By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas. Their next, the critically-acclaimed Heaven Up Here, reached the Top Ten in 1981, as did 1983's Porcupine and '84's Ocean Rain. Singles like "The Killing Moon" (later used in the soundtrack to Donnie Darko, a film whose imagery owed much to the artwork of the band's early records.), "Silver," "Bring on the Dancing Horses," and "The Cutter" helped keep the group in the public eye as they took a brief hiatus in the late 1980s. Their 1987 self-titled LP was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there.
McCulloch quit the band in 1988. De Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident one year later. The others decided to continue, recruiting Noel Burke to replace McCulloch on vocals in Reverberation (1990), which did not generate much excitement among fans or critics. Burke, Sargeant and Pattinson split after that, but the surviving three fourths of the original band reformed in 1997 and released Evergreen (1997), What are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Flowers (2001) , Siberia (2005), and the latest addition, The Fountain (2009). The group's old audience liked the return to their classic sound, and they also managed to gain a number of new, younger listeners.
Echo and the Bunnymen were managed early on by Bill Drummond, who went on to be a founder member of The KLF.
Flowers
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been waiting in the sun
I've been counting down the hours
One by one
One by one
I've been catching my reflection
I'm still looking at someone
Like everyone
Every no one
I even saw it come
Knew the hit would run and run
And I, as it came undone
Knew that I'd lost everything
Everything I'd won
Here's to all the things we'll never
Here's to all we could have done
Here's to what became whatever
Whatever web we spun, web we spun
I even saw it come
Knew the hit would run and run
And I, as it came undone
Knew that I'd lost everything
Everything I'd won
I've been laying down the flowers
I've been waiting in the sun
I've been counting down the hours
One by one
One by one
I even saw it come
Knew the hit would run and run
And I, as it came undone
Knew that I'd lost everything
Everything I'd won
The lyrics to Flowers by Echo & the Bunnymen tell a story of reflection, loss, and hopelessness. The singer is laying down flowers, waiting in the sun, and counting down the hours - this gives the impression that someone has passed away, and the singer is grieving. The next part of the lyrics suggests the singer is also reflecting on themselves and their imperfections, and how they have lost everything they had gained. Perhaps they are mourning not only a person but also their own potential.
The next stanza offers some criticism of society - the reference to "all we could have done" and how it became "whatever" implies that people don't strive to achieve their potential, and instead simply accept what happens to them. The "web we spun" suggests how we are all entangled in our lives and can't escape the outcomes of our actions. The final stanza repeats the earlier lyrics, emphasizing the sense of loss and how the singer knew "the hit would run and run", meaning the negative consequences would last a long time.
Overall, the lyrics to Flowers are introspective and melancholy, suggesting that the singer is struggling with a profound sense of loss and regret. Echo & the Bunnymen's music often explores themes of alienation and despair, and this song is no exception.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been laying down the flowers
I've been placing flowers as a tribute
I've been waiting in the sun
I've been patiently waiting for something to happen
I've been counting down the hours
I've been measuring time, waiting for the moment
One by one
Indicating that time is passing slowly
I've been catching my reflection
I've been observing myself and analyzing my actions
I'm still looking at someone
But I'm confused about my identity
Still perfecting imperfection
I'm trying to improve myself endlessly
Like everyone
Like every other person out there
Every no one
Yet, at the same time, I feel insignificant
I even saw it come
I predicted the disaster
Knew the hit would run and run
I was sure that the negative consequences would last a long time
And I, as it came undone
As the situation started to fall apart
Knew that I'd lost everything
I was aware that I had lost it all
Everything I'd won
All that I had gained
Here's to all the things we'll never
A toast to all the things that we will not be able to do
Here's to all we could have done
A tribute to all that we could have achieved
Here's to what became whatever
Another toast, this time to the outcome of our actions, whether good or bad
Whatever web we spun, web we spun
Regardless of the difficulties we encountered, we pushed forward
I even saw it come
Once again, I knew that the situation would end poorly
Knew the hit would run and run
I was certain that the effects would be long-lasting
And I, as it came undone
As everything started unraveling
Knew that I'd lost everything
I understood that I had lost everything that mattered
Everything I'd won
All that I had accomplished
I've been laying down the flowers
Once again, I'm paying tribute
I've been waiting in the sun
And once again, I'm waiting patiently
I've been counting down the hours
I'm keeping track of time, waiting for something to happen
One by one
Indicating once again that time is passing slowly
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IAN STEPHEN MCCULLOCH, WILLIAM SERGEANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind