Mary Pickford (Used To Eat Roses)

Album: Pictures (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Mary Pickford was a Canadian movie star in the silent film era. This song is a tribute to the stars of this era, who in 1919 formed the independent film company United Artists. Katie Melua told the Daily Mail November 16, 2007: "I like the similarity between United Artists and my record label. Working with a small company we have stood up to the big guys, proving that an artist on an independent label can be successful around the world."
  • This was written by Melua's mentor and collaborator Mike Batt, who also wrote her hit single "Nine Million Bicycles." In his native Britain, Batt is best known as the man behind the 8 hit singles recorded by The Wombles in the mid 1970s.
  • Katie Melua elaborated to I Like Music how this song came to be written: "That song got written because there was a small piece of paper in a calendar that Mike had that said Mary Pickford used to eat roses because she thought that would help her remain beautiful and youthful and that inspired him and he went and did some research on her and discovered that, Mary, along with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith, formed United Artists and, it was inspiring for him, because that idea of artists forming their own company and taking things into their own hands is something he's done; being an artist, forming a record company and signing me. So it was pretty close to our own story."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Don Brewer of Grand Funk

Don Brewer of Grand FunkSongwriter Interviews

The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.