"Flowers" is a song co-written and recorded by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singer
Billy Yates. It was released in May 1997 as the second single from his
self-titled debut album.
Content
"Flowers" was the second single from Yates' self-titled debut album. The label had originally released "I Smell Smoke", but switched singles in mid-1997 due to demand from radio stations which had begun to play that song instead. Co-writer Monty Criswell came up with the song's central story line, about a man who expresses remorse towards his dead wife, whom he killed in an automobile accident caused by him
driving under the influence
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
. This sentiment is not expressed until the song's final verse, where Yates sings the lyric "''Look what it took for me to finally bring you flowers''."
Critical reception
An uncredited review in ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' was positive toward the song, calling it "unquestionably one of the most powerful ballads to emerge from the format since
George Jones crooned '
He Stopped Loving Her Today'."
Cover versions
Chris Young covered "Flowers" on his 2006
self-titled debut album.
Chart performance
References
{{Chris Young
1990s ballads
1997 singles
1997 songs
Billy Yates (singer) songs
Country ballads
Songs written by Monty Criswell
Songs written by Billy Yates (singer)
Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis
Songs about driving under the influence
Chris Young (singer) songs