Tornado Rose Makes Their Break with “Rabbit in the Pine”
“Rabbit in the Pine,” by DC-area bluegrass band Tornado Rose, tells the relatable tale of an asymmetric romantic pursuit. Through the perspective of a personified rabbit, driving away from a persistent, and perhaps charming, fox, the song gives a human side to the classic and meddlesome bluegrass fox and the here-emotionally-conflicted rabbit. “Rabbit in the Pine” weaves clever imagery, driving rhythm, and timeless instrumental breaks into an upbeat, backwoods-meets-highway chase scene.
Right from the jump, the song hints at a different sort of pursuit than what might be expected from the title. It kicks off with a catchy mandolin riff over an unexpected 3-3-2 count rhythm, then holds briefly before opening up into a more standard 4/4 bluegrass rhythm, and setting the stage for more twists and turns to come once the narrator arrives.
The lyrics in the first verse establish the thematic curveball, leveraging well-worn bluegrass songwriting motifs about a rabbit running from a fox. Then, the verse quickly flips the story on its head by putting the rabbit in the driver’s seat (both figuratively and literally), where we find it deciding whether or not to allow the fox to give chase. Only a few lines in, the narrator obliquely suggests there is something more to the fox’s pursuit – and the rabbit’s running away. “One chance to make your break / Fox can’t help it when you’re runnin’ that way,” offers up the rabbit as our protagonist and the fox as a mischievous, rather than threatening, courtier. The listener is left wondering about the history between the two, as the rabbit puts the pedal to the floor and questions whether running away is the right move: “Hit the gas cross the county line / Get to goin’ too fast / For you to change your mind.” The ensuing chorus prompts the rabbit to run, “Run run rabbit, Lord run run,” though whether it is the narrator or the rabbit doing the prompting is left open for consideration.
In the second verse, the fox appears to be having some success convincing the rabbit that, maybe, it need not be afraid after all. “One chance to make your break / Fox takin’ every rabbit fear away / …It’s a long run back, oh rabbit / If you change your mind.” The rabbit may be reconsidering, but once again the chorus prompts the rabbit to keep moving with the repeated pleading “Run run rabbit, Lord run run.”
By the third verse, rather than providing resolution, the story is left open-ended. The rabbit still has the option to turn around, and a subtle lyrical change suggests maybe it has a change of heart, too. The listener, however, doesn’t ever find out what happens after the chase. The verse repeats previously heard lines before ending with “Runnin’ too fast / As you change your mind,” perhaps suggesting that this rabbit has reconsidered. Or the rabbit may have put too much distance between itself and the fox, as once again the chorus implies that turning back may not be in the cards after all.
With the outcome of the rabbit’s decision left open for speculation, the song moves into an instrumental vamp after the third chorus, and finds the band trading guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo breaks over a chugging, repeated chord progression, thus evoking the structure of the “run run rabbit” chorus. The song’s feel maintains a chase-like playfulness, and the sprawling, extended instrumental section extends the pursuit without narration, allowing the listener to picture the protracted chase, while lead singer Brooke Bell, singing from the background, entreats the rabbit almost inaudibly to keep running.
Tornado Rose’s “Rabbit in the Pine” was released on April 26, 2025.