The Rose by Bette Midler

Album: The Rose (1979)

Charted: 3

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Songfacts®:

"The Rose" was written by the Los Angeles singer/songwriter Amanda McBroom and recorded by Bette Midler for the 1979 movie of the same name, which she starred in. McBroom didn't know anything about the movie when she wrote the song, but it just so happened to share a title with the film and be right in the wheelhouse of Bette Midler, who fought to get it in the film.

McBroom explained: "A song came on the radio. It was 'Magdalena' by Danny O'Keefe, sung by Leo Sayer. I liked it immediately. My favorite line was, 'You're love is like a razor. My heart is just a scar.' I thought, 'Ooh, I love that lyric, but don't agree with the sentiment that love is a razor.'

As I continued to drive down the road the thought came, 'What, then, do I think 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, so I wouldn't forget them. I screeched into my driveway, ran into the house, past various bewildered dogs and cats and husbands, and sat down at the piano. Ten minutes later, 'The Rose' was there.

A year or so later, a professional songwriter friend of mine said, 'Listen, there is this movie coming out called The Rose, based on the life of Janis Joplin. They are looking for a title tune. Do you want me to submit this to them? I had never really tried to submit a song to anyone. I didn't consider myself a songwriter at the time. So I said, 'Sure.'

The producers hated it. They thought it was dull and not rock and roll and totally wrong. They put it in the reject box. But Paul Rothchild, who had been Janis Joplin's producer, and now the music supervisor on the film, hauled it out and asked them to reconsider. They again said no. So he mailed it to Bette Midler, the star of the movie. She liked it, lobbied in favor of it; and that's how it got into the film and changed my life forever."
This song branches out far beyond the typical love song, with themes of renewal and strength. The theme - a seed blooming into a rose as a metaphor for love - packs an emotional wallop that has made the song a favorite at both weddings and funerals, a rare feat.
Roses show up a lot in titles of hit songs, often with very different meanings. Other Top 10 hits include "Bed Of Roses" by Bon Jovi, "Roses Are Red (My Love)" by Bobby Vinton," "Eighteen Yellow Roses" by Bobby Darin, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison and "Kiss From A Rose" by Seal.
To tie in with this song, Bette Midler appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone (issue dated December 13, 1979) lying on a literal bed of roses. The photo was taken by Annie Leibovitz; an assistant had to cut off all the thorns.
The song appears in the television show Family Guy in the episode "Baby Not on Board." The song is sung by the Griffin Family, as Peter, the father, tries to suggest a good driving song. Other TV series to use the song include Glee, True Detective and Fresh Off The Boat.
Fans of the 2004 cult classic film Napoleon Dynamite remember this song for a classic scene were, as part of the Happy Hands Club, Napoleon does a kinetic interpretation of this song at school. The version used in the film is by a Los Angeles singer named Darci Monet - using the Bette Midler version would have been far too expensive for the film, which was shot on a low budget.
"The Rose" was Bette Midler's first big hit, going to #3 in the US and also topping the Adult Contemporary chart. To this point, she was mostly known for reworking familiar songs into something suitable for musical theater, which was her background. Her concert favorites include renditions of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "All That Jazz" and "Chapel Of Love."

She didn't go out and record another big, emotional ballad right away, but when she starred in the 1988 movie Beaches, she sang "The Wind Beneath My Wings," which was a #1 and another song frequently played at funerals. In 1990 she released "From A Distance," another song that can bring the tears.
Bette Midler won a Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for "The Rose." It was Midler's second Grammy - seven years earlier she won for Best New Artist.
Hundreds of artists have covered this song. Some of the most popular renditions are by Bonnie Tyler, Conway Twitty, LeAnn Rimes and Judy Collins.

Comments: 12

Prayer from TnGod also gave me this song the day I found out I was pregnant i was young and unwed i got into the car after i found out and i whispered a prayer before i turned on the raido pls lord let the song that plays when I turn on the radio be from you to me I turned it on and the Rose came on. I gave birth to a son years later my son became a father he didn't know about my prayer or the song i still have not told him he now has 4 daughters the first one he named Rose and the other three were also named after flowers. I love the song the Rose it has a special place in my heart.
Dionne C from UsaGod gave me this song when I was struggling with walking away from my fiancé, because I was scared to be hurt again. Beautiful song. God talks through everything.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn November 7th 1979, the 20th Century Fox movie 'The Rose' opened in theaters across the U.S.A.
Bette Midler received an Academy Award 'Best Actress'* nomination, winner was Sally Field for 'Norma Rae'...
Four month later on March 16th, 1980 the song "The Rose" by Bette Midler entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #86; and 14 weeks later on June 22nd, 1980 it peaked at #3 {for 3 weeks} and spent almost a half-year on the Top 100 {25 weeks}...
On May 4th, 1980 it reached #1 {for 5 weeks} on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, also peaked #1 on the Canadian Adult chart...
Another song from the movie, "When A Man Loves A Woman", also made the Top 100; it peaked at #35 on the chart...
'The Divine Miss M' will celebrate her 69th birthday in twenty-four days on December 1st {2014}...
* She did win the Golden Globe Award for 'Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy'.
Megan from Toronto, OnMy brother, who is hearing impaired, performed this song in sign language at his grade 8 graduation in the early 90s- my mother wept buckets.

When I saw the scene in Napoleon Dynamite I nearly split a gut over the irony.
Marty from Milwaukee, WiThis song was translated into Japanese and used as the ending theme for the Studio Ghibli film Only Yesterday.
Thomnesia from Cape Town, South AfricaThis song i will definately play at my wedding. It's beautiful!!!
Louise from Newcastle, United KingdomI just heard this a few weeks back on the sing -off for I'd Do Anything and fell in love with it. Beautiful.
Musicmama from New York, NyTo Bonnie from DC: I'm happy to read your story.I also felt unlovely and unloved as a teenager (and well into my adult years), and this song helped me, too. But I'm not so sure I felt comfort so much as emotional nourishment from this song. Yes, it's sweet, but strength underlies it, both in the lyrics and the way Bette Midler sings it.
Mjn Seifer from Not Listed For Personal Reason, EnglandWestLife have gotten to this song now...
Harvey from Novato, CaIn 1980 I was recovering from a near fatal illness (Guillian Barre Syndorme), divorced, and on disiability not able to return to my job and participating in an adaptive physical education class at our local college to recover my strength. My life was in a shambles and I was very depressed. One day the college counselor had me listen to a song, The Rose, sung by Bett Midler. The song struck me to tears, because it discribed my situation at the time. A year later I met the women who I would later marry. She also ralated to the song, because she was going through a divorce at the time. We were married in our garden before 100 guests in 1984 and used that song, The Rose, as our processional for the ceremony. That song is still our special song, after 21 happy years of marriage. We met Amanda McBroom at one of her performances and told her how much that song meant to us.

Barbara and Harvey Sperry, Novato CA.
Tim Peeters from Antwerp, BelgiumThe Belgian singer Ann Christy who died of cancer in 1984 sang a Dutch version of this song. While in her lifetime she never sold a copy of the single (approx. 100 or so) since some years now it's rated the best Dutch song in Belgium ever! At the time the single came out Bette Midler had a concert in the Antwerp Sportpaleis where she said "Good evening Antwerp, Ann Christy couldn't come, so I came". More information about Ann Christy here: www.annchristy.info.
Bonnie from Washington, DcLong, long ago and far away, when I was a teenager, I took a lot of comfort in this song whenever I felt unlovely and unloved, as most teenage girls do from time to time. I have a lot more self-esteem these days, but I still think this is a very sweet song.

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