'Dead Flowers': Country Twang and Junkie Cynicism on the Eve of Exile

The most interesting thing about “Dead Flowers” is how it wraps a junkie’s sneer in a Gram Parsons-inspired country shuffle. Written by Keith Richards in 1970 and recorded during the Sticky Fingers sessions, the song directly borrows the Bakersfield sound Richards had fallen for after hanging out with Parsons. But instead of a honky-tonk heartbreak, the