The song was written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick and produced by Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler.
Conductor and arranger of the Bobby Darin-Version of the Song is Richard Behrke.
Artificial Flowers
Bobby Darin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As sweet a young child as you'd find
Her parents had gone to their final reward
Leavin' their baby behind
(Did you hear?)
This poor little child was only nine years of age
When mother and dad went away
At the one thing she knew
To earn her few pennies a day
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of fashion to wear
She made artificial flowers you know those artificial flowers
Fashions from Annie's despair
With paper and shears with some wire and wax
She made up each tulip and mum
As snowflakes drifted into her tenement room
Her baby little fingers grew numb
From makin' artificial flowers those artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of high fashion to wear
She made artificial flowers artificial flowers
Made from Annie's despair
They found little Annie all covered in ice
Still clutchin' her poor frozen shears
Amidst all the blossoms she had fashioned by hand
And watered with all her young tears
There must be a heaven where little Annie can play
In heavenly gardens and bowers
And instea-a-ad of a halo she'll wear 'round her head
A garland of genuine flowers
No more artificial flowers
Throw away those artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of society to wear
Throw away those artificial flowers
Those dumb-dumb flowers
Fashioned from Annie's
Fashioned from A-a-a-annie's des-pa-a-a-air
(Give her the real thing)
The song "Artificial Flowers" by Bobby Darin is a tragic tale of a young girl named Anne who, at the tender age of nine, is left alone in the world after her parents' passing. Anne's bravery and determination to survive shine through as she takes up the task of making artificial flowers to earn a living. The use of the word "artificial" emphasizes how this little girl, with no other options, had to resort to making fake flowers. Through her efforts, Anne creates beautiful flowers that the women of fashion can wear, all while enduring the harsh reality of poverty - her hands numb from the cold winter air that seeps through the cracks in her tenement room. The final touch of tragedy comes when Anne is found, frozen to death, still holding onto her scissors, amidst the very flowers she made with her own tears.
The song's melancholic melody and Darin's somber singing perfectly convey the sadness of little Anne's life and death. The lyrics are an eloquent representation of how society can break a person yet the spirit can still endure, inspire and create beauty amidst despair. The song's overall message is one of hope and the power of beauty to transform even the most tragic moments into something heavenly.
Line by Line Meaning
Alone in the world was poor little Anne
Anne was all by herself as she had no one in the world to rely on
As sweet a young child as you'd find
Anne was a delightful and charming little girl
Her parents had gone to their final reward
Anne's parents had passed away
Leavin' their baby behind
They left their daughter alone in the world
This poor little child was only nine years of age
Anne was a young girl who was not even ten years old
When mother and dad went away
Anne's parents had passed away
Still she bravely worked
Despite being alone and young, Anne didn't give up
At the one thing she knew
Anne knew how to make artificial flowers
To earn her few pennies a day
Making artificial flowers was the only way Anne could earn money
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Anne created fake flowers
Flowers for ladies of fashion to wear
Her fake flowers became popular with ladies who wanted to wear fashionable flowers
You know those artificial flowers
Anne's artificial flowers
Fashions from Annie's despair
Her artificial flowers were created in a state of sadness and despair
With paper and shears with some wire and wax
Anne crafted her artificial flowers using paper, wire, and wax
She made up each tulip and mum
Anne carefully crafted each flower to make them perfect
As snowflakes drifted into her tenement room
Anne created the flowers in her small apartment with snowflakes falling outside
Her baby little fingers grew numb
Anne's small fingers would go numb as she worked long hours crafting her flowers
They found little Annie all covered in ice
People discovered Anne frozen in her apartment
Still clutchin' her poor frozen shears
Anne held on to her scissors even after passing away from the cold
Amidst all the blossoms she had fashioned by hand
There were many artificial flowers in Anne's apartment that she had created
And watered with all her young tears
Anne had cried a lot while making the flowers
There must be a heaven where little Annie can play
Anne deserves to be in heaven, where she can be happy and play
In heavenly gardens and bowers
Heaven must be a beautiful place with gardens and flowers
And instea-a-ad of a halo she'll wear 'round her head
Instead of a halo over her head, Anne should wear a beautiful garland of flowers
A garland of genuine flowers
A beautiful wreath of real, naturally occurring flowers
No more artificial flowers
We should stop making fake flowers
Throw away those artificial flowers
Get rid of the fake flowers
Flowers for ladies of society to wear
Women only wear fake flowers as a status symbol
Those dumb-dumb flowers
The fake flowers were pointless and meaningless
Fashioned from Annie's
The flowers were created by Anne
Fashioned from A-a-a-annie's des-pa-a-a-air
Anne made these flowers in a state of despair
(Give her the real thing)
Instead of fake flowers, give Anne some real flowers
Lyrics © BOCK IP LLC, BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEWIS BOCK JERROLD, SHELDON HARNICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Nacho-Mamma
This is my favorite Bobby Darin song.
Listening to this song, I have figured out what this song is about, and who poor little Annie really is.
Originally, this song is based from the story "The Little Match Girl", but the authors of this song, changed her from a match girl, to a flower girl and named her Annie.
Why did they make that change? Well, first of all, it's winter, and she's selling matches. Is she selling them by the book, box, or individual. If it's snowing or wet outside, Annie's matches are going to get wet, and she won't be able to sell them. Therefore, they gave her flowers to sell instead.
Now, who is Annie? Hint: Annie's parents are both dead. That makes her "Little Orphan Annie". Yes, the one and only "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!' Annie.
So, now that I figured out who Annie is, and according to the song, Annie freezes to death. So, where did Daddy Warbucks and being adopted all come from?
There is a simple answer to that question. The entire Daddy Warbucks scenario, and being adopted were from Annie's imagination. "How?", you may be asking yourselves.
Again, that is simple. Annie died. She died a very slow and painful death by freezing. As you are dying, or loose consciousness, the lack of oxygen causes your brain to misfire, and you hallucinate. As Annie was slowly freezing to death, her brain was lacking the oxygen she needed, and she hallucinated Daddy Warbucks rescuing her from the cold streets of New York, and adopting her and giving her a nice warm loving home to live in.
TADA!
Now, although I do love this song, if I were Annie, I'd be really pissed off at the Angels when I died. First of all, I just spent the last several months receiving paper cuts, bloody pokes from the freaking wire, and burning my fingers in the hot melted wax. So, when I died, not only did I NOT GET MY FREAKING HALO, but all I got was a chain of flowers to hang around my neck. There was a reason I made ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS! I'm allergic to pollen! Real flowers make my head explode! So, I have to spend eternity sneezing & choking because my throat is closing up, and my eyes are swollen shut & burning because of my allergy to real flowers. NO THANK YOU! Send me to Hell, where I can throw these flowers into the fire & keep warm!
@marilynfosseen1541
He was the bee's knees, the cat's meow, and the cat's pajamas. I mean like wow!
@dalemorris7014
i couldn't agree more
@agataf1320
Unique in the world, there will never be another like him. His talent was stratospheric, impossible to match.
@gunternetzer9621
Never mind the real deal - I think he was the only deal.
@tonyt13aa
One of the greatest singers and entertainers of the 20th century. We lost him way too young.
@michaelmartinez1345
Absolutely, but he and his performances will be remembered for a long time to come....
@kathleenhenderson7396
nobody does swing better than Bobby.
@RiRi2023_
Kathleen Henderson TOTALLY AGREE!!!
@wubble7781
Nah my boi bobby is the king of vocal jazz not swing
@lyallg8112
My words exactly.