Let’s hear it for pine trees.
They stay green all year round. They can grow just about anywhere from the arctic circle to the Caribbean. They can grow to more than 250 feet tall. They can live for more than a thousand years. They’re the official tree of canoe trips and Christmas. They smell better than any other tree. They give us valuable lumber. Their resin gives us turpentine. Their nuts make desserts more delicious. Their bark can be made into chips that make playgrounds safer. And of course, they produce pinecones, which can be used to make all kinds of cute crafts, or to throw at your brother when he’s not looking.
I don’t know if pine trees were the inspiration behind this lovely little track by Olan Mill, but it’s a great song for toasting one of the world’s finest varieties of tree.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The echoing piano is as delicate as snow balancing on pine needles in the winter.
2. The strings that come in during the second minute really open the song up, like one of those aerial shots in nature movies when the helicopter crests a hill, revealing a sprawling forest as far as the eye can see.
3. The bassline alternates between just two notes, giving the impression of a majestic tree swaying back and forth in the wind.
Recommended listening activity:
Using a pine needle to trace someone’s name on the back of your hand.