"A Thousand Trees" is the third single released by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. The song is taken from their debut album, Word Gets Around (1997), and was released on 11 August 1997. It reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.

"A Thousand Trees"
Single by Stereophonics
from the album Word Gets Around
B-side"Carrot Cake & Wine"
Released11 August 1997 (1997-08-11)[1]
Length3:02
LabelV2
Songwriter(s)Kelly Jones
Producer(s)
  • Steve Bush & Marshall Bird (CD1)
  • John Brand (CD2)
Stereophonics singles chronology
"More Life in a Tramps Vest"
(1997)
"A Thousand Trees"
(1997)
"Traffic"
(1997)
Music video
"A Thousand Trees" on YouTube

Background

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According to Kelly Jones, the song is about "a football coach who did some very untowards stuff with younger kids" and whose reputation was subsequently "basically burned to the ground". Reflecting on "A Thousand Trees" in an interview with NME in 2017, Jones said: "It was a very weird incident, when I look back at it now as a 43-year-old man, to put it into a song – if you want the truth. It’s obviously very personal to a lot of people. But it was basically about rumours in a very small environment crushing someone’s reputation".[2]

Track listings

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All music was composed by Kelly Jones, Richard Jones and Stuart Cable. All lyrics were written by Kelly Jones except where indicated.

CD 1

  1. "A Thousand Trees" – 3:03
  2. "Carrot Cake & Wine" – 4:27
  3. "A Thousand Trees" (Live at Oxford Zodiac 23.3.97) – 3:39

CD 2 - Acoustic EP

  1. "A Thousand Trees"
  2. "Home to Me"
  3. "Looks Like Chaplin"
  4. "Summertime" (George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward)

7-inch vinyl

  1. "A Thousand Trees" – 3:03
  2. "Carrot Cake & Wine" – 4:27

Charts

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Chart (1997–2000) Peak
position
Scotland (OCC)[3] 21
UK Singles (OCC)[4] 22
UK Indie (OCC)[5] 18

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[6] Gold 400,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other versions

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References

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  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 9 August 1997. p. 33. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  2. ^ Stereophonics look back on the origins of classic single ‘A Thousand Trees’ Andrew Trendell, NME (9 November 2017) Archived 11 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  6. ^ "British single certifications – Stereophonics – A Thousand Trees". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 April 2024.