"Flowers on the Wall", also known by some listeners as "Counting Flowers on the Wall", is a country song originally performed by the Statler Brothers. It gained widespread fame when it was used in the movie Pulp Fiction.
There are countless interpretations of the lyrics, though the
one I have found to be most fitting has to do with the narrator passing time in a psychiatric ward.
"Counting flowers on the wall, that don't bother me at all. Playing solitaire 'til
dawn, with a
deck of 51. Smokin' cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo...now, don't tell me I've got nothing to do."
Back when this song was written, it was not uncommon for patients kept in psychiatric hospitals to have absolutely
nothing or very little to do. They were also allowed to smoke in their rooms and sometimes watch
television, both activities that were desired by patients at the
time.
"It's good to see you; I must
go, I know I look a-fright. Anyway, my eyes are not accustom to this light..."
In the context of the meaning I outlined previously, the narrator is struggling with anxiety and reluctance for leaving the privacy of his hospital room, probably having to do with agoraphobia or some form of psychosis or social anxiety. The speaker is content being
bored in his room because he wants nothing to do with the outside world.
This song has been covered by several artists, though the most recent and most
popular was performed by
Eric Heatherly.
In Pulp Fiction, Bruce Willis listened to this song while riding in his car.
Many people enjoy 'Flowers on the Wall' because they can all relate to the situation of being
bored but are
fine with it from
time to time.
