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The Last Cypress in Ellen Browning Scripps Park

from Passage from the Lesser Middle by Tom Alter

/

about

"The Lorax" is a Dr. Seuss book about caring for our environment. The Lorax speaks for the trees. The tree that inspired Theodor Geisel for the illustrations in his book was a cypress near his home in San Diego. Recently, that tree fell and no one knows why. Is this yet another sign of the damage we continue to do to our environment?

lyrics

The lone cypress in Ellen Browning Scripps Park
Fell over and died last week and we cannot determine why.
And the one who speaks for the trees is gone
And the trees are still left without a voice
And they are fighting for their lives.
Is this another sign
As the earth grows warm and the oceans rise?
Is this another sign
Like breaking ice and all the forest fires?
Do we see the signs or cover our eyes?
Do we cover our eyes?

It's half a century since the Doctor said
Keeping up like this is worthy of our dread
And yet we haven't found a way.
We vacillate and procrastinate
We block our ears and turn our backs
And pass this to another age.
And we ignore the signs
Like glaciers melting right before our eyes.
We don't recognize
The cypress loss could be another sign.
So we cover our eyes.
We cover our eyes.

When a tree comes down so premature
So exactly like what happened to the
Ellen Browning Scripps cypress.
Will we finally open up our eyes
Or wait so long that we realize
We're way too far past an "unless."
Will we not see the signs
The earth grows warm and the oceans rise?
Will we now recognize
The cypress loss is just another sign?
Can we open our eyes?
Open our eyes.
Will we open our eyes?

credits

from Passage from the Lesser Middle, released November 1, 2019
Words and music by Tom Alter

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Tom Alter Detroit, Michigan

Tom Alter is a singer-songwriter based in Detroit. The influences of jazz, folk, pop, and Latin genres are found in his original compositions. Tom's lyrics mix world events with the affect on his personal ideals. He has released 3 EPs and 2 albums since 2019. His work can be found on digital and streaming music platforms. He is also a member of the duo After Blue.
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