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'Stand By Me' Tree

Someone loved this song enough to carve all of its lyrics onto a tree trunk in a Berlin park.

Berlin, Germany

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The ‘Stand By Me’ Tree.   ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
  ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
Tree with the chorus.   ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
  ahvenas / Atlas Obscura User
Wen the night, Has come…   lauralowski / Atlas Obscura User
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At the heart of Berlin's Tiergarten Park, an anonymous person has carved the lyrics to one of the greatest love songs of all time: Ben E. King's "Stand By Me."

The carving is neat and deliberate. Clearly this was no act of youthful graffiti but rather a meaningful statement of purpose. Whether it was a declaration of love for a person or just for the song itself, the "Stand By Me" Tree has become a touching unsanctioned monument in Tiergarten Park. The bark has long since healed, and Ben E. King's timeless lyrics will remain as long as the tree stands.

It is unclear when the carving first appeared, but the tree became a popular tourist attraction following King's death in 2015. Around that time, the chorus of the song appeared on another tree nearby. Looping around the trunk, it reads, "Oh darling, darling, stand by me, stand by me..."

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Music Trees Graffiti Love Plants

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Located in Tiergarten park in the intersection of Grosser Weg and Grosser Sternallee. The "chorus" is on a nearby tree close to a smaller way leading off from Grosser Sternallee

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Published

May 10, 2017

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