The Statler Brothers: Flowers on the Wall Meaning

Song Released: 1965

Flowers on the Wall Lyrics

I keep hearin' you're concerned
About my happiness.
But all that thought you've given me is
Conscience, I guess.
If I were walkin' in your shoes,
I wouldn't worry none
While you and your friends
Are worrying 'bout me,
I'm havin' lots of...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   astorian

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   Oct 8th 2012 !⃝

   In a way, this song is very much like the novelty hit, "They're Coming to Take Me Away Ha Ha." That is, in both songs, a man has lost his mind and gone totally crazy due to breaking up with the girl he loved.
   
   In this case, following the split with his girlfriend, the narrator has become a recluse who never leaves his home. His old girlfriend has heard strange rumors about his behavior, and comes to visit him (he ascribes her concerns to a guilty conscience... and that's probably correct).
   
   He displays all sorts of crazy behaviors, but insists he's doing just fine and having a swell time all by himself. But of course, the more he insists everything is fine, the more obvious it becomes that he's completely lost his marbles, due to heartbreak.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Feb 26th 2019 !⃝

   I think it's about a man who was left catatonic by his loved one.But,he assures his friends that he is doing fine alone...he has countless activities like:Counting flowers on the wallpaper,playing solitaire,smoking,watching Captain Kangaroo,and pretending to go out.I believe that he has Schizophrenia or agoraphobia or some other mental disability.In others eyes... he is lonely...In his eyes... he is "havin' quite a time" Therefore,Flowers On The Wall.
3. JSS3RD

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   Jun 7th 2023 !⃝

   I've heard that the song is about a man who lost his mind over a girl that left him and he is in an asylum in a padded cell and the flowers of the wall wae the buttons on the wall of his padded cell. When I read the lyrics, that makes perfect sense! He is not playing with a full deck, and when in the common area with a TV, Captain Kangaroo is on the only channel they are allowed to watch.
4. anonymous

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   Jan 1st 2023 !⃝

   Per Kurt Vonnegut…
   
   "It is not a poem of escape or rebirth. It is a poem about the end of a man's usefulness", he adds.
5. anonymous

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   Dec 19th 2022 !⃝

   A song about a man that has lost his love of his life and has lost all meaning of life. He is lonely and sad but pretends to be happy.
6. anonymous

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   Jul 16th 2022 !⃝

   Song about todays "adult-children", those that would rather play pretend, and do anything to avoid working. They expect everything handed to them for free. Replace Captain kangaroo with any shooter video game.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
7. anonymous

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   May 7th 2022 !⃝

   Playing solitaire til dawn with a deck of 51…
   
   He’s “not playing with a full deck”…get it?
8. anonymous

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   Jan 23rd 2021 !⃝

   I love this song and identify with it - it cheers me up! To me it means: 'the world' has an idea of what life's meant to be like, but you don't have to go along with it. It's tough and actually quite boring out there (like hard concrete) whereas if you have the confidence and independence to make and live in your own version of the world, pottering around with whatever seemingly 'useless' activities you fancy, if there's no one around to judge, not even you in your head, then it is actually jolly nice. Liberty in solitude and timewasting (aka enjoying). Who cares if there are only 51 cards in the pack, and the flowers are only on the wall?
9. anonymous

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   Jul 26th 2020 !⃝

   He is is quarantine during Covid 19 in 2020, more than a half a century after the song was written, obviously.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
10. anonymous

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    Feb 15th 2020 !⃝

    So Lew DeWitt’s father was an administrator at Western State Hospital (mental health hospital) located in Staunton, Virginia. When Lew would get out of school he would go do random jobs at the hospital. While at the hospital he encountered a patient that he is describing in the song.
11. anonymous

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    Jan 2nd 2020 !⃝

    The song is about an alcoholic who has withdrawn from society, leading a solitary and reclusive life. He dreams of being free and happy “on the town” with other people, but he knows he can’t drink socially. In his own place, by himself, there’s no-one to bother him about his drinking problem and about how small his life has become. He is up all night when everyone else are asleep, so he is completely cut off from life around him, thus he does seemingly boring things, but the repetitiveness of these things bring a sort of routine and order to his life. In his dreams he is a different person. Dreams and TV shows is his escape. He says he is happy by himself because he has likely suffered disappointmens and no longer wants to deal with people and their drama.
    
12. anonymous

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    Mar 4th 2019 !⃝

    I think it is about a man in an insane asylum. That's why he's got all those 'interesting' activities to do. He is quite content with his life.
13. anonymous

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    Aug 27th 2018 !⃝

    The one brother worked in a asalm so the song is talking about that "counting flower on the wall is talking about the mental illnesses and redoing some thing over and over again and the " my shoes are not to this hard concrete examples the paded rooms and the not custom to this light is like no lightning in the rooms and pretending to go out is the town not letting the mental challenged go out and the deck of 51 is like not haveing a full compression ( like the reference not a full deck of card) and the reference having lots of fun is sarcasm because they normally were tortured and last but not least the reference to watching captain kangaroo . Captain kangaroo was a kid show ,the mentally ill could not understand more than above kid level so that is what I thought this song my nt
14. anonymous

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    Aug 24th 2018 !⃝

    He's in prison. That's why, "You can always find me here, I'm havin' quite a time." Why he's not used to the light being in a cell, or his feet are not used to concrete being in bed all day. Remember this song was written in the sixties. Many prison yards were likely dirt and they walked the sides of the roads picking up trash. Also, he dressed in tails and pretended to go out. Why would you bother to dress up and NOT go out unless you COULD NOT go out.
15. anonymous

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    Jul 11th 2018 !⃝

    It's about a guy who recently broke up with his crackhead chick. Now he sits home smoking crack by himself back before there was internet porn.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
16. anonymous

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    Mar 19th 2017 !⃝

    i just smoked a doobie and time took on a new dimension where i started counting the flowers on the wall paper in my room. After awhile this was not enough and I started playing solitaire. I played all night without winning until i found out there was only 51 cards in my deck but ... who care, I seldom play with a full deck!

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
17. anonymous

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    Jun 27th 2014 !⃝

    Very interesting is the line "Playin' Solitaire 'till dawn, with a deck of 51". With a deck of 51 there's one card missing, so he can never finish the game. So, him playing Solitaire is just as "useful" as counting flowers on the wall: He achieves nothing.
    
    In the las verse, it seems he's trying to run from his ex-gf, or pretending to go out with her. But he makes excueses (my eyes are not accustomed to this light, my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete), so he retreads back to his room.

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