Underneath the Big Green Tree

Album: Black Diamond (1995)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song about finding a place of comfort took on new meaning for Ridgway when he recorded his 2010 album Neon Mirage. Ridgway's father died at the end of 2009, and he had to work through his emotions while writing songs for the album. He re-recorded "Underneath the Big Green Tree" for Neon Mirage with fiddle player Amy Farris, who killed herself before the sessions were finished. In our interview with Stan Ridgway, he explained: "We also cut 'Big Green Tree' on the Neon Mirage record because that was a favorite of Amy's and she insisted we cut that. I cut the song before on a previous solo record, Black Diamond, more than a decade ago. But she really wanted to play that. And it turned into a different song, it was in a different key. Never really had that happen that way before. It was pretty abrupt and it was pretty brutal. But I'm really happy, I'm grateful we were able to put these songs together and people can hear them and they can hear how great she was." (Check out our interview with Stan Ridgway.)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Melanie

MelanieSongwriter Interviews

The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.