A Tree Too Weak To Stand

What do you think this song is about? I think it's about a guy who keeps getting involved in relationships, although he has no intentions (for whatever reason) of marriage, or anything deep. That's my take on this song. What's yours?

What do you think this song is about? I think it's about a guy who keeps getting involved in relationships, although he has no intentions (for whatever reason) of marriage, or anything deep. That's my take on this song. What's yours?

[jeffyjo]

Actually, I tend to think a bit opposite. In a sense, I think that he is masking his insecurities with bravado, to excuse his actions, as well as the only way he can show any remorse.

Does that make sense?

Jeff

[byKimberly]

To me it's to go ahead with new love, after having been burned and still healing all at the same time.
Kimberly

[The Rez]

Kimberly,

Yes.

Pity should the climbing ever cease.

The Rez

[byKimberly]

Originally posted by The Rez:


Pity should the climbing ever cease.

Being a hopeless romantic, I'll keep climbing...
Kimberly

[Borderstone]

Shows how much I know,I simply thought it was about a tree. I'll have to re-read the lyrics.

[byKimberly]

If this link works, there are quite a few threads on 'A Tree to Weak to Stand' :

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...rch+this+group

Kimberly

[Sheryl]

Well, to me a tree to weak to stand is a metaphor for a relationship with a certain woman who is undependable, untrustworthy, and unworthy of his love. Yet, he keeps going back to her. And this time, he's finally had enough -- he will not go back to her. However, he still has feelings for her, but, he can't shake them. And he's worried that if he doesn't get over her sooner rather than later, he'll go out of his mind. (How many of us have been there, eh?)

If I take the song line by line or statement by statement, I think it's pretty clear. The first two lines "I see a place where candles burn and lovers rest tonight. The hollow sound inside me now keeps telling me to write." Obviously, he's picturing other lovers happy and snuggling up to each other. However, he's feeling hollow and his creative urge tells him to write about it -- good way to write a great song, right? When you're feeling down, in touch with your feelings. Gord, not being one to let his creative urges lie unattended, goes with it and out comes this beautiful, haunting song. Next few lines: "But songs of love will never leave love's feelings undefiled." It appears Gord is saying that love songs somehow defile one's feelings of love. I've gone over and over this line...it could mean nothing else. If you take away the negatives and replace them with positives (like a math equation), it comes out to: songs of love will always leave love's feeling defiled. He just put it in the double negative form -- because it sounded better that way! What a sad statement. How many times have we been punched in the gut by unrequited love, only to hear a love song on the radio, rubbing it in, making us more miserable than before. I think this is what he meant. Then, "The tide has turned, the waves roll in, the waters fill my eyes." First off, we know he loves to put in his songs metaphors having to do with sailing or the ocean. Now, he's saying the tide has turned: the relationship finally has become so bad, it's impossible to go back to it. "The waves roll in, the waters fill my eyes" : obviously, he's not only in too deep, he's drowning, and he's crying. Deep stuff here. (no pun intended)
Next line: "The price of lust has risen till the ceiling will not stand." Pretty clear -- to me it seems as if they both have cheated on each other. Now, there's so much jealousy and too much distrust and dark deeds in between them, it's blown them (the ceiling) apart. "The tears I shed were not in shame, the world was in my hands.": I think this means he didn't cry from shame over what he or she had done, but, what he lost -- the world was in his hands -- he had it all -- fame, a hot relationship, money, yet he/they blew it apart. "If trust were just a simple thing then trusting I would be. But deep within my soul I know it's better to be free.": Obviously, to Gord, trust isn't simple, nor does he trust easily. And the second line is pretty easy.. I think, like all of us who've lost in love, at the end of the relationship we tell ourselves we'll never love again.
The third paragraph: "The days fly by, the waves roll in, but freedom has not come..." I already gave my opinion about this in the beginning of this post. The second half: "My role is played, the demon dogs come stealin'o'er land. And foolish I would climb once more a tree to weak to stand." : He's played his role: the fool. Now he's being tortured by "demons" -- those niggling little monsters that whisper in your ear what a fool you were, you lost her/him, you screwed up BIG TIME, you're a loser, a failure. And the last line: "And foolish I would climb once more...": He's finally got it. He would be totally foolish to climb this tree (go back to this relationship) when it's too weak to stand (when there's no true love, no mutual respect, nothing left to base a real relationship on, left.

This song makes my heart ache. I love it. Been there, done that.

Wow, Sheryl, you have really broken that song into pieces that I've never seen before. It will be be on the CD player tonight.

However, I disagree with your interpretation of the line " But songs of love will never leave love's feelings undefiled". If you remove NEVER from the line, I believe you are left with the notion that writing a song is cleansing. I don't think the line means that the song itself will defile, but rather it won't cleanse either.

RMD

Wow, Sheryl, you have really broken that song into pieces that I've never seen before. It will be be on the CD player tonight.

However, I disagree with your interpretation of the line " But songs of love will never leave love's feelings undefiled". If you remove NEVER from the line, I believe you are left with the notion that writing a song is cleansing. I don't think the line means that the song itself will defile, but rather it won't cleanse either.

RMD

[Don Quixote]

Just my two cents...
Sheryl, that was an interesting interpretation, and I agree with a lot of it. However, I see it as more introspective and one-sided than you do, with, as jeffyjo noted, lots of remorse.
If you look at the last verses:
"But songs of love should not be sung where staying is not planned/And foolish I would climb once more a tree too weak to stand", and connect that to the prior verse "The price of lust has risen till the ceiling will not stand", it looks to me that GL is reproaching his own weakness, letting his lust foolishly overtake his good sense, plunging him once again into meaningless, short-term couplings, with no long-term benefit. He has to pay outlandishly (in the personal sense--although let's not forget he had a child from a short-term fling, did he not?) for what is ultimately untenable--a tree too weak to stand. The tree image makes sense in this case--instead of taking things slowly, letting the "roots" of the relationship take hold, letting the tree grow slowly into something strong that can protect him, he's gotten himself into something too fast and for the wrong reasons, and which then can't support itself and collapses.
More to say, but I've got to run...
DQ

[Sheryl]

Thanks, Don Q -- yes, I was in a hurry and had to finish up, so I accidentally forgot about the last line about "But songs of love should not be sung where staying is not planned."!!! I completely agree with you. I'm still flummoxed by that line about love songs defiling, frankly. It was just making my brain ache trying to pick it apart. Gord's deep.

[jeffyjo]

No good song really means only what it says.

One of the things I like about Gord is the multiple layers of meaning.

Jeff

[The Rez]

Although, w/ great interest I read the posts above, there's this little though that keeps recurring from 20yrs ago.

When I first met Gord and asked him the story behind "Shadows." His answer: "If I told you, then it wouldn't belong to you."

Just a nitetime thought,

The Rez

[charlene]

he's always the master of the "no answer" answer!
lol

[charlene]

he's always the master of the "no answer" answer!
lol