Album: Pulp Fiction Soundtrack (1965)

Charted: 38 4

License This Song 

• I keep hearin' you're concerned about my happiness
  All that thought you're givin' me is conscience I guess
  If I were walkin' in your shoes, I wouldn't worry none
  While you and your friends are worried about me I'm havin' lots of fun
  
  Countin' flowers on the wall
  That don't bother me at all
  Playin' solitaire till dawn
  With a deck of fifty-one
  Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo
  Now don't tell me
  I've nothin' to do
  
  Last night I dressed in tails, pretended I was on the town
  As long as I can dream it's hard to slow this swinger down
  So please don't give a thought to me, I'm really doin' fine
  You can always find me here, I'm havin' quite a time
  
  Countin' flowers on the wall
  That don't bother me at all
  Playin' solitaire till dawn
  With a deck of fifty-one
  Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo
  Now don't tell me
  I've nothin' to do
  
  It's good to see you, I must go, I know I look a fright
  Anyway my eyes are not accustomed to this light
  And my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete
  So I must go back to my room and make my day complete
  
  Countin' flowers on the wall
  That don't bother me at all
  Playin' solitaire till dawn
  With a deck of fifty-one
  Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo
  Now don't tell me
  I've nothin' to do
  
  Don't tell me
  I've nothin' to do
  
  Ladies and gentlemen, the Statler Brothers
  
  Don, Harold, Phil and Lew, the Statler Brothers Writer/s: Lewis Dewitt
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 29

• Tim from Melbourne, AustraliaI heard this song alot growing up, Dad(born 1952) would play this quite often.
  To me, this is about a lonely sole who is putting on a brave face. Hes almost at the end of his tether, but he doesn't want anyone to worry.
  Lifes not really any good, but he can't make a fuss, it could be worse.
  After reading some of the other comments I think its more likely a song about heartbreak, but I love that we can all have our own version of the story they are depicting which might suit our own circumstances.
  Great song.
• Nicholas from South AfricaFlowers on the Wall" portrays a character who is fully aware of his isolation and uses mundane, repetitive tasks and imaginative scenarios to deal with his situation, rather than being detached from reality. He just chooses not to be a part of society anymore and he can tell the difference between reality and fantasy. "Last night I was dressed in tails and pretended I was on the town."
• Lindsay from AustraliaIt’s a great song and cleverly written.
  Don’t try and read too much into the lyrics which are straight forward.
  He is sarcastically telling his ex that he’s handling the break-up well although he obviously isn’t. There’s a degree of wry humour in his comments. Great lyrics.
  The original is great and the Eric Heatherly re-release is fantastic with a great film clip.
• Laff-it-up from Staunton, VaThe inspiration for the chorus comes from Lew and Don's employment at Western State Hospital. Above every window in the ward were stenciled flowers. The deck of 51 refers to the status of the patients. Everyone smoked. Finally, they worked midnight shift, the first thing on TV in 1965 was Captain Kangaroo.
• Jb60 from Madison, WiI thought it was about being in jail and touting the fulfilling experience.(sarcasm). He did mention concrete floors and going back to his room. I don't know if TV was provided though.
• Kevin T Preston from CaliforniaMental hospital? Drugs? Please.
  
  He is completely ripped up over his girl leaving him--for whatever reason. She has let him know she is worried about him, however.
  
  He sees her when he is out and about, and tells her how great he is doing, as someone else said, sardonically. Why, he imagines himself in a tux, having a great time. I mean...as long as he can dream....
  
  Don't worry about me, look, I am playing solitaire! I am watching TV! Plenty of things to do! In reality, he has nothing to do, as he is brokenhearted.
  
  At then end he complains that his feet are not comfortable....he is going wobbly talking to her. He looks a "fright" as he has lost interest in how he looks. His "eyes are not accustomed to this light" because he is starting to cry, and doesn't want her to see him lose it.
  
  But don't worry, I got things to do!
  
  I don't see how the simple meaning of the song is so hard to hear!
• Bud Hamilton from Olds, Alberta Formerly Of Regina, SaskatchewanI love the songs put out and sang by the Statler Brothers in their Harmonization. Statlers had always put on a great show.
• William from Louisa VaRowdyroddy85 and Steven from waynesboro are correct my mother is from that area and tells me the same thing about Lew Dewitt. Hey Steve
• Aaron from Patton, PaI was recently hospitalized in the psych ward in the same hospital my grandmother was sent to hospice to live the last few days of her life in. The remote to the TV was acting up and this song came on. I would sing along to the Statler Brothers with my grandmother when I was a kid. I am 35 now. I think my grandmother was trying to communicate with me.
• Darlene from Missouri From this old lady point of view. I am really content in my little space of this world so don't worry about me. I find things to keep me occupied. Even if they don't make sense to everyone else. I am happy!! That is what the lyric's say to me.
• Hatman from Dallas, TxI think the part about, "Playing Solitaire with a Deck of fifty one", means that they guy isn't all there. It's a variation of the saying, "not playing with a full deck". The writer could have been bored in his living space when he wrote it, too.
• Rick Jackson from CharlotteSome of you have been listening to too much rock. Country lyrics rarely feature hidden meanings or “left to interpretation” meanings. One of the best things about the genre. Lee DeWitt was just having fun when he wrote it. The boring life of the guy in the song is just who he is.
• Rowdyroddy85 from Staunton, VirginiaLew DeWitt’s father was an administrator at Western State Hospital (mental health hospital) that’s located in Staunton, Va. When Lew would get out of school he would do random jobs at the hospital. While he was there he encountered a patient that actually did these things. So this in fact is based on reality.
• Claus from UsaYou're reading too much into the lyrics. The song is about an amphetamine morning. Listen to the words; how can counting flowers on the wall, solitairre with a short deck smoking cigarettes and watching Capt.Kangaroo not bothering you without the assistance of black beauties?
  
  
  
  
• Seventhmist from 7th HeavenI think this has to be about someone who is institutionalized, whether in a mental facility, an "old folks home" or prison. The tone is clearly sarcastic, aimed at the singer's monotonous surroundings and whomever has come to visit him. The visitor asks if he's bored and he replies, "Why, no! Listen to all the exciting things I get to do!"
• Davo from Des Moines, IowaI think it has not a thing to do with metal institutions or Johnny Cash. The song was written by Lew DeWitt, who was a founding member of the Statler Brothers and the original tenor. He sufferd from Crohn's disease which I'm guessing caused long stays in the hospital and at home. He's health was so bad in the early 1980s that he left the group because his treatment was getting the way of their performance schedule.
  
  Also you should consider that it could have simply been about the down time that all professional musicians have off and on the road. Long periods filled with endless activities and suddenly you are dropped off on your front porch with nothing to do for months or years at a time. Some turn to substance abuse, some start side projects but a lot of them just turn into hermits.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 2nd 1966, "Flowers On The Wall" by the Statler Brothers peaked at #4 (for 1 week) on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; it had entered the chart on November 7th, 1965 and spent 13 weeks on the Top 100...
  That same week the record at #5 was "Ebb Tide" by the Righteous Brothers, and interestingly enough neither act were really brothers...
  "Flowers" reached #2 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart...
  Between 1965 and 1990 the 'brothers' had sixty-six hits on the Country Singles chart; with thirty-three making the Top 10 and four peaking at #1; "Do You Know You Are My Sunshine" in 1978, "Elizabeth" in 1984, "My Only Love" in 1985, and "Too Much On My Heart" again in 1985 (all four remained at #1 for one week).
• James from Cincinnati, Oh@dennis. Wow, if you listen to the Eric Heatherly version, it lines up perfect with Jingle Bells. Take out the bridges and it's there. I am sitting here playing jingle bells on guitar and singing flowers on the wall. And the verses all fit.
  
  - Jim
• Keith from Westlake Village, CaThe last line reminds me of Brian Wilson's In My Room. It's a great song, interesting lyrics, and a great melody.
• Marissa from Akron, OhHere's how I take it, his girlfriend broke up with him and now he's absolutely bored out of his mind, and has nothing to do but count the flowers on the wall (apparently flowered wallpaper), play solitaire, smoke cigarettes and watch TV. That's just my interpretation of it though, perhaps because I was recently dumped and have spent my time, you guessed it, playing solitaire.
• Steven from Waynesboro, VaThis tune was written about a patient in the Western State mental hospital in Staunton Virginia.
  The song was released on Columbia records after much urging by Johnny Cash.
• Steven from Waynesboro, VaThis tune was written about a patient in the Western State mental hospital in Staunton Virginia.
  The song was released on Columbia records after much urging by Johnny Cash.
• Scott from East Stroudsburg, PaJoel, it's more a guy, down on his luck, no money to do things, no volition to do so. "now don't tell me, I've nothing to do...". Sardonic reflective response to someone most likely telling him to get a job, as he has nothing to do.
• Joel R. from Philadelphia, PaThis song is either about a man in prison or in a mental hospital. There are just too many images for it not to be.
• Fred from Laurel, MdOf course, the 1994 citation at the top of this page is not the original release -- that was as a hit single (45 rpm) in 1966, from the album of the same name. So, are the chart numbers up there from the 1966 single or the 1994 re-release as one track on a movie soundtrack album, which includes a mix of artists?
• Jerry from Brooklyn, NyI'm sorry, Dennis, but I have trouble with the "Jingle Bells" bit. The verses and the meter of the peom just don't fit that tune. So, unless he significantly re-wrote the lyrics, I just can't see this one.
• Steve from Jamesburg, NjI read in Billboad that originally this was the flipside of the single.
• Lacey from Slippery Rock, PaThis was covered by Eric Heatherly in 2000. It can be heard on his Swimming in Champagne album, released the same year.
• Dennis from Waynesboro, VaThe late Lew DeWitt, who wrote this song, was a friend of mine as well as a former brother-in-law. It's absolutely, positively true that when Lew had just finished writing this tune, it was to the tune of "JINGLE BELLS" ! ! Fortunately, the melody got changed, and the song went on to become the Statler's first major hit.

More Songfacts:

Wild BoysDuran Duran

Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" is based on the book of the same name by William Burroughs.

OhioCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Neil Young wrote the CSN&Y song "Ohio" about the Kent State Shootings, when the National Guard opened fire on students at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four.

Mr. Tambourine ManBob Dylan

Bob Dylan's original version of "Mr. Tambourine Man," released on his album Bringing It All Back Home, has no tambourine, just guitars and harmonica.

DiamondsRihanna

Rihanna's 2012 hit "Diamonds" was written by Sia Furler, who two years later had a huge hit on her own with "Chandelier." Sia also wrote the David Guetta hit "Titanium."

Chasing PavementsAdele

"Chasing Pavements" isn't British slang - it's a saying Adele came up with when she found herself running out of a bar after a fight with her boyfriend. "He didn't chase after me! So I was running, just looking at these big wide pavements stretching in front me," she said.

Learning To FlyPink Floyd

David Gilmour really was "Learning To Fly" when he co-wrote the Pink Floyd song - the aviation jargon came from his lessons.

Editor's Picks

Which Songs are About Drugs?Fact or Fiction

"25 or 6 to 4" to "Semi-Charmed Life" - see if you can spot the songs that are really about drugs.

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.