MxPx started as three 15-year-old kids calling themselves Magnified Plaid pounding out music inspired by and similar to The Descendents and other Southern California punk rock bands. They didn’t really love their band name, however, which was a tribute to the original guitarist’s penchant for wearing one particularly loud plaid shirt. Consequently, the name was abbreviated to M.P., but in Yuri’s handwriting, periods become “X“‘s and since he made up the show posters for the band, the four-letter moniker stuck.
Andy Husted, the former guitarist, left the band in 1995 to continue college.
Andy was replaced by Tom to solidify the line-up that would take the band into their post-teen years. Maybe Tom’s background as a drummer made up for his relative inexperience playing guitar (he had only played for a year at the time). He and Yuri lock into backbreakingly fast rhythms that rank with vintage Minor Threat for speed and percussive attack. Mike then adds to the mix his signature sing-along melodies that call to mind SoCal punk bands from the early ’80s.
Bremerton had been a town most famous for its naval shipyards until MxPx caught the attention of Tooth & Nail Records when they played a “showcase” for the T&N label in 1993 in Herrera’s parents’ garage. Mike Herrera had practiced so much before the first show, he lost his voice.
MxPx released three albums with Tooth & Nail Records: Pokinatcha in 1994, Teenage Politics in 1995, and Life in General in 1996. After a falling out with Tooth & Nail, MxPx left the label and signed with A&M Records.
In July 2010 drummer Yuri Ruley announced he would be retiring from the band to focus on his family. Ruley played his last show with the band in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 18, 2010. In a recent video message from Mike, he stated that Tom and Yuri have both finished touring full time, but will continue to play one-off shows with the band.
Money Tree
MxPx Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Won't let them teach me how to be a money tree
That's what you are
That's all you'll ever be
A money tree
They've got you planted in the ground, you don't know it
They make you put your money down and they take it
Never want to be your money tree
The lyrics of MxPx's Money Tree explicitly express the protest of the singer against the system that wants to teach him to be a money tree. The song's message revolves around the pressure that society puts on individuals to conform to their ways of thinking, to be a cog in the machine, and just follow the norms regardless of their potential. The opening line, "4 more years ain't right for me, I don't think so," conveys an individual's struggle to follow the traditional path imposed by society's institutions such as education systems.
The main metaphor used in the song is "money tree," which represents an individual who is continually used by the system to make money. The chorus goes, "That's what you are, That's all you'll ever be, A money tree." These lines highlight the singer's opinion that one's value is equated with their ability to earn money, which is perpetuated by the system. The last line of the chorus, "Never want to be your money tree," confirms the singer's resistance to the system and its expectations.
Overall, MxPx's Money Tree is a poignant and relevant song that talks about the societal pressure to conform, the expectation to be a money-making machine, and an individual's resistance to be a part of the system.
Line by Line Meaning
4 more years ain't right for me, I don't think so
I don't want to spend another four years conforming to society's expectations
Won't let them teach me how to be a money tree
I won't allow society to force me into being nothing more than a source of wealth
That's what you are
Society has turned some people into nothing more than money trees
That's all you'll ever be
Once someone becomes a money tree, they're unlikely to ever break free from that identity
A money tree
A person who is exploited for their wealth and treated as nothing more than a means to an end
They've got you planted in the ground, you don't know it
Society has trapped and restricted you without you even realizing it
They make you put your money down and they take it
Society takes advantage of your wealth and uses it for their own gain
Never want to be your money tree
I never want to fall victim to being exploited for my wealth
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
𝔊𝔢𝔞𝔫ˢᵉᵖ
Saudades dos anos 90,cara! Skate, walkman, MTV,punk rock,festas e etc...
😭
ᵃᵍᵉᶰᵗ🩸47
Love this song 👌😎
Dinba
The current lineup is really Mike Tom and Yuri, but in this song Andy Husted is on guitar.
DangerGavin
This song is so true when you become famous and everyone wants to be your friend and or family
Star Coelho
This band NEEDS Over 1 million likes😍❤❤❤
livingstranger
I was 15 yrs old when I first heard this song in 1998. The pop punk height. I remember those days.
issaac Xxx
Quick story about this song and MxPx as a whole: im 2009, O was 8 years old and my whole family and i were all living in a small tv shop my dad owned. I found a dvd for Let It Happen, it had all their music videos and I listened to it non-stop. It was the very first punk band I got into, and mxpx has a special place in my heart lol. Because of thst dvd, along with these Crusty Demons Of Dirt videos my dad had, i love punk rock. Although when i was 8 and 9 the only punk bands i knew of were Green Day and Mxpx.
notyoursavior78
heh such old MxPx. Pretty cool. I also really liked their first one because it was so gritty and raw.
eric mconodugh
Toms in the video. Andy is the guitarist on the cd.
Diego Alonso
great song!