The Rose – Song Lyrics by Bette Midler
Lyrics Are Below the Video – Sing Along if You Like
The Rose Lyrics
Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you its only seed
It’s the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It’s the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It’s the one who won’t be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying
That never learns to live
When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love
In the spring becomes the rose
Facts About the Song The Rose Sung by Bette Midler
“The Rose” is a pop song written by Amanda McBroom. Bette Midler made the song famous when she recorded it for her 1979 film The Rose, in which it plays during the closing credits.
Background and Bette Midler
“The Rose” was first recorded by Bette Midler for the soundtrack of the 1979 film The Rose, in which it plays under the closing credits. However, the song was not written for the movie: Amanda McBroom recalls, “I wrote it in 1977 or 1978, and I sang it occasionally in clubs. … Jim Nabors had a local talk show, and I sang “The Rose” on his show once.”
According to McBroom, she wrote “The Rose” in response to her manager’s suggestion that she write “some Bob Seger-type tunes” to expedite a record deal: McBroom obliged by writing “The Rose” in 45 minutes. Said McBroom: “‘The Rose’ is … just one verse repeated three times. When I finished it, I realized it doesn’t have a bridge or a hook, but I couldn’t think of anything to add.”
Released as the second single from The Rose soundtrack album, “The Rose” hit number 1 on the Cashbox Top 100 and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Additionally, it was number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for five weeks running. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA for over a million copies sold in the United States.
Bette Midler won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “The Rose”, beating out formidable competition from Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer among others.
“The Rose” did not receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Despite not having been recorded prior to the soundtrack of the film The Rose, the song had not been written for the film. According to McBroom, AMPAS inquired of her if the song had been written for the movie, and McBroom answered honestly that it had not.
McBroom did however win the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for “The Rose”, as that award’s governing body, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), does not share AMPAS’ official meticulousness over a nominated song’s being completely original with its parent film.[6]
In 2004 “The Rose” finished #83 in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.
