# The song " The Rose " **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537 "2005-05-12T10:12:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/1 "2005-05-12T10:12:35Z")
Okay, is it me? Is it cause it’s springtime and I rue the day ( Hi, **Rue**!!! ) that love touched my soul, etc.etc. ? Is it something about this song, or what? Do you find **The Rose** to be a huge steaming plateful of brain mung and emotional twaddle, or does it resonate with a painful poignancy that makes your eyes water? What **is** it about this song? ( I’m in the second group, by the way. I sure do love this song. ) I heard it performed…er…butchered wretchedly…by three women last Saturday night at a concert. They wrought awful damage unto it, and yet it shone through the aural slatherings of feces. I tell you, a lesser song would have smelled poorly by the end. Not **The Rose**!! It _still_ touched me. ( Yes, I am referring to the title song from the 1970’s film with Bette Midler ) Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/2 "2005-05-12T12:08:51Z")
Well. I like it. In fact, I once wrote the lyrics out in fancy calligraphy, drew a long-stemmed rose alongside it, and gave it to a female friend. Hearing it always makes me a little misty-eyed; depending on my emotional state at the time, it’s either because it reminds me of love I’ve lost, or that love is out there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/3 "2005-05-12T12:12:35Z")
I used to be pretty blah about it, but now just thinking about it makes me chuckle as it reminds me of one of the funnier scenes from Napoleon Dynamite. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/4 "2005-05-12T12:15:42Z")
When I hear it, it hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/5 "2005-05-12T12:17:56Z")
Like anything that comes out of Bette Midler’s mouth, it makes me want to jab forks into my ears. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/6 "2005-05-12T12:18:45Z")
Group Two for me. I butchered it myself in competition in High School. (Well, no, I scored rather well actually, but I was never quite pleased with it.) Never having seen the movie in question, I have always been free to make my own interpretation of the lyrics. It’s always struck me as particularly apt as a description of mother/child love, as well as romantic love, prodigal son love, estranged sibling love, love of one’s self… I like that the song sort of captures LOVE love, and not just one particular type of love. That’s pretty rare, and one of those things it seems music and poetry are designed to do - capture an emotion so big that regular prose won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/7 "2005-05-12T12:19:52Z")
Having sung it with a high school choir, I have a soft spot for it. When I think about the lyrics, though, it’s kind of sweet, but without much substance. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/8 "2005-05-12T12:32:16Z")
I have always enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/9 "2005-05-12T12:37:45Z")
One of the most excruciating moments I ever endured was when a priest delivered a sermon based on the lyrics to **The Rose**. He quoted the entire song, and just reciting it made him break down in tears. Don’t the Germans have a word that means “the embarassment you feel when watching another person publicly make an ass of himself?” Every time I hear that song now, I am transported back to that moment in 1980 and feel that man’s humiliation all over again. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/10 "2005-05-12T13:05:08Z")
My mom loves the song, but I always thought it was a little, you know - _meh_. Kind of like all those Barbara Streisand songs. Is there really a word that means “the embarassment you feel when watching another person publicly make an ass of himself,” German or otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/11 "2005-05-12T13:06:33Z")
What is “brain mung”? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/12 "2005-05-12T13:10:49Z")
> [@BabaBooey](#): > > I used to be pretty blah about it, but now just thinking about it makes me chuckle as it reminds me of one of the funnier scenes from Napoleon Dynamite. And I believe that the _Happy Hands Club_ is by far the most appropriate forum for this song. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/13 "2005-05-12T13:31:35Z")
I usually get weepy and sentimental listening to the song. My reaction is beyond the lyrics. It’s connected to a very vivid childhood memory: my mom driving my brother and I home from my grandparents in the summer, she’s singing along to “The Rose”, the Aspen’s vinyl seats are hot and sticky, and the windows are down. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/14 "2005-05-12T13:41:56Z")
It IS one of _those_ songs - cloying, yet persistant. Threatening me with guilty pleasure feelings that I am able to shake off when I snap out of it. For some reason, “Mandy” by Barry Manilow has a similar effect. And since he was Bette’s musical director for years, I suppose that should come as no surprise. Saw a mother and her two teenage daughters do a great job with the song in three-part harmony at a school talent show. Cheese-fest though it was, the song worked. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/15 "2005-05-12T22:35:40Z")
It was “our song” for me and my First Love. (Well, one of two or thre "our songs"s). So it always makes me tear up. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/16 "2005-05-12T22:47:35Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Like anything that comes out of Bette Midler’s mouth, it makes me want to jab forks into my ears. Thank you, my sentiments exactly. And I realize that I now have to turn in my Gay Card. Actually, I do like the song when it’s sung by anyone else. But it’s certainly not as profound as some people apparently think. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/17 "2005-05-12T23:02:44Z")
I love it, and I heard a particularly vile version sung by my daughter’s middle school chorus. The teacher had them singing at twice the usual speed - a lovely ballad became something indescribable. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/18 "2005-05-12T23:04:19Z")
Give Bette Midler another chance: _I Never Talk to Strangers_, her barroom duet with Tom Waits. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/19 "2005-05-12T23:49:01Z")
> [@Stark Raven Mad](#): > > Is there really a word that means “the embarassment you feel when watching another person publicly make an ass of himself,” German or otherwise? My mom and I call it “the utties”, meaning you are utterly mortified for the person. I get the utties a lot during the first few weeks of _American Idol_. And now some of you are probably feeling the utties for me because I admitted that I watch _American Idol_. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537/20 "2005-05-12T23:59:42Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > One of the most excruciating moments I ever endured was when a priest delivered a sermon based on the lyrics to **The Rose**. He quoted the entire song, and just reciting it made him break down in tears. Don’t the Germans have a word that means\*\* “the embarassment you feel when watching another person publicly make an ass of himself?”\*\* > Every time I hear that song now, I am transported back to that moment in 1980 and feel that man’s humiliation all over again. I believe the word is “schadenfreude”? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-song-the-rose/303537.md?page=2)