The One Song Miranda Lambert Says Should Have Been a Single
If Miranda Lambert had her way, her song "Dead Flowers" would have been a single and a No. 1 hit. However, it doesn't seem that she and her record label saw eye-to-eye on the track.
Although not ideal, there are times when the visions of an artist and their representation don't match.
"I always say that I’m going to put a record out one day called The Ones That Got Away because there’s some that have broken my heart," she tells Vulture. "'Dead Flowers'" is an example. It was a single, and I wrote it by myself. I did a video. The label pulled it from radio in the 40s, because they were scared that it wasn’t going to make it."
The track is a somber breakup song, which finds Lambert lamenting an old relationship that has been left to die, like flowers in a vase.
"I feel like the flowers in this vase / He just brought 'em home one day, "Ain't they beautiful?" he said / They been here in the kitchen and the waters turnin' gray / They're sittin' in the vase but now they're dead, dead flowers," she sings in the opening verse.
"Dead Flowers" is not just a favorite of Lambert's — her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, says it's his favorite, too. Her band also has affinity for the track and often ask to play it during shows.
"My band, every tour they’re like, 'Can we do ‘Dead Flowers’?" she reveals. "I guess I have a little bit of a grudge against it, because I’m like, Damn it. It makes me mad that it didn’t get a shot, but I’m still proud of it because I love it."
It's not clear if Lambert will include "Dead Flowers" in the setlist for upcoming Velvet Rodeo: The Last Vegas Residency shows. The Texas native has left room in the show to call an audible and mix things up. She also promises that no two shows will be alike. With dates running through April 2023, there will be plenty of time to let the songs that "got away" shine.