The vintage wallpaper in Elaine’s childhood home has stood the test of time, and served as a backdrop for visits of five generations of her family! How fortunate that they retained ownership of this delightful farmhouse. Elaine mentioned that the trees framing the home are Balm of Gilead poplars that her parents planted in 1948. Last summer, she visited her childhood home armed with a camera, searching for some overlooked memories. I first met Elaine online through our mutual interest in preserving the stories of wartime veterans. This song resonated with me when I was a teenager and bemoaning my fate about being stuck on a farm thirteen kilometres from town (then known as eight miles.) I’m sure at some point I resorted to counting the flowers on the wall! Vintage Wallpaper Tourįellow author and farm girl Elaine Thomas grew up on a farm in the foothills south of Calgary, Alberta, although she now lives in Fayette County, Texas. Remember the words to the old song “Flowers on the Wall,” by the Statler Brothers? The lyrics go: “Counting flowers on the wall, that don’t bother me at all Playing solitaire till dawn, with a deck of 51 Smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo Now don’t tell me I’ve nothing to do.” Click here to hear the song: Flowers on the Wall. When I was twelve, I was allowed to choose my own wallpaper from the Simpsons-Sears catalogue for my bedroom at my farmhouse home near North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and it is still there!įor a brief history of my farm, a former air force training base, click here: Growing Up With Air Force Ghosts.įor a tour of the old kitchen, click here: Farmhouse Kitchen. Wallpaper was relatively inexpensive and my own grandmother papered her farmhouse in Richard, Saskatchewan so many times the rooms practically shrunk under the multiple layers! ![]() At one time patterned wallpaper was the latest word in farmhouse chic! Take a look at these photos for a trip down memory lane.īack in the early half of the twentieth century, when people didn’t have a lot of money to spend on home decor, they used wallpaper to brighten things up. It sounds to me like a temporary period of self-imposed hermit behavior after a break-up, but in time, he will probably get over her and move on.Dear Friends: Many of you will remember growing up in a house with vintage wallpaper. He admits he looks a fright, but he's happy with his nightly routine of being by himself and doing what he wants. Then he says it’ s good to see her, but he has to go because he used to being in his dark room (most likely a small apartment) where he usually doesn't wear his shoes to go outside much. He also tells her that by pretending, he can imagine he's out on the town having a great time so he doesn't want her sympathy. He smokes cigarettes and watches a kids tv show - it’ s something to do. Playing solitaire over and over when he can't win because he's missing a card, and yet this is still entertainment to him. He spends his nights in his room staring at the walls, counting flowers (probably a design in the wall paper). He says for her and her friends not to worry about him become he is content (either truthfully or that's what he wants her to believe) with the way he occupies his time. She expresses her concern for his happiness since they parted, and he implies that she is not really concerned about him, but this is just her "conscience" that's bothering her. I would say that the lyrics tell of a man who has run into his former girlfriend (or ex-wife) by chance. ![]() I wouldn't say that this song is figurative or be so melodramatic as to say he is depressed or in denial. So I must go back to my room and make my day completeĬourtesy of Mercury/Nashville by arrangement with It's good to see you, I must go, I know I look a frightĪnyway, my eyes are not accustomed to this lightĪnd my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete ![]() You can always find me here and havin' quite a time So please don't give a thought to me, I'm really doin' fine Last night I dressed in tails, pretended I was on the townĪs long as I can dream it's hard to slow this swinger down Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' "Captain Kangaroo" Playin' solitaire 'til dawn, with a deck of fifty-one While you and your friends are worryin' 'bout me, I'm havin' lots of funĬountin' flowers on the wall, that don't bother me at all If I were walkin' in your shoes, I wouldn't worry none I keep hearin' you're concerned about my happinessīut all that thought you've given me is conscience I guess
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