The Talking Heads Song That Put a Twist on Getting Back to Nature

Talking Heads possessed a knack for coming at their music from a slightly askew angle. And we loved them because of it. They never delivered just what we expected, meaning they were always taking us along on their thrillingly unexpected musical journey.

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On their 1988 single “(Nothing But) Flowers,” the group delivered a gloriously free-flowing, ebullient track that fit perfectly with the song title. But the lyrics tell the story of a guy who’s not thrilled about a world where nature has regained control over man-made blights.

“Flowers” Blooming

Talking Heads came together for the making of their eighth studio album with the intent of recapturing the way they’d made music in the past. On the two records they’d made previous to that, lead singer David Byrne largely brought the band completed demos they would massage into shape. But the other band members wished to see a return to the collaborative spirit of albums like Remain in Light.

With that in mind, the four members of the group (Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz) recorded the demos for the new record in the New York City apartment loft where they’d come up with the ideas for their first few records. Once those were in place, they then headed to France with producer Steve Lillywhite to record the album that would be called Naked.

Special guests also showed up to help realize the musical ideas. On “(Nothing But) Flowers,” Kirsty MacColl sings backing vocals. And Johnny Marr of The Smiths delivers the choogling guitar part that’s such an integral ingredient in the polyrhythmic musical stew.

Naked pleased critics at the time of its release, and it seemed like Talking Heads were ready to enter another fruitful phase in their career. But Byrne was ready to go it on his own. The band announced their breakup three years later, making “(Nothing But) Flowers” one of their last hurrahs.

Behind the Lyrics of “(Nothing But) Flowers”

There’s a sly sense of sarcasm running through the lyrical framework of “(Nothing But) Flowers.” You go into a song like this expecting it to castigate the way mankind has damaged the Earth. Instead, we get a narrator whining that a newfound Utopia has robbed him of the signposts of the urban landscape he once knew well.

It all starts off innocently enough, as the narrator makes clear that an idyllic (at least to most folks) future lies ahead: Here we stand / Like an Adam and Eve / Waterfalls / A Garden of Eden. But he immediately starts bemoaning all that’s been lost: From the age of dinosaurs / Cars have run on gasoline / Where, where have they gone?

It’s clear we’re in the middle of a topsy-turvy timeline, one where modernity somehow came first, only to be followed by a primitive, pristine showcase for nature. There was a shopping mall / Now there are mountains and rivers. And this guy is having none of it: If this is paradise / I wish I had a lawn mower.

The underlying theme seems to be that we tend to automatically, irrationally miss that to which we become accustomed once it’s been taken away from us. So it is this guy wants his chain stores and junk food. He uses a rationality that environmentalists themselves might espouse when warning about mankind’s careless attitude to the Earth’s natural beauty and wonders: And as things fell apart / Nobody paid much attention.

I can’t get used to this lifestyle, Byrne belts in the final moments of the song. “(Nothing But) Flowers” captures Talking Heads at their ironic, inspiring best. Little did we know it would be one of the last examples of that brilliance we’d get.

Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage