Video: The Tree Song

Thanks again to our iPhone cameraman, Ben Vineburg, for this clip from the most recent Melava Malka (Motzei Shabbos Vayeitzei 5772). In the clip, the Rebbe is singing his original "Tree Song", a famous ballad describing the longing of a young child to climb a tall tree and how he slowly forgot about his aspirations. At the end, the boy, now an old man, promises that while he may have been unable to fulfill his lifelong dream, his children can benefit from his experiences and maybe they themselves will one day reach the heavens.

The post includes audio of the complete song and full lyrics as well. Enjoy!

And here is an audio recording of the entire ballad, sung by the Rebbe, shilt"a. DOWNLOAD

Beneath the video, you will find the lyrics to the entire song, transcribed by an avid reader of the blog, David Teitelbaum. Thank you for your hard work!

THE TREE
by Moreinu HaRav M. Twerski shlit"a of Hornosteipel-Milwaukee

When I was young I saw a tree,
So tall, it dwarfed the sky,
I loved it so, that in my mind I was
That tree and it was I.
With wistful eyes I scaled its heights,
And wished that I were grown,
And strong that I myself might climb,
And make the tree my own.

CHORUS:

Oh! That I might climb,
Its branches, sublime,
And touch the sky;
Oh to snatch from afar
my very own star
and tread on high.
To eat of its fruit,
By its sweetness renewed,
To embrace the horizon with awe;
Fulfilling and free
Eitz chaim hee
Lamachazikim ba
As I sat beside its mighty roots,
So deeply sunk in the land,
I knew that till the end of time,
Forever my tree would stand.
Come wind, come storm, come drought, or flood,
Yet strong it would ever be,
For, these roots reached far and drew upon
The waters of the sea.

CHORUS

I loved to listen to my tree,
As the wind strummed the melody,
It was the song of hopes and dreams,
The song of majesty.
On days when the summer sun burned bright,
Parching man and beast alike,
We gathered all beneath its shade,
In cool and fresh delight.
Well, weeks and months and years went by,
And my tree I did not climb,
It seemed I was always putting it off,
For yet another time.
And so it went, and I grew up,
Still waiting for a sign,
Till I left home, my fortune to seek,
And left my tree behind.

CHORUS

Well I must admit that as I fought,
To prosper and to thrive,
That it became so very hard,
To keep my dream alive.
And yet in moments serene and still,
My heart I know did yearn,
To go back home and climb my tree,
I wanted to return.
Well finally one autumn day,
I judged the time had come,
To go back home and climb my tree,
At last it would be done.
I found it there as I knew I would,
Majestic to behold;
To my dismay as I reached to climb,
I found I was too old.

CHORUS

Well, I sat beside my tree and wept,
All night and all the day,
For, I knew that while I pursued the world,
My dreams had slipped away.
Gone were the hopes of distant sights
Of clouds and stars and skies,
Too long had I been blind and deaf
To the song of paradise.
So now, I've gone to fetch my son
To teach him what I’d learned,
That he might have that which I lost,
All that for which I so yearned
I told my son about this tree that was
And would be and ever is;
And though I know it can't be mine,
This tree shall yet be his

CHORUS

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