"Dead Flowers" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. On May 4, 2009, the song was released as the lead-off single from her album Revolution.[1] Additionally, the song was included on an EP release also titled Dead Flowers.
| "Dead Flowers" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_by_Miranda_Lambert.png) | ||||
| Single by Miranda Lambert | ||||
| from the album Revolution | ||||
| Released | May 4, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2009 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:59 | |||
| Label | Columbia Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Miranda Lambert | |||
| Producer(s) | Frank Liddell Mike Wrucke | |||
| Miranda Lambert singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Dead Flowers" on YouTube | ||||
Lambert debuted "Dead Flowers" at the 44th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 5, 2009.
Content
editThe song is a ballad in the key of E major about a love gone bad, driven by acoustic guitar and percussion. The narrator is saddened by the images of dead flowers and Christmas lights that are burned out, that symbolize their current relationship.
Lambert got the inspiration to write the song from a personal experience. "I had some flowers that I got for Valentines Day in a vase on the kitchen table. I was going on the road so I had to throw them in the yard. They were just laying there and it was a really sad image. The song came to me right away and was one of those ones that kinda wrote itself."[2]
Critical reception
editThe song was well-received with critics, garnering numerous positive reviews.
The Slant Magazine spoke positively of the song. "The track gives her plenty of material to work with and just as many reasons to be optimistic about the quality of that upcoming record. Offering a surfeit of dense, loaded phrases and sharply drawn images, the song hits with devastating accuracy because of how well Lambert sustains its central conceit."[3] Roughstock reviewer Matt Bjorke praised the song for showing a different side to Lambert. "The lyrics are smart, the melody is moody and the vocal performance is just stunning. This is the kind of song Miranda's always had in her and while I love her rock 'tude, "Dead Flowers" shows us a softer, more tuneful side of Miranda Lambert that wasn't ever really shown to radio fans before."[4] Frequency Magazine, who gave the song five-out-of-five stars, felt that it "may be the best song Miranda has ever done. From the lyrics to the vocal delivery to the production, everything is just gorgeous. If the rest of the songs on her album are of the same quality, she might very well win the coveted ACM Album of the Year again."[5]
Music video
editThe music video for the song was directed by Randee St. Nicholas,[6] and was released to CMT on July 16, 2009.[7] The video begins with Lambert sitting at a table with a vase of dead flowers. She gets up and walks into the kitchen, where Christmas lights are lying, strung across the counter. Lambert is then shown performing in the living room with fans blowing on her hair, while a man is watching from the sofa beside her. After that, she is shown outside the house, both in and in front of her car, with more holiday lights hung up on her house.
"Dead Flowers" debuted at number 17 on CMT's Top Twenty Countdown for the week of July 31, 2009.[8] The song spent only two weeks on the countdown, peaking at number 15. However, the video debuted at number 10 on GAC's Top 20 countdown; it has since reached number 5.
Charts
edit"Dead Flowers" debuted at number 59 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated for May 2, 2009, and entered the Top 40 in its third week. It fell below Top 40 on the week of May 23, and re-entered the Top 40 at number 39 on the week of June 20. The song spent 16 weeks on the chart, and reached a peak of number 37 in July 2009.
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] | 37 |
Awards and nominations
edit| Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 52nd Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Nominated |
Dead Flowers - EP
edit| Dead Flowers - EP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_by_Miranda_Lambert.png) | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | September 8, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 15:24 | |||
| Label | Columbia Nashville | |||
| Producer |
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| Miranda Lambert chronology | ||||
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Dead Flowers is the first EP by American country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert, released on September 8, 2009 through Columbia Nashville.[10] The EP, titled after her song of the same name, was released exclusively through Best Buy[10] to help promote her upcoming album, Revolution (2009), for which "Dead Flowers" (the song) serves as the lead single. It contains "Dead Flowers", as well as three other songs previously released as bonus tracks on various versions of her 2007 album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dead Flowers" | Miranda Lambert | 3:59 |
| 2. | "Take It Out on Me" | M. Lambert, Travis Howard, Dennis Matkosky | 3:29 |
| 3. | "I Just Really Miss You" | M. Lambert, Keith Gattis, Howard | 5:24 |
| 4. | "Nobody's Used to Be" | M. Lambert, Rick Lambert | 2:48 |
References
edit- ^ "Single Releases". MusicRow. Archived from the original on 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Cherry Limeaid and Puppy to go please :: Blog". Miranda Lambert. Archived from the original on 2009-04-10. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Slant Magazine Blog". Slantmagazine.com. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Roughstock Blog". Roughstock.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ "Frequency Magazine". Frequencymagazine.net. Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
- ^ CMT Insider Interview: Miranda Lambert Talks About "Dead Flowers"
- ^ CMT Videos: Music Binge 7.16.09 : Dead Flowers
- ^ CMT Top 20 Countdown: July 31, 2009
- ^ "Miranda Lambert Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- ^ a b "Revolution: Pre-sale & Bonus Offers". Miranda Lambert official site. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2013.