Flowers & Football Tops

Album: Glasvegas (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This track is a reaction to the murder in 2004 of Glasgow teenager Kriss Donald, who was abducted, stabbed thirteen times and then burnt alive. Singer James Allan told Q magazine February 2008: "It happened 10 minutes from where we live. It still haunts me. I had to write a song from his mother's point of view."
  • Allan told The Sun August 15, 2008: "The song came from seeing his mum in the paper and the parents of another murdered child. It was sending me crazy because it was so heartbreaking. You put yourself in the position. What if it was me? What if it was my mum? I would never want my mum to go through what that woman was going through and I was just expressing that in the song. It just came to me one day when I was playing Buddy Holly's 'Love Is Strange.' I was singing that and so my song has a similar melody. I'll probably get sued now because I wanted the same sound."
  • Allan told the Daily Mirror August 8, 2008 that he was disturbed that this song has attracted unwanted 'support' from right-wing extremists. He explained: "I think anybody with half a brain who reads the lyrics to the song will know exactly what it's about. If you are writing about this sort of stuff, there are always going to be people who will take it the wrong way."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Supertramp founder Roger Hodgson

Supertramp founder Roger HodgsonSongwriter Interviews

Roger tells the stories behind some of his biggest hits, including "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home" and "The Logical Song."

Hardy

HardySongwriter Interviews

The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" Album

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" AlbumSong Writing

In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.

Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al YankovicFact or Fiction

Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.

Michelle Branch

Michelle BranchSongwriter Interviews

Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.