Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Okay, fine
Even the sky looks like wine
And everywhere I turn there's
A new face in town
Stuck inside the well
Fresh Hells to attend to
Blue flower, blue flame
A woman by another name is not a woman
Don't know why
Don't know when
A cathedral sick of the sky again
Says to it
"Oh, please not now
Will you just look at the time
It's standing still!"
Somewhere applause falls dead on the hillside
Blue flower, blue flame
A woman by another name is not a woman
I'll tell you what I mean by that
Maybe not in seconds flat
Maybe not today
Blue flower, blue flame
A woman by another name is not a woman
I'll tell you what I mean by that
Maybe not in seconds flat
Maybe never
A gray ashen sadness rises like the sun, oh well
It was time I decided to try this hotel
Her world
Tulip has an inner animal
She's in it for a good time
I was on the outs for a while
But now things are all right
I gave you a flower because foxes travel light
And a penny for your thoughts was never enough
Your head gets filled with that stuff
Even the sky looks like wine
And everywhere I turn there's
A new face in town
Stuck inside the well
Fresh Hells to attend to
Blue flower, blue flame
A woman by another name is not a woman
Don't know why
Don't know when
A cathedral sick of the sky again
Says to it
"Oh, please not now
Will you just look at the time
It's standing still!"
Somewhere applause falls dead on the hillside
Blue flower, blue flame
A woman by another name is not a woman
I'll tell you what I mean by that
Maybe not in seconds flat
Maybe not today
Blue flower, blue flame
A woman by another name is not a woman
I'll tell you what I mean by that
Maybe not in seconds flat
Maybe never
A gray ashen sadness rises like the sun, oh well
It was time I decided to try this hotel
Her world
Tulip has an inner animal
She's in it for a good time
I was on the outs for a while
But now things are all right
I gave you a flower because foxes travel light
And a penny for your thoughts was never enough
Your head gets filled with that stuff
Lyrics submitted by The_Marble_Faun
Blue Flower/Blue Flame Lyrics as written by Daniel Bejar
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Or maybe a reference to Hello Blue Roses? Blue flower; the band, blue flame; Dan's apparent girlfriend/bandmate Sydney Vermont?