
I’ve mentioned my affection for country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert before, but since she’s got a new single, I figure it’s time to wheel out the love bus for another spin.
After the jump, won’t you join me in a listen to “Dead Flowers,” the newest evidence that Lambert is one of the most distinctive and affecting artists currently making country tunes? The song sounds like music, yet it doesn’t sound like anything else on the radio right now. It’s got this… well… let’s listen before I get my praise on.
Can I say how much I appreciate her record company for dropping some lyrics into this YouTube video? It helps me wrap my mind around why I love this song.
Because you see, Miranda Lambert, who wrote this song herself, has delivered lyrics that are quickly comprehensible, yet also surprising.
Pardon the pun, but “dead flowers” is a fresh metaphor for a bad relationship. I’m automatically drawn to songs that avoid cliche.
The impact of the image is deepened by Lambert’s vividly specific imagery. The water in the vase is gray, for instance, and that’s just so… gross. It tells you exactly how the singer’s feeling.
And in the second verse, she spreads the pallor to her entire world. The singer imagines she sees dead flowers in a strand of Christmas lights, which makes her aware that it’s January… and well past the time for Christmas. We’re left with pictures of a barren landscape where everything feels past its time… where even light bulbs are signs of decay. (Bonus points to Lambert for making a clever light bulb/flower bulb comparison.)
I’m also impressed that the lyrics evolve from explaining the singer’s emotional state to defining the reason for it. The chorus suddenly reveals that her partner isn’t seeing what she sees at all… that when he looks at the string of lights, the house, the world, he sees something beautiful.
That’s a such a meaty concept: Two people moving through the same space, but living in different places. One who feel the rain stinging, and another who’s thrilled to be wet. It makes the dead flower concept even more upsetting, because who hasn’t been in a situation where everyone else is fine, but you are sinking, sinking down? Who hasn’t been horrified when no one else understands that those damn Christmas lights are sadness incarnate?
Meanwhile, the music supports what the words are telling us. Things start softly, with just the hum of electric instruments to suggest there’s something lively roiling in the song. Then there are the crashing drums near the end and few bursts from Lambert’s voice—the sounds of massive pain escaping.
But the escape doesn’t last for long. The drums never overpower the steady thrum of the electric guitar. Lambert’s showy notes are never extended, and for the last fifteen seconds of the song, she doesn’t make any sound at all. In the end, potentially cleansing emotions are swallowed up by an almighty sadness.
But what chance do those liberating emotions have? If you’re the only one who sees all the flowers have died, then you can’t possibly yank them all up by yourself.
All that, and the song is enjoyable to listen to. Miranda Lambert may never have a number one single—her sound is too “outsider” for that—but if she keeps making music like this, she will always have a number one fan.






12 responses so far ↓
1 Jessica // May 6, 2009 at 2:34 pm
WOO!!!!!! LOVE Ran! And this song should be her first #1!!!!
2 richard // May 6, 2009 at 3:05 pm
i have been a huge fan of miranda since early 2005, i love all her songs, but i didnt take blake shelton to seriously when he said it was her best one yet. when i seen her perform dead flowers on stage at the acm awards, it really blew me away and that song has a lot of emotion. it is really amazing!!!
3 sdpfeiffy // May 6, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I’ve loved Miranda Lambert for what seems like forever… I still don’t understand why she doesn’t get the same attention and airplay as other young country artists (Taylor Swift, for instance).
4 Gonzalo // May 6, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I’d never heard of her before, but this song is pretty great.
I have to say, though, that the song suffers a tiny bit from my biggest pet peeve in songs: ending with a fade-out. I could probably write an essay on how much I dislike fade-outs, and how great songs lose a lot when they just fizzle out. I’m sincerely curious… does anyone actually enjoy or appreciate fade-outs in song? Is there something I’m missing?
Anyway, tangent over. I’m downloading Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Napster and will give it a listen later today… but I don’t see Dead Flowers there. Is the song from an upcoming album?
5 richard // May 6, 2009 at 7:14 pm
gonzalo, she already has 2 albums under her belt (kerosene & crazy ex girlfriend) dead flowers is on her upcoming album that will be out in september. she won album of the year last year at the acms for crazy ex girlfriend. until it comes out go listen to her kerosene and crazy ex girlfriend album songs a listen, you may like them, but i dont know about other people but most of her songs are great even the ones that came out on radio. she writes her own songs based on her life’s experiences. but the yet untitled album will be out in september. you can find out more about her and her songs at mirandalambert.com
6 Kat // May 6, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Didn’t realize you were such a Lambert fan.”Guilty in Here” (along with “More Like Her” and “Love Letters”) is one of my favorite country songs of the past decade. This single’s equally awesome. Last year Nashville Scene did their annual country music poll and made an interesting argument for a potential parallel: Bill Anderson is to Carrie Underwood, as Miranda Lambert is to Merle Haggard. Interesting piece.
Have you seen the litany of live concert videos with her and Blake Shelton? They really perform well together, just how country should be performed.
7 Mark Blankenship // May 7, 2009 at 12:32 am
@Gonzalo — As Richard says, “Dead Flowers” is the lead single from her upcoming album, but I think you’ll be happy with “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” It’s a fantastic album. “Guilty in Here” is in one of my top five most-played songs now, and I can’t get enough of “Desperation” or “Easy From Now On” either.
I don’t know if you’ll have this experience, but that album became a favorite of mine over time. I liked it a lot when I first heard it, but as I kept listening, it became a serious favorite.
Interesting point about fade-outs. Andrew doesn’t care for them either (at least in certain circumstances.) I smell an essay coming on!
@Kat — Oh, yes… I love me some Miranda, and I think that Merle Haggard comparison is dead-on.
8 richard // May 7, 2009 at 11:35 am
also a lot of my favorite songs are ones that have never been released on radio, if you like dead flowers you should listen to her song “there’s a wall” on her kerosene cd. everytime these days when i think of merle haggard i think about miranda lambert also, it’s just natural.
9 Claudia // May 7, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Everybody is right!!! Miranda is amazing and her 2 albums and “Dead Flowers” are the best music i have ever heard!!!! I will never get tired of her music! I CANNOT wait for her new album! Its gonna be huge!!! If ysll want to buy Miranda’s song on retail such as iTunes, it will be realeased on May 12! Her and her boyfreind/country star Blake Shelton are superstars in waiting!!!! And i have a feeling there time is coming very soon!
10 JenH. // May 8, 2009 at 12:30 pm
I love Miranda Lambert as much as I love cheese fries and puppies.
Guilty in Here should be the soundtrack of my life, lately.
Gentlemen, it’s nice to see you all. Again. At the exact same time and place. I didn’t realize you knew each other.
Oy.
11 Maggie // May 11, 2009 at 2:32 am
I have serious love for (and a serious girl-crush on) Miranda Lambert. Her songs are interesting. You can’t hear one lyric and guess the next two lines based on tired cliches. “Guilty in Here” and “Kerosene” are on the top of my Most Played list, but she really hasn’t released a song I dislike. “Love Your Memory” is another one I’ve been relating to lately.
And as many times as I listen to her albums, I never get sick of them. I hope she’s around for a long, long time.
12 richard // May 11, 2009 at 8:29 pm
to watch her 2009 acm awards perfomance of dead flowers, you can watch it here on youtube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm97pu_Qjig
she is really awesome and very talented but underappreciated and doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. last year at the 2008 acm awards all the fans including myself were all in shock when she won album of the year for crazy ex girlfriend because she hadn’t won anything really yet. you can watch that on youtube also at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvO-YwBbGIg
yeah she sounds scary in kerosene, crazy ex girlfriend, and gunpowder and lead. but if you would like hear her songs that show her softer side listen to me and charlie talking, bring me down, mama im alright, there’s a wall, love letters, desperation, easy from now on and all the others. but she keeps getting better and better every year. i will be going to see her in concert for the first time this week.
Leave a Comment