The Crying Tree of Mercury
| "The Crying Tree of Mercury" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Smashing Pumpkins | |
| Released | 2000 |
| Studio sessions | November 1998-September 1999 – Pumpkinland |
| Length | 3:43 |
| Songwriter(s) | Billy Corgan |
"The Crying Tree of Mercury" (working title "Slow Song") is a song from The Smashing Pumpkins' fifth studio album, Machina/The Machines of God. An early version of the song called "The Mercury Tree" appeared in early premaster releases of Machina, though it had identical lyrical content. Before joining the Pumpkins, former drummer Mike Byrne played in a band called The Mercury Tree, though it is unclear if this is mere coincidence.[1]
Music video
An internet-only interactive music video was released for "The Crying Tree of Mercury" by MTV in March 2000, directed by Billy Corgan.[2] Machina artwork designer Vasily Kafanov worked with MTV designers to create the video.[3] It was essentially a small Flash animation with clickable Machina imagery.
Live videos
Lyrics
this is the song i've been singing my whole life
i've been waiting like a knife
to cut open your heart
and bleed my soul to you
i did it all for you
you and you and you and you
this is the sound i've been making my whole life
i've been waiting for this night
to clear up all the talk
although i'm selfish to a fault
is it selfish, it's you i want
you, i did it all for you
this love will stand as long as you
there's really no excuse
i did it all for you
these are the tears i've been crying my whole life
like an ocean of desire
i'm reaching through the noise
across the dusk of time
within the lilting lights
i am singing out to you
Availability
| Title | Notes | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Machina/The Machines of God (premaster) | Promotional | |
| Machina/The Machines of God | Main release | Studio |
| If All Goes Wrong | The Fillmore Residency | Video |
Tour stats
- Total plays: 65 plays (65 full, 2 soundcheck), 15 acoustic, 1 piano, 2 artists
- First performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 1999-12-20 at Metro, Chicago, IL, US
- Last performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2015-08-09 at Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN, US