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Arbor Day (Single Version)

by Andy Ulseth

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about

Happy Arbor Day!

"Arbor Day" is the first song I ever wrote on an instrument other than a guitar. Piano playing has always been a skill I sought to improve on, but this particular song features my special brand of "hot dog fingers" piano playing.

**Half of the proceeds from sales of "Arbor Day" through the month of May will go to the Arbor Day Foundation.**

When I was a teenager, I went to an Arbor Day outdoor festival, somewhere in Minneapolis. I seem to recall it being somewhere near the beloved Mde Maka Ska. As a part of the festival, there were various artisans selling wares. One such merchant was selling figurines of carved wood. My teen brain saw some some subversive irony in the fact that a festival to celebrate the conservation of trees was selling products made of dead trees. Lol, indeed.

The song feels like an ode to teenage boredom, ennui, and desire for understanding nuances of commerce in situations like the ones I described. There are some very South Minneapolis-centric images in this song, that I find particularly romantic.

lyrics

Oh Irony,
Sat aside the parkway in our dungarees,
With rolled up sleeves
The soggy leaves,
Collect upon the walkways and sidestreets

On Arbor Day,
Moss upon the dewey arch in full display
The cracks were made
From slow decay
The features on the facing have all come to fade
To fade

Oh Mystery,
Were you carved this way?
Oh Figurine,
Cut from the wood of an evergreen tree

Bugle Call,
Light our cigarettes at the retaining wall
The bathroom stall,
The marquee crawl,
Reminds us not to let life get a way

On Lowry Hill,
Looked upon the wet ground
From your window sill,
The air was still,
And how fulfilled,
You felt about the fog that fell around

Oh Mystery,
Were you carved this way?
Oh Figurine,
Cut from the wood of an evergreen tree

Oh Mystery,
Were you carved this way?
Oh Figurine,
Cut from the wood of an evergreen tree

credits

released April 29, 2022
Andy Ulseth - Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Bass, Keys, Percussion
Matt Schiebe - Drums
Molly Ulseth - Vocals
Green Bouzard - Violin

Recorded by Andy Ulseth
Mixed and Mastered by Eric Carlson
Text Design by Bryan Isaacs

Property of Northern Gold Songs (BMI)
Reverse Alphabetical 2022

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Andy Ulseth image

Andy Ulseth Minneapolis, Minnesota

Andy Ulseth is a craftsman songwriter from Minnesota. A state known for brutal winters, and liberal politics. His folk songs highlight the vivid and visceral minutiae of the modern world rather than focus on the past. What does it mean to be a millennial? Why does life happen all at once? How have we changed? Every melody is important, and words matter. ... more

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