Lyr Req: Easter Tree (Dave Goulder)

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Saro
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 10:22 AM

Managed to get hold of Dave and ask him about this the other day, and he said he'd replied to the questions on this thread, so I don't know where his posting went to! Anyway, he did make the point that the song was a result of his reflections on the ways in which an allegedly civilized society chooses to kill people...so, yes, it is about all sort of ways, certainly not just crucifixion.
By the way, Dave is well and very busy teaching people how to build dry stone walls. Doesn't go out doing gigs now, more's the pity. John, glad you liked our version of the song!
Best wishes
Sarah

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 12:04 AM

Dave:

I think we should re-read the text carefully:

Yes, a man hangs from the Easter Tree, his death-bed is a rope
Or strong nails have killed his hopes of climbing down.
His jaws are locked in agony or open for the flies to come and go –
His eyes are in the belly of the crow

A dog sits by the Easter Tree, beneath the naked heels.
His master or his meal will surely fall
When the rope is broken by the wind, or the rusty nails release their heavy load
Then the dog, well fed, continues down the road.

This text has " ... his death-bed is a rope ... Or strong nails have killed his hopes of climbing down."

and "... When the rope is broken by the wind, or the rusty nails release their heavy load ...".

These are alternatives in a song that encompasses several modes of execution.

Narrowing these meanings down to a single one leads to confusion with the broad sweep of the song.

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 10:52 AM

Surreysinger said:


Incidentally, I'd always thought that the start of the second line in the third verse was "Four strong nails" (eg for wrists and ankles) ..

If you look at the gospels, I think you'll not find any reference to nails in the feet or ankles. At least I'm not aware of any such.

And of course many people think of nails through the palms of the hands, but that was not the crucifixion method. The hands are constructed such that a man's weight on nails through the palms would, in most instance at least, tear out. The nails went through at the distal end of the forearm.

The lyrics are rather confusing in that they seem to refer to the victim being hanged with a rope, and falling when the rope rotted, which is not consistent with being nailed in place.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 07:56 AM

All My Trials mentions the Tree Of Life I always liked Dave Van Ronks version of this song, but Joan Baez does a lovely version too..

ALL MY TRIALS, LORD

Hush little baby, don't you cry
You know your mama was born to die
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

Too late, my brothers
Too late, but never mind
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

If religion were a thing that money could buy
The rich would live and the poor would die
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

I've got a little book that was given to me
And every page spells liberty
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

There is a tree in Paradise
And the pilgrims call it the Tree of Life
All my trials, Lord, soon be over

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: GUEST,John R
Date: 19 Mar 06 - 06:27 AM

Hi Sarah,
I really enjoyed your singing of it in South Brent. It is a wonderful song. The mood & phrasing take me straight to Dave's 'January man' and also some of Sydney Carter's songs. There is a feeling of being done to - in January man by the inevitability of the cyclical forces of nature and in Easter Tree, man does to man (is this also inevitable?). So, although I think there are broader sad, dark allusions reflecting on the nature of the world, I agree that the main allusion is to man's inhumanity to man through what he does and has always done to individuals from Christ to every hanged murderer. It remains, for me, applicable to what is still being done in our name or in the name of justice in various parts of the world. For me the last line the stain upon the stone is the shame which is left for what has been done.
John
PS. If Dave Goulder can contribute, I would be very interested in his own thoughts.

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 08:11 PM

I wondered how that happened. Still no word from the man himself.

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:12 PM

It would be even better if Mark Pemburn, who transcribed the song from June Tabor's record, had bothered to read the copyright details. If he had, Dave would be credited in the DT file (at present he is not, though this error has been pointed out a number of times, I think: presumably correct information will be included in the next update) and the very misleading comment "from an old English song" would not have been included.

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Saro
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 01:52 PM

Yes, I hope so too! Very interested in everyone's view, isn't it a sign of a really good song that it sparks off this kind of debate...
Sarah

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 06:55 PM

To clarify: I think it's about how execution defiles the way the world could be. That people live at and by the mercy of other people, that nature itself doesn't take notice of these killings, but history does and everything's recorded in the karma of humankind.

I hope Dave visits and comments.

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Morticia
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 06:32 PM

blimey Sins, that there is name dropping, if ever I came across it *G*.

Looking forward to his input with bated wotsits.

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Surreysinger
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 05:49 PM

Hmmm... I've been singing this one for my own pleasure for more years than I care to remember. I'd always assumed that the Easter tree mentioned in the last verse was the first one - ie the Cross, and that the reference to it being red with human blood was reference to the many executions/deaths resulting from religious conflict and disagreement/antagonism down the centuries(eg Protestant v Roman Catholic etc).

Incidentally, I'd always thought that the start of the second line in the third verse was "Four strong nails" (eg for wrists and ankles) .... but then I was learning it from June Tabor's rendition on LP back in the 70's and have never seen the words in print.

I await Dave's comments with interest :o)

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: SINSULL
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 05:11 PM

I contacted Mary Goulder. She promises that Dave will make an appearance here and put in his 2 cents.

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 03:01 PM

There's some reference that the Easter Tree is 'the Tree of Life', from the Garden of Eden. There's a poem here:

A wonderful story from medieval times traces the wood of the cross on which Jesus died, all the way back to the Garden of Paradise, where God made grow "every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food." (Genesis 2,9) The great tree of Paradise is the "tree of life."

I believe the song is simply about capitol punishment. The leaves are stained blood-red because the wood of the Tree of Life itself was used to kill. The bones of all the dead lie beneath the desecrated tree.

Subject: Lyr Add: EASTER TREE (Dave Goulder)
From: Saro
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 12:29 PM

Sorry not to have included the words, i was really inviting comment from those who already knew/sung the song - but to widen the information a bit, here it is below:

Rain falls upon the Easter Tree, the squirrel shakes his head
And shivers in his red and sodden fur.
The wind and water flatten out his ears, and force his streaming eyes to close.
The smell of death is heavy in his nose.

The sun dries out the Easter Tree, the rabbit looks around,
Sees a shadow on the ground and runs for home.
A songbird finds a strange and novel perch to shout his challenge to the day;
The hair beneath his feet is turning grey.

Yes, a man hangs from the Easter Tree, his death-bed is a rope
Or strong nails have killed his hopes of climbing down.
His jaws are locked in agony or open for the flies to come and go –
His eyes are in the belly of the crow

A dog sits by the Easter Tree, beneath the naked heels.
His master or his meal will surely fall
When the rope is broken by the wind, or the rusty nails release their heavy load
Then the dog, well fed, continues down the road.

Bones lie beneath the Easter tree, the skulls now full of sand,
Could never understand the reason why
The thread of life was broken - by a hand that never cared to know their names.
They played and lost in someone else's game.

The leaves upon the Easter Tree are red with human blood
Since justice chose the wood to make a sword;
For when a man was hanged at Tyburn Tree, or crucified along the road to Rome,
His blood and tears have stained the face of stone.

I'm inclined to take the last verse as a comment on the way in which society "licenses" a certain amount of killing - e.g. by the army, capital punishment etc. The "face of stone" represents the establishment, usually portrayed in stone statues. Thanks for all the other information, I'll continue to mull it over.
Sarah

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Purple Foxx
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 10:57 AM

The Title clearly alludes to Christianity.
However Crucifixion was a commonplace occurence in Rome.
The line refering to this happening along the Road to Rome makes me think of the mass crucifixions that took place after the Spartacus revolt.
Tyburn was the location of a great many gibbets & a great many hangings.
I would interpret the song as conveying history passing & executions continuing with no positive outcome.
The title merely alluding to the most famous of execution victims.
There is emphatically no resurrection occuring with the man in the song.

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 10:49 AM

From the DT version:

When a man was hanged at Tyburn tree or crucified along the road to Rome
His blood and tears have stained the face of stone

Transcribed from "Ashes and Diamonds" -- June Tabor (1977)
From an old English song. The "Tyburn tree" was the "gallows tree"
in England in past centuries.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Morticia
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 10:48 AM

How strange, I've been singing this all day and then opened the Mudcat to find this at the top!

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: SINSULL
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 10:46 AM

The last verse makes it clear that the Easter Tree is the cross on which Christ died - no?

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: SINSULL
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 10:44 AM

It's in the DT:
@displaysong.cfm?SongID=6218

Subject: RE: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 10:41 AM

Yes. My thought is, what is the text of the lyric you're asking us to comment upon?

~Susan

Subject: Meaning of 'The Easter Tree'
From: Saro
Date: 14 Mar 06 - 10:11 AM

I know that there have been references to Dave Goulder's The Easter Tree in earlier threads, but I'm interested to know how people interpet the meaning of this very thought-provoking song (well, it provokes my thoughts, anyway!). We (that's Craig, Morgan, Robson) have just started singing the song, and have whiled away lots of time in the car discussing it. So, any thoughts....?
Sarah