The flowers cover the graves of the people who were killed by the United States-backed military regime in Guatemala. The United States government backed a coup in 1954 that overthrew a democratically-elected government in Guatemala and replaced it with a fascist dictatorship. Many years of extreme suffering were the result.
@Jerrybear This is close to what I had always thought about this song, though, as I tend toward darker interpretations, for many years I thought the "flowers" were actually the decomposing bodies of the Guatemalans, glowing bright reds and yellows because of bioluminescence, with Amanita perhaps being the responsible decay bacteria. (I found out much later that Amanita is indeed a flower.) Whatever the meaning, the song is beautiful and melancholic, and probably my favorite REM song.
@Jerrybear This is close to what I had always thought about this song, though, as I tend toward darker interpretations, for many years I thought the "flowers" were actually the decomposing bodies of the Guatemalans, glowing bright reds and yellows because of bioluminescence, with Amanita perhaps being the responsible decay bacteria. (I found out much later that Amanita is indeed a flower.) Whatever the meaning, the song is beautiful and melancholic, and probably my favorite REM song.
The flowers cover the graves of the people who were killed by the United States-backed military regime in Guatemala. The United States government backed a coup in 1954 that overthrew a democratically-elected government in Guatemala and replaced it with a fascist dictatorship. Many years of extreme suffering were the result.
@Jerrybear This is close to what I had always thought about this song, though, as I tend toward darker interpretations, for many years I thought the "flowers" were actually the decomposing bodies of the Guatemalans, glowing bright reds and yellows because of bioluminescence, with Amanita perhaps being the responsible decay bacteria. (I found out much later that Amanita is indeed a flower.) Whatever the meaning, the song is beautiful and melancholic, and probably my favorite REM song.
@Jerrybear This is close to what I had always thought about this song, though, as I tend toward darker interpretations, for many years I thought the "flowers" were actually the decomposing bodies of the Guatemalans, glowing bright reds and yellows because of bioluminescence, with Amanita perhaps being the responsible decay bacteria. (I found out much later that Amanita is indeed a flower.) Whatever the meaning, the song is beautiful and melancholic, and probably my favorite REM song.