CUT THE TREE / BRING THE ARMY

CUT THE TREE / BRING THE ARMY lyrics

Official lyrics for “CUT THE TREE / BRING THE ARMY” by Festival Guy.

[Spoken Intro]

August twenty-first. Nineteen seventy-six.

The objective is a tree.

Prepare everything.

[Verse 1]

A poplar blocked the sight line Between the post and bridge

Branches over concrete Roots beneath the ridge

They came with saws on Wednesday To clear what had grown tall

Four minutes in the morning Two men would never leave at all

Blood beneath the branches Axes in the dust

Routine maintenance Becomes a matter of trust

Three days of calculation Three nights without sleep

The tree remained standing The price was running deep

[Refrain]

CUT THE TREE

BRING THE ARMY

CUT THE TREE

BRING THEM ALL

CUT THE TREE

BRING THE ARMY

MAKE THE TREE RESPONSIBLE

[Verse 2]

Sixteen men with chainsaws Walk into the zone

Hundreds stand behind them No one stands alone

Rifles out of eyesight Artillery aligned

Helicopters turning Bombers close behind

Every gun is loaded Every engine warm

Every quiet movement Sheltered by a storm

No declaration No invasion plan

Just enough destruction To protect the working men

[Chorus]

THIS IS NOT A WAR

THIS IS PREPARATION

THIS IS NOT REVENGE

THIS IS VEGETATION

THIS IS NOT A THREAT

THIS IS DEMONSTRATION

CUT IT TO THE GROUND

WITHOUT NEGOTIATION

[Instrumental – chainsaw rhythm beneath feedback]

[Verse 3]

Across the line they gathered Watching through the haze

Counting every aircraft Measuring the weight

One tree in the center Two countries holding breath

One branch cast a shadow Long enough for death

The engineers kept cutting No one raised a hand

Wood chips crossed the border No one knew where they would land

The trunk began to tremble The saw began to bind

Every weapon waited For somebody to decide

[Refrain]

CUT THE TREE

BRING THE ARMY

CUT THE TREE

BRING THEM ALL

CUT THE TREE

BRING THE ARMY

MAKE THE TREE RESPONSIBLE

[Bridge]

Bonifas

Barrett

Say the names Above the saw

Bonifas

Barrett

Say the names And follow orders

Cut through bark

Cut through rings

Cut through twenty years Of waiting

Cut through shade

Cut through doubt

Cut until the view is open

[Breakdown]

FORTY-TWO MINUTES

FORTY-TWO MINUTES

FORTY-TWO MINUTES TO REMOVE THE TREE

FORTY-TWO MINUTES

EVERY WEAPON READY

FORTY-TWO MINUTES WITHOUT WORLD WAR THREE

[Verse 4]

Then the trunk gave way And fell across the earth

No artillery answered No aircraft released

The bombers turned for home The helicopters cleared

The troops withdrew in order Taking everything but fear

They left a stump behind them As high as any grave

Proof of what had happened Proof of how they behaved

Mission accomplished The sight line restored

The dead remained dead The border remained armed

[Final Chorus – slower]

THIS WAS NOT A WAR

THIS WAS PREPARATION

THIS WAS NOT REVENGE

THIS WAS VEGETATION

THIS WAS NOT A THREAT

THIS WAS DEMONSTRATION

CUT IT TO THE GROUND

WITHOUT NEGOTIATION

[Final Refrain]

CUT THE TREE

BRING THE ARMY

CUT THE TREE

BRING THEM ALL

CUT THE TREE

BRING THE ARMY

THE TREE FALLS DOWN

THE BORDER STAYS

THE TREE FALLS DOWN

THE BORDER STAYS

THE TREE FALLS DOWN

THE DEAD—

STAY—

DEAD

[Outro]

The sight line is clear.

Objective complete.

Nothing is resolved.