Released: 2022
‘Flower Shops’ by Ernest, featuring Morgan Wallen, is a heart-wrenching tale of a man grappling with a failing relationship. The song uses the motif of a flower shop as a metaphor for his attempts to mask the turmoil in his life and win back his love, despite the evident pain and heartbreak.
The song kicks off with a juxtaposition of a ‘beautiful day’ and a night of tears and drinking, painting a picture of a strained relationship. The ‘bender’s been bending’ phrase is country speak for a long drinking spree that’s about to break, much like their relationship.
The chorus, ‘Mister, I’ll take your roses’, symbolizes the protagonist’s desperate attempts to mend things. The request to ‘cut off the thorns’ is a metaphor for his desire to protect his partner from more pain. The ‘violets and daisies’ he buys are his attempt to cover up the ‘crazy’, or chaos, in their lives.
The line ‘Well, I took some pills, and she took the dogs’ reveals the protagonist’s self-destructive behavior and the woman’s decision to leave. The phrase ‘she took the time to tell me I took the best years of her life’ underscores the deep regret and guilt he feels.
The phrase ‘Roses are red, violets are blue, I don’t need one, I need one million to get you’ is a twist on the classic love poem, highlighting the enormity of his task to win her back. It’s a poignant reminder of how far they’ve drifted apart.
The repeated chorus ‘Mister, I’ll take your roses’ continues to echo the protagonist’s desperation and his willingness to do whatever it takes to win back his love. The song ends on a bittersweet note, acknowledging that while it’s a ‘bad day for love’, it’s a ‘good day for flower shops’, a nod to the commercial side of love and heartbreak.
