Henry's Songbook

Chorus:
Can you imagine a world without trees
Do you think you'd survive it for long
Put yourself to the test, try it with ease
Hold your breath for the rest of this song

Hornbeam and willow, maple and elm
Sycamore, chestnut and yew
Hazel and redwood, rowan and birch
Oak and holly, to name but a few

The tropical rainforest burns day and night
In Brazil they need land for the cow
But the Amazon basin, the lungs of the world
Has a cancer that must be cured now

This scale of destruction eases production
Of beef for the hamburger king
Those meat mafioso, that's how it goes
That's why I stand here and sing

If you've no objection to making a buck
And you don't think the future looks black
When it comes to the end you could be out of luck
If you had to inhale a Big Mac

Last chorus:
Can you imagine a world without trees
How long do you think you'd survive
Put yourself to the test, try it with ease
Hold your breath for the rest of your life

(as sung by Iain MacKintosh)

[1995:] I remember some years ago when I was on tour in Switzerland I had a very bad bronchitis. I arrived at the house of the organisers where I was playing that night. They had a meeting that afternoon. Thirty or forty people had come to their home to be given a lecture by a Swiss gentleman on 'Healing from trees'. He had them all out in the garden hugging trees, feeling the vibrations. So I arrived there coughing and - awful. And this man said, 'Iain, I think I can help you. Come with me to the garden.' I thought, 'Here we go - tree- hugging ...' But he took me to a linden tree, and he said, 'What you have to do is take some leaves from the tree and make a tea with it. Boil the leaves, drink the tea after fifteen minutes, and you'll feel better.' So I started to take some leaves. He said, 'No, wait - you have to ask the tree first.' So I stood there in this garden in Switzerland, saying, 'Please, Mr Tree, is it ok to take some leaves?' feeling really stupid. I took the leaves, I made the tea, I drank the tea, I felt better. It really works! - Then he told me I'd have to say thank you to the tree also. I've always been fond of trees ... (Iain MacKintosh, intro Hamburg)