 
Yeah. So, you're a climber. I know that, because there's a picture of you way up in the canopy of a tree on a branch with your guitar. I can't see if you've got a harness on or anything like that, but anyway, you got the shot. 

Dee Lee: [44:27] 
Yes, I did have a harness. My one claim to fame was in 1979, I was the all-around co-champion for the arborist competitions in Illinois for the Midwestern states. 

Doug Still: [44:45] 
There was a climbing competition. 

Dee Lee: [44:47] 
Yeah, they have them every year. They have regions, and then the best get to go, and be champions of the world, I guess, the universe. 

Doug Still: [44:58] 
Congratulations. What year was that? 

Dee Lee: [45:00] 
1979.

Doug Still: [45:01] 
1979. Fantastic. We had the ISA International Climbing Competition here in Providence in 2009. I remember that. It was lots of fun to watch. The climbers would go up and grab flags out of the tree, and there was an aerial rescue competition, all kinds of things. 

Dee Lee: [45:24] 
That's exactly what it was. Although back in my day, there wasn't an aerial rescue. I'm glad they added that. But it was the same thing where you had to go touch the bell on five flags, and then you had to get down, and they timed you. Then there was a log drop competition and a rope throw and a chainsaw event. 

Doug Still: [45:45] 
Wow. You're very talented. 

Dee Lee: [45:48] 
Well, like I said, it's genetic, I guess. 

Doug Still: [45:51] 
[laughs] Back to songwriting or actually, let's get to songwriting. What was the first song you ever wrote? 

Dee Lee: [46:01] 
Well, it was very complicated. I think it was 2 words and 2 chords, and nobody wanted to hear it. 
[laughter] 

Doug Still: [46:12] 
Got to start somewhere. 

Dee Lee: [46:13] 
Exactly. And I think there was another one I wrote while I was sitting under the piano. One of my sisters was practicing or something, and I thought of something there. And then my grandmother, who was a music teacher, she was a Burnham, actually, related to Daniel Burnham. And my mother thought, "Well, he has a love of music. Let's send him over to grandma for a music lesson or two." I was kind of high energy. Grandma got through one lesson with me, and that was the lessons that I had. 

Doug Still: [46:50] 
[chuckles] That was it. 

Dee Lee: [46:51] 
That was it. 

Doug Still: [46:52] 
That was enough. 

Dee Lee: [46:53] 
Yeah.

Doug Still: [46:53] 
[laughs] So, then you became self-taught? 

Dee Lee: [46:57] 
Yeah, because I immediately wanted to take whatever it was she showed me and make a song out of it. I've always had melodies that just seem to want to come out and just following my nose through them and then trying to learn the chords that support them. I should have spent more time learning other people's beautiful music, but the drive for me has always been to get a guitar in my hand, and I just start tinkering, and playing around with it. 

Doug Still: [47:28] 
That's wonderful. This song is about a tree, but what other kinds of things do you write about?
 
Dee Lee: [47:34] 
Well, I have some inspirational, you would call it, general uplifting spiritual. I think I have about 30 of those and lots of nature things. Trees seem to get into most of my songs. [laughs] 

Doug Still: [47:52] I was going to ask you, are there any other songs about trees? So, there are quite a few of them, huh?

Dee Lee: [47:57] 
Well, there's some that have nature and trees in them. I've got three that are specifically now about trees. I have this old tree one called The Roots, which is just a simple one to help people understand roots a little better. And then there's one called Amber. I always fell in love with the idea that amber was actually a product of a tree that is millions of years old. So, that was sort of romantic. So, I wrote one about that too. 

Doug Still: [48:28] 
Yeah. Could you play a few bars? 

Dee Lee: [48:30] Sure. 

Doug Still: [48:32] 
I was hoping you'd say that. 

Dee Lee: [48:33] 
[laughs] Sure, I'll give it a try. I haven't played this one in a while, so you'll have to forgive me if it's rusty. I'll tell you what, how about I play the Roots? That's a fun one. It's kind of a choppy, fun song. It has a precipitation [laughs] where it's a call and response where I go, "It's the roots," and people go, "It's the roots." Anyway, it's very fun to play live. 

Doug Still: [49:05] 
Okay. 

Dee Lee: [49:05] 
All right. We'll try here. Here we go. This is called The Roots. 

Doug Still: [49:09] 
I'm interjecting here. The live recording technology didn't go so well. So, here's another live recording of the song, It's the Roots that Dee sent me afterward.

Dee Lee: [49:21] 
There's buried treasure. 
Under every tree
Let's dig it up together.
Solve this mystery
Here you go. 
It's the roots 

Unison: [49:37] 
It's the roots 

Dee Lee: [49:38] 
Slurping up the water, it's the roots

Unison: [49:41]
 It's the roots 

Dee Lee: [49:42]
 [unintelligible [00:49:42] 

Unison: [49:44] 
It's the roots

Dee Lee: [49:46] 
Save it for later, it's the roots

Doug Still: [49:57] 
Well, the song, This Old Tree, is about a tree that has been a witness to history. What inspired you?
 
Dee Lee: [50:05] 
Yes, I just wanted to start writing songs about trees. I had this vision of a-- It might have been New England or it might have been an imaginary cove on Lake Michigan, where there was a small medieval town that grew up around this tree that was in the center of the town. It was big enough that even the boats coming in from offshore could see the top of it and used it as a reference point, and I just tried to put that into a song. 

Doug Still: [50:46] 
That's interesting. Yeah, there's a line in the song about boats. 

Dee Lee: [50:50] 
Yeah. That sounds what it is. 

Doug Still: [50:51] 
I didn't know quite what that meant, if it was along the sea coast or something.
 
Dee Lee: [50:56] 
Yes, that's exactly right. It was a sentinel that they could see the top of its foliage from out far enough that they could use it as a bearing. 

Doug Still: [51:08] 
That's great. One thing I like about the song is, when it gets to maybe after the third verse, the chorus comes in again and you just raise the volume a little bit. I think that's really a moving part of the song.
 
Dee Lee: [51:25] 
Oh, thank you. How did you like the bridge? 

Doug Still: [51:29] 
Yeah, it gets a little dark almost. 

Dee Lee: [51:31]
 It does, doesn't it? 

Doug Still: [51:32] 
Into a minor key? No.
 
Dee Lee: [51:33] 
Yeah, it feels minor to me. 

Doug Still: [51:36]
 A lot of minor chords. 

Dee Lee: [51:37] 
Yeah.
 
Doug Still: [51:38] 
Yeah. I'm playing songs that mention trees today on this episode. Do you have a favorite song about a tree or a forest, perhaps? 

Dee Lee: [51:50] 
No, not really. Not one that comes to mind. But I'm excited to hear what you're going to put in. 

Doug Still: [51:56] 
[laughs] If someone wishes to discover more of your music and maybe download some of your music, where should they go? 

Dee Lee: [52:05] 
Okay. You can download all of it for free. All you have to do is leave me an email and you won't get any spam, because I hardly ever send anything out. [chuckles] But it's deeleetree.com, and that's six Es. So, it's deeleetree.com.

Doug Still: [52:25] 
And they can download for free?

Dee Lee: [52:26] 
Absolutely. I'm tickled pink if anyone goes and takes a look. I don't have all my music there, but I have enough of it, so you can browse around and enjoy yourself. 

Doug Still: [52:39] 
Fantastic. Well, from the moment I met you on the phone a year and a half ago, you've been just so friendly and charming, and we instantly became buddies. I love the song, and it's been an honor to have it on the show every week, and it inspires me to keep going. 

Dee Lee: [52:59] 
Well, it's been my utter pleasure, and I'm so grateful that you found it. I think I always hope that my music goes somewhere where it can be useful and people can enjoy it. I'm just really grateful that you found a place for it on your wonderful podcast. 

Doug Still: [53:18] 
Thank you very much for coming on the show. And now, let's listen to the song in its entirety. I can't think of a better way to end Season 1. And just before we do, I'd like to thank you, tree lovers, for joining me on this journey this past year. I'm tremendously grateful that you listen. And the comments you send either via email or Facebook or Instagram are greatly appreciated too. Thanks to everyone who has contributed and supported the show in one way or another.

Season 2 is going to be even better. I can't wait to share some of the ideas and the tree stories that are in the works. I'm Doug Still, and without further ado, here's Dee Lee singing what's become the theme song to This Old Tree. 

Dee Lee: [54:19] 
This old tree, standing here for more than four centuries 
Wonder what you'd say if you could talk to me 
About what it's like to be this old tree 
Shadow and shade, kids on the corner selling lemonade 
Send them down a cool breeze a sweet cascade 
Tailor made by this old tree 
In 1600 you were just a seed, reaching for the sky, high 
Waiting for a chance to take your place in the warm sunshine 
Here I go, high above the place were the people grow 
Leave my troubles on the ground far below 
So I can get to know this old tree 
Summer sparkle in your leaves, autumn winds will bring release 
Winter calls for you to sleep, Spring returns in green 
Above the town, ships on the water spy your royal crown 
Sentinel of green two points off starboard bow 
Homeward bound to this old tree 
In 1800 you felt the thunder roll, and lighting split the sky, high 
Though the fire raged in the little town below you managed to survive 
With this scar upon your side 
This old tree, reach out touch a living history 
Beneath my hands an ancient mystery 
How small I am by this old tree 
How small I am by this old tree


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