Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, USA, in 1992. For most… Read Full Bio ↴Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, USA, in 1992. For most of its existence, Everclear consisted of Art Alexakis (b. 12 April 1962, Los Angeles, California, USA; vocals, guitar), Craig Montoya (b. 14 September 1970; bass, vocals) and Greg Eklund (b. 18 April 1970; drums). Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994. Montoya and Eklund departed the band in 2003, but Alexakis has continued performing as Everclear with a new lineup.

After a solo tour in the fall of 2003, Alexakis decided to continue with Everclear, organizing a new band that made its debut in March of 2004. The new lineup consisted of bass player Sam Hudson, guitarist Dave French, and drummer Eric Bretl. In the summer of 2004, the band added keyboard player Josh Crawley, and swapped Bretl for former Everclear drum tech Brett Snyder. The new lineup released its first recording, a cover of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land, that summer. A self-released EP of performances recorded for XM Satellite Radio called Closure was given out at shows in the fall of 2004.

Free of a major label, Alexakis spent the ensuing year and half slowly recording material for a new Everclear release. He admitted that the time after the breakup of the original lineup served as a "wake up call", during which he suffered his third divorce and a filing for bankruptcy. Alexakis announced the completion of the album in early 2006,titled Welcome To The Drama Club. The new band is now on Eleven Seven Music.

In August of 2008, drummer Brett Snyder left the band after four years. He was then replaced by Tommy Stewart, who previously played in bands Fuel and Godsmack.

Tiger In A Burning Tree
Everclear Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A friend of mine woke me up to tell me about his dream
All the lights in the world went black
He felt like a tiger in a burning tree
It was like he was late for something
That he did not wanna see
His life looks better on paper
He lives like a tiger in a burning tree

Blow out the candles and make a wish

A woman from the city in the South
She lost her cow when the bottom fell out
She sold her life to the deep blue sea
She left a message for the world to see
She knows better what it's like to be
A tiger in a burning tree

Close your eyes and take a big deep breath
Blow out the candles and look away

I was a child that painted my toys angel blue and devil red
I broke him into pieces, set them on fire
Swept him under my bed
I never learned how to play nice with all the other kids
I never learned how to draw inside the lines and probably never will

Close your eyes and take a big deep breath
Imagine a world so much better than this
Now close your eyes and jump to a place you attain to be

And you can tell me what it feels like
To be a tiger in a burning tree

Overall Meaning

The song "Tiger in a Burning Tree" by Everclear tells the story of three different characters who feel trapped and overwhelmed by their circumstances. The first character is a friend who had a dream about being like a "tiger in a burning tree." This dream seems to represent the feeling of being stuck in a situation that is dangerous and uncomfortable, but being unable to escape. This person's life appears to be going well from the outside, but there is something inside that is not right.

The second character is a woman who has lost everything and is now desperate for a way out. She has sold her life to the sea and left a message for the world to see, but it is not clear what that message is. Her story suggests that sometimes life can be cruel and unfair, and people can feel like they have to make desperate choices just to survive.

The third character is the singer himself, who reflects on his own troubled childhood and difficulty fitting in with others. He admits that he never learned how to play nice or follow the rules, and that he still struggles with these things today. Like the other characters in the song, he seems to be searching for a way to break free from his current situation and find a place where he belongs.

Overall, "Tiger in a Burning Tree" is a song about feeling trapped and powerless, but also about the hope of finding a way out and creating a better life for oneself.

Line by Line Meaning

A friend of mine woke me up to tell me about his dream
Someone shared a dream in which he felt like a tiger stuck in a burning tree

All the lights in the world went black
The dreamer felt lost and powerless

He felt like a tiger in a burning tree
Overwhelmed and trapped by circumstances that threaten to consume him

It was like he was late for something
The dreamer felt like he had missed out on a significant moment

That he did not wanna see
This moment probably held dark and unwelcome truths

His life looks better on paper
The dreamer's circumstances appear enviable on the surface

He lives like a tiger in a burning tree
The dreamer feels like he is struggling to survive

Blow out the candles and make a wish
A call to action to dream and hope for something better

A woman from the city in the South
Introducing another character who experienced a similar feeling

She lost her cow when the bottom fell out
Something valuable was taken away from her suddenly

She sold her life to the deep blue sea
She made significant sacrifices to survive, and her livelihood depends on her making risky choices.

She left a message for the world to see
She is longing to be seen amidst her situation

She knows better what it's like to be
She has a deeper knowledge of what it means to feel trapped and helpless

A tiger in a burning tree
Just like the dreamer, she is consumed by her problems

I was a child that painted my toys angel blue and devil red
The singer has always had a muddled sense of good and evil, never fitting into the mold of what is 'right'

I broke him into pieces, set them on fire
The artist destroyed his toys out of anger, frustration, or something deeper

Swept him under my bed
The toys were discarded, hidden away, and forgotten

I never learned how to play nice with all the other kids
The singer never fit in socially and always felt like an outcast

I never learned how to draw inside the lines and probably never will
The singer always struggled with conformity and fitting into predefined molds

Imagine a world so much better than this
Inviting the listener to dream and imagine something better

And you can tell me what it feels like
Inviting the listener to share their experience of their own 'burning tree'

To be a tiger in a burning tree
Feeling trapped and overwhelmed by circumstances that are consuming and frightening

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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