“Dirty Rose” by The Tall Pines – A Song Feature

 

      “Dirty Rose” is a genre bender, but it’s fair to most closely identify the song as being Southern Rock, a genre that is increasingly associated with “Red Dirt” as a designation. The origin of the term is of interest to “Dirty Rose,” since the song begins with the line “She came out of a red dirt town.” Red Dirt as a genre gets its name from the distinctive soil color found in Oklahoma region. So, some purists hold that the genre designation should be reserved exclusively for music from red dirt areas. We are not purists! To us, Red Dirt represents Rock with attitude, infused with Southern/Country influences.

 

     The song from The Tall Pines is a first-person account from a man now in love with Dirty Rose. They met while she was selling highly effective “shit” at a bonfire boogie. The Tall Pines are Connie Lynn Petruk and Christmas Davis, a duo based in New York City. Davis explains that “Dirty Rose” was written to provide a foil for the harmful machismo of the lead character in a “Biker Fiction” story he found in a 1970s’ issue of Easyriders magazine. “Biker Fiction” was a series of short stories mainly written by incarcerated bikers, who sent them to Easyriders magazine from prison. The relevant story was about:

  “[an] older biker, who is sitting in a roadside bar, confronting his own mortality. Knowing that he will die soon, he writes a letter to the woman who has been his devoted partner for years, and who he has children with. In his letter he tells her how much he loves her, because he has never told her what she means to him before. The letter is heartfelt and moving. The old biker gives the bartender the letter and asks him to mail it for him, as he prepares to ride off to certain death. He has one more beer, and at the last minute, he tells the bartender to give him back the letter. He tears it up, throwing the torn pieces down on the bar where he had just finished writing it. He walks out of the bar, riding off to his death. A tough guy to the end.”

 

     In contrast, “’Dirty Rose’ rode out of her red-dirt town to remind us that if you aren’t strong enough to tell the people that you love, that you love them, then you aren’t really strong at all.”

 

     The Tall Pines describe “Dirty Rose” as a catchy fuzzed-out Garage Rocker. The song was released via NYC’s Declared Goods label. A hidden "gem" within the song comes in the form of the backing vocals around 1:50, when the Connie Lynn Petruk channels the power and elegance of Clare Torry's contribution to Pink Floyd's "The Great Big Gig In The Sky." 

 

     “Dirty Rose” by The Tall Pines

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Lyrics of “Dirty Rose” by The Tall Pines
She came out of a red dirt town
Left her mama and their double wide
Down in those parts even the breeze smells Southern fried
 
Gunnin’ her bike in the night out on 85
She’s going where them boys are half crazy
And the women are ten times as wild
Yeah!
 
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
I love you Dirty Rose
[Repeat]
 
I met her out at the bonfire boogie
In the woods down by the riverside
She was selling that shit
Got me lit up
Like the Fourth of July
 
Next thing I know we’re talking real low
Layin’ down where the grass is high
Caught between the headlights and the moonlight
I was holding her hand in mine
Yeah!
 
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
I love you Dirty Rose
[Repeat]
 
They say that nothin’ lasts forever
Man, what do they know?
She’s on my mind all the time
I love you Dirty Rose
 
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
I love you Dirty Rose
[Repeat]
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
Doo Doo Doo Do Do
I love you Dirty Rose
[Repeat]