The Monkey And The Tree (I love you, I tolerate you)
Table of Contents
Music Video
Sound Recordings
and more platforms
Lyrics
You are my tree,
I’m your pesky monkey
When you sway your leafy arms,
I’d blow you with charm.
Crawling up your chest,
Tracing down your neck.
Aren’t I rowdy? Aren’t you shaky?
But don’t drop me, baby
Coz only we know
No, no, they don’t know
If I messed up on the streets
You’d offer your camouflage.
I’m a problem
only you can handle.
As you grow, as I climb tall,
I’ll hold onto you tightly;
you can’t shake me off.
You say “I tolerate you”,
But I hear “I love you.”
Yes, you’re prideful,
But I’m too artful.
When you say “I tolerate you”
All I hear is “I love you”.
(I put up, I put up with you) “I love you”
(I put up, I put up with you) “I love you”
You are my freak,
You call me your stinky beak.
When we fool around around,
Police is at the door.
You look culpable,
but I am trouble.
Never mind, it’s show time
for lovers in crime
Coz only we know
No, no, they don’t know
When I robbed your rocky heart
It melted a little.
I teared down all your walls,
burnt down all your shields.
What a feat! No retreat!
Now I am the only one
you would come home to.
You say “I tolerate you”
But I hear “I love you.”
Yes, you’re prideful,
But I’m too artful.
When you say “I tolerate you”
All I hear is “I love you”.
(I put up, I put up with you) “I love you”
(I put up, I put up with you) “I love you”
Yes, you’re prideful,
But I’m too artful.
When you say “I tolerate you”
All I hear is “I love you”
If you are in a shadow,
I’ll bring the world’s light to you
Till it blinds you
And you’ll pinch your nose
Say “what do I do with you”
And you say “I tolerate you”
But I hear “I love you.”
Yes, you’re prideful,
But I’m too artful.
When you say “I tolerate you”
You’re prideful,
But I’m too artful.
When you say “I tolerate you”
All I hear is “I love you”
(I put up, I put up with you)
Music Score
Coming soon!
About The Song
“We choose to love each other, even during the times when we struggle to like each other. Being the “monkey”, I love having a stable “tree” to hold onto. I am the restless, energetic one that can be a tad bit annoying, while the “tree” is patient, understanding, protective and suffers in silence but secretly enjoys it. “You say ‘I tolerate you’ but I hear ‘I love you”, My partner can say whatever he wants but it doesn’t stop me from “translating” what he says into what I want to hear and what I think he truly means.” – Jolin Jiang
Creative and captivating in both style and sound, “The Monkey and The Tree” (I love you, I tolerate you) by Jolin Jiang cleverly combines today’s taste in pop with the lush jazz tones of the early 20th century.
The song exemplifies simple sophistication, using metaphor to coax us in, and playful, passionate lyrics to pique our curiosity. With smooth and wide-ranging vocals and a curiously coy, yet commanding character, Jiang invites us to peek into her desires and distress.
“The Monkey and the Tree,” tells the story of a lover who has mastered the art of charm and obsession. With artful delivery, she dictates the pace, and rhythm of the love story she crafts, drawing her lover into an almost toxic charm he has come to love.
Through the monkey and the tree analogy, she explores tensions created where lovers have opposite character traits. She offers tolerance and patience as a soothing balm to calm friction, and as necessary elixir to make an unlikely union work. The monkey is restless, energetic and a tad bit annoying, while the tree is patient, understanding, protective and suffers in silence.
Jolin Jiang’s silk-textured voice and her calm and measured delivery creates an unusual background for the assertive and domineering lyrics. Her delivery adopts the tactics of a parasite that kills its clueless host by slowly eating it from the insides. Her lover didn’t realize he was trapped in her charm until it was too late.
The beauty of this body of art lies in her thoughtful delivery, and the powerful imagery it creates in the listeners’ minds. She declares her innocence with a soft spoken rendition; she is only being her self, egged on by her lover’s silence, a lover who chooses to remain rooted to the spot, there is no escape as she asserts; “you can’t shake me off”.
“You say ‘I tolerate you’ but I hear ‘I love you”, Jolin Jiang changes the “alpha male” narrative, in the world she creates, she is the alpha. Her lover can express how he feels, but she controls what she hears. And no, don’t call her manipulative, she is simply enjoying her loot, a heart she has robbed.
Credits
Music: Jolin Jiang
Lyrics: Jolin Jiang
Voice: Jolin Jiang
Arrangement: Jolin Jiang
Music Production: Jolin Jiang
Recording: Jolin Jiang
Mixing: Sean Carey
Mastering: Sean Carey
Mentorship:
- Simone East
- Andrew Scott
- Amy Jorgensen
Artistic Consultant:
Music Video:
- Director: Joelle Snono
- Producer: Madeleine Jurd
- Written by: Joelle Snono
- DOP/Colourist & Editor: Grace Clinton
- 1st AC: Harry Holder
- Gaffer: Steven Khoury
- First Assistant Director: Mitch Bain
- Production Design: Annika Kumar
- Consultant: Ganu Bhalerao
- Cast
- Liam Bradford
- Meisha Lowe
- Lucas Howard
- Amos J
Venue
- Lazy Bones Lounge
Publicist
Photographers
Composition Specifications
Genre:
Pop, Jazz, R&B
Description:
theatrical, romantic, sexy, fun, quirky
Associated PRO:
APRA AMCOS
APRA AMCOS Work ID:
GW63196542
ISWC:
T-308932522-0
Recording Specifications
Distributor:
Distrokid
Associated PRO:
Sound Exchange
ISRC:
QZ-FZ4-22-74376
Performances
DD/MM/YY | EVENT | VENUE |
|---|---|---|
10/02/22 | Exclusive World Premiere | AAA Backstage |
05/02/22 | Exclusive Private Viewing with Jolin | Zoom |
In the Media
Premiere: Jolin Jiang Enters The Scene With The Theatrical Single, ‘The Monkey And The Tree’
“The Monkey And The Tree is a sophisticated tune that pays homage to a smoother time of music with its late night theatrical delivery and Jiang’s expressive vocal ability. The enchanting single tells the tale of a one sided relationship when we long to be understood by our significant other.”
— AAA Backstage