"The Rose" is a pop song written by Amanda McBroom made famous by Bette Midler in the 1979 movie The Rose. Since then it has been covered by a variety of artists.
The song is a commentary on people who are so afraid of failing (in love, among other things) that they do not even try, as illustrated by the lyric "It's the soul, afraid of dying, that never learns to live..."
Bette Midler version
"The Rose" is featured in the 1979 film of the same name, in which it was performed by Midler. The single hit #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the adult contemporary chart, and it was certified as a gold single by the RIAA.
Midler's version of "The Rose" was played in a 1987 episode of the American soap opera, Days of our Lives involving heroine Kayla Brady.
Covers
- Mudhoney recorded a grunge version of "The Rose" in 1988. The recording can be found on the compilation album Sub Pop 200.
- Belgian singer Ann Christy, who has sung for her country in the Eurovision Song Contest ("Gelukkig Zijn"), also recorded a Dutch language version called "De Roos" which frequently appears in the Top 10 all-time favourite singles in Belgian polls.
- Mexican singer (and winner of the first season of La Academia), Myriam Montemayor Cruz, sang the song at the finale of the show where she was named the winner in 2002. A remix of the song was also included in her second album (first CD with original songs) named Una Mujer.
- Mexican singer (and second place winner of the fourth season of La Academia), Yuridia Gaxiola, recorded this song on her sophomore album, Habla el Corazon, which included covers from the 80's and 90's translated into Spanish. "The Rose" is the only song performed in English.
- Welsh singer Aled Jones covered the song on his 2007 album Reason to Believe.
Westlife Version
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"The Rose" was covered by Irish boyband Westlife and was released as the first and only single from their 2006 concept album, The Love Album. It reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart for one week in November of 2006.
Studio Ghibli Translation
A Japanese translation of the song titled "Love is a Flower, You are the Seed" (愛は花、君はその種子, Ai wa Hana, Kimi wa Sono Tane?) was the ending theme of Studio Ghibli's 1991 anime feature Omohide Poro Poro, also known as Only Yesterday, performed by Harumi Miyako.
Cultural references
The song was also showcased in the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite. Napoleon and his classmates performed a routine in sign language with the song as accompaniment. This routine is where the famous "butterfly flapping" movement came from.
See also
External links
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