(Nothing But) Flowers

"(Nothing But) Flowers"
Song

"(Nothing But) Flowers" is a song by the rock band Talking Heads. It appears on the band's final album Naked, released in 1988. It was also released as a single accompanied by a successful music video, which featured innovative uses of typography by graphic designer Tibor Kalman. In addition to the band, the song features Kirsty MacColl on backup vocals and The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. It peaked at number 79 in the UK Singles Chart.

Lyrics

The lyrics describe a world where modern progress has been reverted to a more natural state, due either to a political movement or by a necessity, such as dealing with overpopulation. While the protagonist may have once been in favor of the transformation, he finds himself now missing the conveniences and culture of the modern world. The song is a wry flip side to Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi", which laments that "They paved paradise; put up a parking lot."

Covers

The song was covered by Guster on their live album Guster on Ice, as well as by Caetano Veloso on his album A Foreign Sound.

In popular culture

A passage from the song was used as an epigraph in Bret Easton Ellis' novel American Psycho: "And as things fell apart/Nobody paid much attention".

The song was also featured in Kevin Smith's 2006 comedy film Clerks II during the opening credits.

It also formed the basis for Sunny Day Real Estate's name.

The young adult novel 172 Hours on the Moon uses the song's lyrics repeatedly throughout the book, serving as an anchor for the main character.

The track "(Nothing But) Blood" on This Mortal Coil's final album, Blood, is named in honor of this song.

External links

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