With Mother’s Day coming, here are five songs about flowers

This year, April showers were replaced with April hailstorms, but nevertheless, I’m expecting there to be May flowers and all the glorious allergies they bring with them. Here are 5 songs that relate to flowers to get your green thumb itching.

Blue Orchid – The White Stripes

A White Stripes classic from the 2005 album, Get Behind Me Satan, the title of “Blue Orchid” alone is a stand out against the title of the album. It’s another high impact, fast paced song from the former rock and roll duo. Take a look at a picture of a blue orchid and you’ll see the similarities to this song. It’s bright, vibrant and in your face. Orchids typically only bloom for 2 to 3 months which is a pretty short time, as is this song. But in both cases, it’s more than enough time to enjoy it.

2. Build Me Up Buttercup – The Foundations

 A member of royalty when it comes to feel-good songs from the 1960’s, this song was released in 1968 by the R&B/Soul group The Foundations. Like soul musicians, buttercups grow as opportunistic organizers. They grow better when surrounded by other buttercups, just like musicians improve when in the presence of other musicians. The sight of buttercups growing in fields is one of the happy signals that spring has sprung and put on this catchy tune will make it even better.

3. Flowers In Your Hair – The Lumineers

Off of their 2012 self-titled album, The Lumineers, regardless of your musical preferences, are easy to listen to and easy to enjoy. The soft acoustic guitar, soothing vocals, and the steady kick drum make this a great foot tapping song. Seems like a very fitting tune for one of your first hikes after the snow has melted. Perfect for that first day when you can comfortably wear shorts and a t-shirt outside again. And we all know that with warm weather comes music festivals. And with music festivals comes attendees with flowers in their hair, so the title couldn’t be more fitting to usher in the new season.

4. Tip-Toe Through the Tulips – Tiny Tim

Roses: beautiful, vibrant, a sign that the warm weather is here, and a token of love. I forget about all of that when I hear this particular version of the song performed by Tiny Tim, released in 1968. Instead, I imagine a terrifying nightmare in which Tiny Tim is tip-toeing towards me, ukulele in hand, in a vast field of roses that I can’t escape. In all honesty, this song really, really creeps me out. I think it’s better utilized as a soundtrack for a horror film than any sort of song attempting to honour the subtle grace of roses. It’s definitely a unique song, but I’d rather jump in a pool or rose thorns than being forced to listen to this.

5. Hay Fever – The Kinks

 Released in 1978 on the album Misfits, The Kinks realized that for some people, Spring isn’t a dreamscape of warm weather and pretty flowers. Spring for some of us means endless waves of snot, nasal cavities drier than a week-old scone and eyeballs that burn like the devil himself was inside of them. I appreciate a pretty flower as much as the next person, but what I appreciate more is someone like The Kinks coming along and debunking the magical time of year that is Spring. Frontman Ray Davies sums up the experience some of us have to go through when he sings, ‘I got hay fever blocking up my brain. Hay fever, feel the sinus pain. And all the pills and the powders are in vain.’ It’s true. Sometimes Benadryl just isn’t enough.