Post-Millennial Classic: Kathleen Edwards’ Mid-Tempo Meditation “Begging for Flowers”

Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards’s productions have been consistently exemplary, even if her career trajectory has been a bit unconventional. Dig into her catalog and you’ll find some great songs worth digging into, but the title track from her excellent 2008 album, “Asking for Flowers,” feels like a particularly dizzying climax.

What is the song about? And what inspired Edwards to write it? Let’s take a look back at the meaning and story of Kathleen Edwards’ “Come on, Flowers.”

3rd album “Groove”

Music history is full of examples of artists and bands that peaked on their third album. That certainly wasn’t the case with Kathleen Edwards’ first two albums.Loser 2003 and Return to me A 2005 survey found that Begging for flowers She’s grown in every aspect, which is why this album deserves a place on the short list of the best albums in both the singer-songwriter and alt-country genres of the last quarter century or so.

Working with producer Jim Ross, Edwards turned out a rich and diverse range of songs, capable of singing light-hearted, light-hearted numbers like “I’ll Make the Dough, You Get the Glory,” but also tackling the most serious subject matter, like the true story of “Alicia Ross.”

At the emotional center of this is “Begging for Flowers,” a mid-tempo meditation that touches on relationship anxiety and blues with startling precision and heartfelt empathy. Edwards explained in a blog post: Drunkard in the aquarium Inspiration for this song:

“‘Begging for Flowers’ is a song I wrote for a really close friend. Actually, when I was on hiatus, she was going through a really tough time and had been struggling with physical and mental issues for years. I went to see her at probably one of her toughest times. She said that her life was like begging for flowers, along with all the prejudices and feelings of inadequacy that she’d had her whole life. The idea of ​​living a life begging for flowers, showing compassion to someone and giving your time without prejudice. I asked her what that meant and she said that when you’re with someone who just wants to bring you flowers, you don’t have to beg for flowers, you just want someone to bring you flowers.”

The song and album were meant to be a launching pad for Edwards, but she only released one more album before going on a hiatus that nearly led her to quit music. Luckily for fans, she returned with an album in 2020 after an eight-year hiatus. Complete freedomIt showed that he had nothing against her fastball.

What does “begging for flowers” mean?

“I Need Flowers” may have been inspired by a friend’s struggles, but Edwards digs deep into his characters’ lives in a way that only the best songwriters can. The first line: it’s complicatedseems so simple, yet it gives off an air of importance. It shows the narrator’s difficulty in explaining his feelings, and perhaps even his hesitancy to open up, as he is about to do.

Edwards doesn’t make light of this character’s plight, which is the right thing to do, because the message here is that we should never make light of situations like this in our own lives. It’s like a rope that binds my lifeThe protagonist is unhappy that the person who should have been his greatest confidant has left him – a devastating betrayal.

In the throes of grief, she begins to lose touch with everything that could guide her in the right direction. Now I’m trying to remember / All the names of the people I lovedShe also takes some, perhaps misplaced, responsibility for her role in all of this. A walking manifesto / About all the things I didn’t do right.

The refrain is the section in which the narrator goes through a list of all the efforts he or she has made to come to terms with the person he or she is speaking to. All the pills I wasted, all the meals I cooked for you, all the money I savedIn the final chorus, she adds a few more items. I wrote my name on every card / Every time I poured my heart outShe reiterates and emphasizes the last item, which highlights the inconsistencies in the relationship. The cruel words you spoke.

At this point, Edwards’ voice was trembling with anger, but she reverted to a more controlled tone as she made her final point. Don’t tell me you’re tired / I’ve been working the night shift for 10 yearsThis last phrase seems both literal, in terms of her actual occupation, and figurative, in the sense that she has worked hard in vain with little in return.

There are many songs that try to highlight the resilience of their characters, and that’s certainly commendable. In “Asking for Flowers,” Kathleen Edwards details times in life when resilience alone may not be enough, when suffering is inevitable, and when we need the help of others. How brave of her to take us into that head and heart space.