My friend Nancy over at The Elephant’s Trunk postscripted her January 10th article: ‘By The Side Of The Road‘ with today’s featured song [Nothing But] Flowers by Talking Heads:
I don’t know whose idea it was and I don’t care but having Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins merge was a brilliant move. Now just add Pizza Hut.
I hadn’t heard the song before and I’m largely unfamiliar with the group Talking Heads, but it hit me straight off the bat. I couldn’t help be drawn to its unusual musical composition and innovative sound techniques, which cleverly align with its ironic, anti-establishment message. In addition to the band, the song features Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths (who I am a big fan of) on lead guitar.
The song is steeped in African and Caribbean rhythms creating a lush sonic landscape with intricate percussive patterns and melodic layers. The organic instrumentation evokes a return to nature – but the tight, disciplined arrangements remind us of the comforts of modern life and the mechanized, globalized world. David Byrne’s ‘Morrissey-like’ vocals also reflect this juxtaposition between earnestness and parody, underscoring the song’s ironic undertones.
Written by David Byrne, the song tells the story of a man living in a world where modern conveniences have largely disappeared. While he may have initially been happy with this (notice the sarcastically delivered and repeated line “you’ve got it”), the man now yearns for what he knew and had become accustomed to. The song can be understood as a reply to Joni Mitchell’s most famous song, Big Yellow Taxi, which deals with the opposite phenomenon (the destruction of nature to make room for human society). Whilst the song may be seen as comedic in nature, Byrne suggests that environmentalists keen to abandon the comfortable trappings of modern life may not enjoy it very much.
[Nothing But] Flowers is the 5th track off Talking Heads‘ 1988 album Naked and was the second single from the album, released after Blind, and it peaked at number 79 on the UK singles chart. For trivia buffs out there – The song is quoted at the start of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho (1991).
The band performs in the video below with an expanded lineup featuring Marr, MacColl, Brice Wassy, Yves N’Djock and Abdou M’Boup, all of whom performed on the studio recording of the song.
Here we stand
Like an Adam and Eve
Waterfalls
Garden of Eden
Two fools in love
So beautiful and strong
Birds in the trees
Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs
Cars have run on gasoline
Where? Where have they gone?
Now it’s nothing but flowers
There was a factory
Now there are mountains and rivers
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
We caught a rattlesnake
Now we’ve got something for dinner
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
There was a shopping mall
Now it’s all covered with flowers
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawn mower
You’ve got it, you’ve got I
Years ago
I was an angry young man
I’d pretend
That I was a billboard
Standing tall
By the side of the road
I fell in love
With the beautiful highway
This used to be real estate
Now it’s only fields and trees
Where? Where is the town?
Now it’s nothing but flowers
[Bridge]
The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we’d start over
But I guess I was wrong
(Hey!)
Once there were parking lots
Now it’s a peaceful oasis
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
This was a Pizza Hut
Now it’s all covered with daisies
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
I miss the honky tonks
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
I dream of cherry pies
Candy bars and chocolate chip cookies
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
This was a discount store
Now it’s turned into a cornfield
You’ve got it, you’ve got it
Don’t leave me stranded here
I can’t get used to this lifestyle
References:
1. [Nothing But] Flowers – Genius Lyrics
2. (Nothing But) Flowers – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Good read, Matt. Appreciate the nod.
It’s a great song. I feel fortunate to have people like your good self with marvellous tastes in music to hear new music from.
I’m not very familiar with Talking Heads but remember I taped their “Naked” album on music cassette around the time it came out. “(Nothing But) Flowers” rang a distant bell – like the jangly vibe, which I guess isn’t a shocker, given Johnny Marr’s involvement. It also has a good groove. The one song off “Naked” it I remember is “Mr. Jones.”
I didn’t realise until researching the song that Johnny Marr had a huge role in this. But funny enough when I heard it, I couldn’t help but think of The Smiths because of the vocals and jangly guitar and there you have it. Haha
‘Mr Jones’ isn’t a bad song.