the flowers she sent & the flowers she said she sent
The Magnetic Fields Lyrics


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I saw you standing at the airport
With your chihuahua in your hand
Crying on the moving sidewalk
On your way to Disneyland

And the flowers she sent and the flowers she said she sent
Are all equally dead
You don't care anymore, she said
And the books she read and the books that she said she read
Are all spread on the floor
You don't care about them anymore

I saw you closing your antique shop
With a boa 'round your throat
And you tremble like an ostrich
In your ostrich feather coat

And the flowers she sent and the flowers she said she sent
Are all equally dead
You don't care anymore, she said
And the books she read and the books that she said she read




Are all spread on the floor
You don't care about them anymore

Overall Meaning

The Magnetic Fields' song The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent begins with a rather bizarre scene, a woman crying at the airport with her chihuahua in her hand, supposedly on her way to Disneyland. The song then takes a dark turn, as the lyrics become a commentary on a relationship that has soured. The chorus repeats the phrase "the flowers she sent and the flowers she said she sent are all equally dead", suggesting that the singer is no longer interested in the gifts or gestures of their partner.


The second verse paints another odd image, of someone closing their antique shop with a "boa 'round [their] throat". This line could perhaps be taken literally, but more likely it is meant to be symbolic of something suffocating or overwhelming. The ostrich feather coat in the second half of the verse reinforces the theme of ostentatious or impractical display. Again, the chorus repeats, emphasizing the singer's disinterest in their partner's pastimes or aspirations.


Overall, the song is a bleak portrayal of a relationship that has deteriorated to the point of indifference. The use of surreal and absurdist imagery adds to the sense of disconnection and discomfort. The chorus, neatly tying together the flowers and the books, emphasizes the hopelessness of the situation. There is no going back, and nobody seems to care.


Line by Line Meaning

I saw you standing at the airport
I noticed you at the airport


With your chihuahua in your hand
holding your chihuahua while standing


Crying on the moving sidewalk
weeping on the conveyor belt


On your way to Disneyland
en route to visit the theme park


And the flowers she sent and the flowers she said she sent
both the flowers actually sent and mentioned as sent


Are all equally dead
lifeless in the same way


You don't care anymore, she said
you don't give a damn anymore, according to what she said


And the books she read and the books that she said she read
both the books actually read and mentioned as read


Are all spread on the floor
scattered on the ground


You don't care about them anymore
you have no interest in them anymore


I saw you closing your antique shop
I witnessed you shutting down your antique store


With a boa 'round your throat
having a feathered scarf around your neck


And you tremble like an ostrich
and you shake like an ostrich


In your ostrich feather coat
in your coat made of ostrich feathers




Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING

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