‘The Last Living Rose’: Exploring PJ Harvey’s “reflection on this country”
A steady thumping drum kick and strumming guitar come into the frame as PJ Harvey’s 2011 track ‘The Last Living Rose’ fades in. While the instrumentation feels somewhat tranquil, the lyrics gliding over them are stuffed with implied malice. “Goddamn Europeans,” she says, “Take me back to beautiful England.” This welcomes in one of PJ Harvey’s most divisive and read-into tracks ever, as she uses music to dissect how she perceives her country and provide commentary on those around her.
The song is relatively stripped back, all things considered. There are drums, guitar and a synth/horn sound, but all of them are pretty calming in the way they’re put together. The steady backdrop that the music gives the listener makes it so that the words throughout this song can be heard clearly, and it’s the words that spark the majority of the conversation surrounding the tune.
In ‘The Last Living Rose’, Harvey paints a picture that depicts the country she calls home. In the song, she beautifully describes the non-beautiful, serenely singing about stinking alleys, the damp filthiness of ages and the music of drunken beatings. She paints a relatively honest portrayal of England, highlighting the country’s imperfections, not only in how it looks and how people behave but also in people’s attitudes towards other countries.
The song predates Brexit by five years, but the music is reminiscent of the attitudes shared by many people who voted to leave. While Harvey scorns Europe ironically, the tone she sings almost puts her in the position of a soothsayer.
The music community discussed the lyrics massively as people picked apart her words and applied political meaning to them. Though that political message can be found, it does not reflect PJ Harvey’s intentions at the time of writing. “I don’t feel qualified to speak from a political or journalistic point of view,” she said when discussing the song, “I just haven’t got that information.”
Instead, Harvey said that she felt the song was “A reflection on this country, seeing it up against other countries. I was very pleased with the words of that song because it does feel very picturesque, very filmic, in a way.”
Given how much of a form of expression music is, it’s common for people to comment on their perception of their country using it. However, a lot of the time, that music either talks positively of their surroundings, or if it does criticise, it criticises the likes of how the country is run and the current government. ‘The Last Living Rose’ is different. Harvey is incredible in how she describes England, talking about the weather, pubs and Thames. It is a critique in the same way people critique food and B&Bs, entirely factual and from an individual perspective.
The way that she conveys her reflection on the country in a way that is accessible and understandable to those who are listening is inspiring. Whether those listening agree with her assessment or not, her ability with her lyricism in how she can paint a picture of what she sees and get across her opinion on it without actively saying whether she likes it or not is a masterclass in how musicians can effectively use words.
