One of my Mum's favourite songs was Bette Midler's version of The Rose. I often overheard her quietly singing it to herself, in her French-Canadian accent. Back in the days before Google, she would listen to the radio, and quickly write down as many of the lyrics as she could. Then, she would wait for hours, or even days to hear the song played again. I was working at a country/jazz radio station (a story for another day), and she called in to request the song just before my newscast. I still have her handwritten lyrics to The Rose, tucked away between the pages of a cookbook.
Surprisingly, Bette Midler didn't write the song. It was written by cabaret singer and songwriter, Amanda McBroom. Her inspiration for the song came while driving home. She too, was listening to a song on the radio. It was Magdalena, sung by Leo Sayer. She says, her favourite line was "Your love is like a razor. My heart is just a scar". As she drove home in her car, she thought, "I don't agree with the sentiment." She thought about just what love is. "Suddenly, it was as if someone had opened a window in the top of my head. Words came pouring in, I had to keep reciting them to myself as I drove faster and faster towards home". As soon as she raced through the door, she sat down at the piano, and ten minutes later, she played The Rose for her husband.
More than a year later, a friend encouraged her to submit the song to the producers of the movie, The Rose, starring Bette Midler as the late Janis Joplin. The producers rejected it - twice. It was only after Joplin's former producer, mailed the song to Midler, that the song got into the film, and as McBroom says, "changed my life forever".
Time has not diminished the beauty of the lyrics (see below)...
The Rose
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 that fears the 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 snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose
Such beautiful and powerful lyrics! McBroom says she is, "eternally grateful to... the Universe for speaking to me in the first place and for showing me what I truly believe".
Even though I can easily Google the words to The Rose, I've kept Mum's handwritten notes. They were among the last words she wrote in her beautiful penmanship. Thirty years ago, a massive stroke left her paralyzed. Over the years, she has lost her ability to speak, and sing. What she has never lost, and I see it in her expressive eyes everyday, is her infinite capacity for love.
Photos: Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated
Lyrics used with permission of Alfred Music Publishing Company Inc.
Surprisingly, Bette Midler didn't write the song. It was written by cabaret singer and songwriter, Amanda McBroom. Her inspiration for the song came while driving home. She too, was listening to a song on the radio. It was Magdalena, sung by Leo Sayer. She says, her favourite line was "Your love is like a razor. My heart is just a scar". As she drove home in her car, she thought, "I don't agree with the sentiment." She thought about just what love is. "Suddenly, it was as if someone had opened a window in the top of my head. Words came pouring in, I had to keep reciting them to myself as I drove faster and faster towards home". As soon as she raced through the door, she sat down at the piano, and ten minutes later, she played The Rose for her husband.
More than a year later, a friend encouraged her to submit the song to the producers of the movie, The Rose, starring Bette Midler as the late Janis Joplin. The producers rejected it - twice. It was only after Joplin's former producer, mailed the song to Midler, that the song got into the film, and as McBroom says, "changed my life forever".
Time has not diminished the beauty of the lyrics (see below)...
The Rose
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 that fears the 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 snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose
Such beautiful and powerful lyrics! McBroom says she is, "eternally grateful to... the Universe for speaking to me in the first place and for showing me what I truly believe".
Even though I can easily Google the words to The Rose, I've kept Mum's handwritten notes. They were among the last words she wrote in her beautiful penmanship. Thirty years ago, a massive stroke left her paralyzed. Over the years, she has lost her ability to speak, and sing. What she has never lost, and I see it in her expressive eyes everyday, is her infinite capacity for love.
Lyrics used with permission of Alfred Music Publishing Company Inc.
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