There are few songs that ring so true like The Rose by Bette Midler. In fact, the first time I heard it, it left me without words and on the verge of tears. While Bette’s vocal performance is pretty much perfect, it is the lyrics of this song from 1979 that are both sad and empowering. The Rose is a constant reminder that we only live once, and hence we must not fear making the most of our lives.
History Of The Rose
The Rose was written by Amanda McBroom, an American songwriter who also had a career as a singer and cabaret performer. The song itself was the theme song from a movie also titled The Rose, which starred Bette Midler herself. It was loosely based on the life of 60s rock star Janis Joplin and was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Actress for Midler’s interpretation of the main character. The song became of one of her biggest hits and reached number 3 on the US Billboard Charts in 1979.
Meaning Of The Lyrics
While I do appreciate Bette Midler’s amazing vocal performance, it is the lyrics that really make the song what it really is. They are absolutely beautiful and I challenge you to find better, more empowering lyrics. I could potentially go through every single part of the lyrics and explain them all in great detail, but that would take up many posts. Instead, I would like to focus on dissecting the meaning of a couple of lines from The Rose.
“It’s the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance”
How many times have you chosen not to do something because you were afraid of failure? We, as humans, are sometimes (if not often) fearful of having our hearts broken, either through relationships or business, that we do not allow our hearts to spread love to a greater amount of people. In addition, we do not open our hearts to receive love, care and affection from others around us and hence it never learns to dance.
“And the soul afraid of dying, that never learns to live”
Easily one of the saddest lyrics ever written, this reminds me of a famous quote from James Brynes. It goes: “Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.” We tend to fear a lot of things that have not even happened to us, and this fear constrains our soul and its true potential, and hence, it never learns to truly live.
“Just remember that in the winter, far beneath the bitter snow, lies the seed that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes The Rose.”
Easily the most beautiful lyric in the song, there are few lyrics that are as touching and meaningful as this. You may not realize it, but this final line in the song is a metaphor for the human experience, that despite our failures, downs and problems, there always is and always will be a human love and warmth underneath. It may take a while to come up to the surface, but it is there, and it will get reborn and flourish once again.
Bette Midler Live Rendition
Now it’s time to showcase Bette Midler, and her live rendition of The Rose. Sit back and enjoy one of music’s greatest voices interpreting one of music’s greatest songs.
I really hope you enjoyed the live rendition and understood my analysis of some of the lyrics of this magnificent classic song. We tend to overlook a song’s lyrics and just focus on the beat and rhythm these days. Do yourself a favor and find a song with meaningful and empowering lyrics. The Rose by Bette Midler will never cease to empower people for many years to come.
