{{infobox song | name = Speaking with Trees | artist = [[Tori Amos]] | album = [[Ocean to Ocean]] | type = single | released = September 29, 2021 | studio = Martian Engineering ([[Cornwall]])<ref>https://www.pmstudio.com/music/20210929-14992</ref> | genre = [[Alternative rock]] | producer = [[Tori Amos]] | length = 3:56 | label = [[Decca Records|Decca]] | recorded = 2021 | prev_title = [[Cloud Riders]] | prev_year = 2017 | next_title = [[Cornflake Girl]] (live) | next_year = 2024 }} "'''Speaking with Trees'''" is a song by American singer-songwriter and pianist [[Tori Amos]], released as the first single from her sixteenth studio album ''[[Ocean to Ocean]]'' on September 29, 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.spin.com/2021/09/tori-amos-shares-speaking-with-trees/ |last=Whitaker |first=Marisa |work=Spin |access-date=September 23, 2022 |date=September 29, 2021 |title=Tori Amos Shares "Speaking With Trees"}}</ref>
==Background==
The main inspiration behind the song was Amos’ mother.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lentini |first=Liza |url= https://www.spin.com/2021/10/tori-amos-ocean-to-ocean-on-the-record-interview/ |website=Spin |title= On The Record: Tori Amos' ''Ocean To Ocean'' |access-date=24 September 2022 |date=25 October 2021}}</ref> Asked about the meaning of the song she stated:
{{cquote| My mother, really, I am hiding her ashes in a treehouse in Florida.
That's "Speaking with Trees". Getting out and being able to talk to the trees in Cornwall thinking that they’re the network, the worldwide web that lives under the trees.}}
Additionally, a press release described the song as being about "the absence of live music during the coronavirus pandemic."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/listen-to-tori-amos-breezy-new-single-speaking-with-trees-3059208 |title=Listen to Tori Amos' breezy new single ''Speaking with Trees'' |work=NME |date=September 30, 2021 |access-date=September 23, 2022 |author=Moore, Sam}}</ref>
The track features many of Amos’ frequent collaborators, including bassist Jon Evans and drummer [[Matt Chamberlain]], alongside husband Mark Hawley on guitar and her daughter Natashya Hawley contributing backing vocals.
==Critical reception== "Speaking with Trees", alongside its parent album, received positive reviews from critics. ''[[Medium (website)|Medium]]'' likened the track to Amos' earlier material, saying it "[partners] painful and sensitive lyrical content with vibrant, offbeat pop hooks."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://medium.com/the-riff/tori-amos-speaking-with-trees-an-introspection-66c631f5633c |website=Medium |access-date=24 September 2022 |date=14 October 2022 |title=TORI AMOS: SPEAKING WITH TREES, AN INTROSPECTION}}</ref>
==Personnel==
*[[Tori Amos]] – vocals, piano, keyboards *[[John Philip Shenale]] – synthesizer *Tash – backup vocals *Jon Evans – bass *[[Matt Chamberlain]] – drums, percussion *Mark Hawley – guitar, [[Resonator guitar|dobro]]
==References== {{reflist}}
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[[Category:Tori Amos songs]] [[Category:2021 singles]] [[Category:2021 songs]]