Rush – The Trees lyrics

Ah, finally, a deep song. This is all about people. Maples are the poor, oaks are the rich. Sunlight is money. The oaks just so happen to have talents that let them have jobs that have a high pay rate, while it's the opposite with the maples. "but the oaks can't help their feelings if they like the way they're made. " the oaks just don't care and they are happy with all the money. They wonder why the maples can't be happy in their shade/poverty; they're still doing what they love and they're good at, right? But this doesn't make enough money to live, so the maples need to get better jobs to live, which they're not happy with. Now the shade represents unhappiness in general. The creatures have all fled, meaning that eveyone with a ton of power, like the gov't, has abandoned trying to help (animals have more power than trees because they can move by themselves while the trees are fixed in place). The maples are now broke or homeless, so they scream out (commit crimes) and the oaks don't care, they just call the police, whatever, no biggie, which makes the maples even more angry because they have lost, totally. Then the maples form a union, or suggest a new form of gov't like communism, where the hatchet, axe, and saw are socialists taking everything away from everyone. Or maybe the maples form a new country and everyone is made equal at death. Or the union is some kind of constitution, and the trees are cut down because they are all unhappy with this law. Or maybe the new government steps in (made up of maples) and punishes the rest of the maples and all oaks because they all acted wrongly.
Honestly, there is no proper way to do society and government so I think everybody should just go and be nomadic. The song is possibly a greatly philosophical metaphor or just total nonsense.
-the deviant panther.

The real meaning to the song is that the maples are like the people at the bottom of the pyramid and that do all the work for the company or buisness or whatever. The oaks are the people at the top that take all the credit for everything that the maples do for them.
Then the oaks are saying to the maples why aren't you happy. You have the job(taking the copany example).

Be content within yourself. In what ever things you judge you will be judged. Perceived injustice is not always as it seems. Discontent, jealously and envy blind us to the bigger picture. Do not repay evil for evil. Even what you do not have will be taken away. God has mercy on the creatures who do not see the trees as inferior or superior, yet understand the power he has to bring judgment. Again be content in all things you were created as you are for a reason, it may be to protect even the smallest of Gods creatures, don’t rob them because of your own jealously.