Scarlet Begonias

scarlet begonias is the blood that comes back up through the syringe creating little red flower shapes. as used in the grateful dead/sublime song scarlet begonias, it is referring to an addiction to heroin. heroin is often referred to as a girl in songs, including red hot chili peppers’s “under the bridge” (the t-tle alone tells you what it is about). so the girl who “wore scarlet begonias tucked into her curls” is actually heroin and not an actual girl everybody. “it could be an illusion, but i might as well try, might as well try.”
“the one scarlet with the flowers in her hair,
she’s got the police coming after me” (as in scarlet begonias)
a song originaly made by the greatful dead but made better by sublime
as i was walkin’ down rubadub square
not a chill to the wind but a nip to the air
from another direction she was caught in my eye
it could be an illusion but i might as well try
might as well try

she had rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes
and i knew without asking- she was into the blues
she wore scarlet begonias tucked into her curls
i knew right away she was not like other girls
like other girls

well i ain’t never been right as i ain’t never been wrong
as heaven works out the way it does in this song (hey)
’cuz once in awhile you get shown in the light in the strangest of places
if you look at it right

it was the summer of love and i thank the stars above
because the woman took a lovin’ over me
and just to gain her trust i bought a microbus
because i sold off all my personal property

a tight tye-dye dress she was a psychadelic mess
we toured to the north, south, east, and west
we sold some mushroom tea we sold some extacy we sold nitrous, opium,
acid, heroin, and pcp

and now i hear the police comin’ after me
yes now i hear the police comin’ after me
the one scarlet with the flowers in her hair she’s got the police comin’
after me

but there ain’t nothin’ wrong with the way she moves
all scarlet begonias and a touch of the blues
and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with the love that’s in her eye
i had to learn the hard way just to let her p-ss by
let it p-ss by
oh just let her p-ss by