Dead Flowers (Rolling Stones song)
"Dead Flowers" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the rock band the Rolling Stones, appearing on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers.
| "Dead Flowers" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Rolling Stones | |
| from the album Sticky Fingers | |
| Released | 23 April 1971 |
| Recorded | April 1970 |
| Studio | Olympic, London |
| Genre | Country rock[1] |
| Length | 4:13 |
| Label | Rolling Stones Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Jagger/Richards |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Miller |
Recording and performance history
Recording of "Dead Flowers" took place in April 1970 at the Olympic Studios in London. The lyrics to the song are notably dark, and feature the line, "I'll be in my basement room, with a needle and a spoon", a reference to injecting heroin.
"Dead Flowers" was written during the period when the Stones were stepping into country territory, when Richards's friendship with Gram Parsons was influencing his songwriting. Jagger commented in 2003:
The 'Country' songs we recorded later, like "Dead Flowers" on Sticky Fingers or "Far Away Eyes" on Some Girls, are slightly different (than our earlier ones). The actual music is played completely straight, but it's me who's not going legit with the whole thing, because I think I'm a blues singer not a country singer – I think it's more suited to Keith's voice than mine.[2]
Both Richards and Mick Taylor contribute the 'honky-tonk' style lead guitar lines throughout the album version. Richards's choppier fills act primarily as a response to Jagger's vocal lines during the verses, while Taylor's more fluid licks counteract with the vocals of the chorus. It is Taylor who performs the guitar solo in place of a third verse.
"Dead Flowers" was performed live during the album tours for Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. in 1970-72, then once during the Black and Blue Tour in 1976. It was not played again until the Steel Wheels Tour in 1989. Live performances of the song from 1995 can be found on the Stones' album Stripped and its 2016 edition Totally Stripped.
Cover versions
The song has been widely covered. Townes Van Zandt included a version of the song on his album of live covers Roadsongs; this version was used in the film The Big Lebowski. New Riders of the Purple Sage covered the song on the 1974 album, Home, Home on the Road, and 1976 album New Riders and as an encore during at least one concert in 1977. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version of the song on his 2010 album, Mean Old Man, which featured Mick Jagger.[3]
References
- "The 25 best country rock songs of all time". Classic Rock Magazine. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- Janovitz, Bill (2013). Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 205. ISBN 9781250026316. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- Jerry Lee Lewis, Mean Old Man Retrieved June 16, 2012.