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Neil Peart, Maples, and Oaks
In 1979, the number four song, according to Billboard, was Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy.” As an example of the then-trend of rockers turning in a disco number, it was better than most (the entire Hot Streets album by Chicago…shudder), but the message of the song was this: “let’s have sex.” Also in the Top 10 that year: Hot Stuff by Donna Summer (“I’m looking for some sex”), Le Freak by Chic (“I would like to have some freak-nasty sex.), Bad Girls by Donna Summer (“There might be a potential downside to all of that sex, but beep-beep, uh uh, let’s have sex”) and of course, YMCA by The Village People (“You can get a hot meal, but it’s also a great place to have sex.”)
I’m not sure 1979 was the greatest year for music, but I remember a song I heard that year that has stuck with me for 40 years: The Trees, by Rush. I wasn’t even in high school yet, but I was starting to figure out who I was. Introverted (but not necessarily shy), brainy, but I could get you to laugh once you got to know me. Not a “bad boy” or a jock, and not precisely a misfit, either. In short, I wasn’t yet clear where I belonged, or with whom, but it wasn’t with the crowd.
The Trees was written by Neil Peart when he was 27. Peart wrote pretty much all of the lyrics for Rush, and over the years, he’s taken his share of slings and arrows for lyrics that ranged from juvenile to overly flowery to…
