artwork by Jose Luis Olivares
Hi and Ho, We Plant Trees
This album is a collection of old and new songs done by treeplanters, about treeplanting, and for the most part, for other treeplanters.
Not that everyone isn't welcome to bask in our nostalgia, but to truly appreciate these tunes, one must actively take part in this silvi-culture. Other than a few exceptions, the artists who took part are veterans of the Canadian planting scene. These campfire classics are inspired by long days out on the "block", working through the bugs and the rain and the difficult terrain and then coming back to camp, hot food, showers, and the companionship of the other boys and girls who help replant our country's vast forests every Spring/Summer.
Below you'll find the album of course, as well as a photo gallery from Hugh Stimson, a planting slang dictionary if the need arises to look up a word or phrase while listening to the songs, and also you'll find links to some other websites if you want to read further. And if you're really curious... come join us in the bush next season!
entire album w/artwork in mp3 form
entire album w/artwork in uncompressed wav form
(for patient downloaders only, good for burning to cd)
Also you can click on the titles below to listen to the individual songs, or to learn more about the artist click on their name...
Set One:
1. Hi and Ho, We Plant Trees!
by Mika Vanhanen & Pataluoto Children's Choir
2. Middle of Nowhere
by The Cracker Cats
3. El Plantador
by Baba Brinkman
4. Blackfly
by Bill Crosson
5. The Road North
by Michael Mloszeski
6. 2007 Pounder Mix
by MC I-Ras & Dj Roots
7. The Crummy
by Mike Ford
8. Time Warp
by Captain Keenan
9. The Replanting Blues
by Brianne Hudson
10. Meziadin Junction
by Michael Mloszeski
11. This Vibe
by Jennifer Plummer
12. Tree Planting Party
by Vicki Larnach
13. Drifting On
by Jeff Andrew
Set Two:
1. Lumberjack
by Alice Rose
2. Planter For Life (after four years)
by Bad Uncle
3. Bad For The Bears
by Dooderonomy
4. J-Root Leaner
by The Gruff
5. The Wedding Song
by Deb Hirkala
6. KM 19
by The Breakmen
7. In The Country
by Natalie Germann
8. Buckbreak
by Ken Hamm
9. Back In The Mountains
by Brian Brigden
10. The General Store
by The Gruff
11. Cabin In The Woods
by The Be Good Tanyas feat. Jolie Holland
12. The Treeplanting Song
by Robbie Sinclair
13. Love Song To Little Trees
by Bill Crosson
Treeplanting Lingo 101
Story from CBC's Stuart McLean
The Man Who Planted Trees
Photography from Hugh Stimson
Treeplanting videos & links
Something about the rhythm of tree planting, the steady, methodical nature of it, the drum-like beat of tree after tree after tree, has always struck me as musical.
Early in my too-long career as a planter, I always thought of "Natural Blues" by Moby, with its repeating bluesy chorus of "ooooh, lordy, troubled so hard... don't nobody know my troubles but God". Something about the old-soul gospel quality of it reminded me of those traditional field-worker songs with their sorrow, and their hope for deliverance and a better life--something every tree planter can relate to. And some of that sorrow and suffering shows up on this CD, to be sure.
Of course, the job isn't all suffering--there's also humour, there's elation, there's fun and friendshp and everything else that goes along with life in the bush.
Regardless, one way or the other, the artists on here represent a wide swath of the planting experience--think of it as a musical cattle plant, everyone coming together at the end of the day for one big communal push for home.
So listen for the beat of the party-night drum, and of the shovel slamming into the earth over and over, of tree after tree after tree, the buzz of a black fly, the percussion-rattle of that loose handle on the van door. All of it comes out here in this celebration of life as a tree planter.
In 2005, when her show of tree planting art was the toast of New York City, Sarah Anne Johnson told the Village Voice: "It's the closest thing I've found to Utopia,". Some have argued that it's closer to hell, but as the music on this CD shows, it's both of those things, and something in between--a state of suspension between "real" lives, and a time worth remebering, celebrating, and singing about.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. These songs may be shared freely for your listening pleasure, but may not be altered or used for commercial purposes without the consent of the artist.