The Rose
Amanda McBroom
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 it's 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
The first time I heard the title of this song, I was interested to find out what it was about. A song titled “The Rose” can really have any theme. A rose is the symbol for many different things, but the theme I expected it to have was love. The song describes what some thing love is and how some can see love differently or get down on themselves when they are afraid of not being loved. “Some say love it is a razor that leaves your soul to bleed,”. This metaphor shows how some think love only hurts and that it just leads to heartbreak, but the line, “I say love it is a flower,” shows how the artist believes otherwise and that love is something good and special. The metaphor “you its only seed,” shows that the artist is singing this song to that person who they believe is her only link to love and her soul mate.The lyrics in the song rhyme throughout almost the whole song, but it took me a few times to listen and read the song before I noticed the frequency and perfection of the rhymes. All the odd lines rhyme and so do all the evens. Something I found interesting about the end of the song was that it doesn’t follow the same rhyming pattern that the rest of the song does. In fact, it doesn’t rhyme at all. I think McBroom did this so the ending would stand out. After all, it is the main point of the song. It talks about how one should never give up on love because just like the rose love will come again.
The title is appropriate to the song considering the fact that the entire song is a metaphor comparing love to a rose. I love how the artist did this because it forces the listener to listen to the song over and over again to really understand what the lyrics are saying. I know it took me a few tries to understand fully the metaphor, and now that I understand the meaning, it’s one of my favorite songs. I also love this song because it talks about problems that people have with love and it’s not a happy-go-lucky “everything is perfect” song. In the beginning, it shows peoples’ struggles with love, but the end gives you a sense of relief. “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.” This part of the song means that no matter how down you are or how convinced you will never find love, love will always find its way to you.I put this song in the “Mom” category of my book because I thought that these loving and encouraging words can only come out of a mother’s mouth. This song has a sweet, soft but strong and determined tone to it as it shows a woman’s determination and hope for love.
