Songs that make me cry, #3: “The Rose”

[Previous entries: Choose Something Like a Star; Bring Him Home.]

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

Songwriter Amanda McBroom wrote these lyrics very quickly. A snarky listener might say that you can tell. The climactic metaphor is just that a seed becomes a rose! That’s it!

If I’m being honest, though, this seemingly bland metaphor hits me hard when it arrives at the end of this song. I often tear up when I hear that third verse.

Why, in this context, is it so compelling?

I’m reminded of Stephen Sondheim’s comment that lyrics in musicals should be “underwritten,” leaving room for other elements (melody, accompaniment, costumes, gestures) to contribute to the experience.

A corollary is that, whether part of a musical or not, a song may benefit from a lyrical restraint that leaves room for listeners to imagine themselves in the song. In this respect, “The Rose” is quite spacious. We’ve all planted slow-growing seeds of one kind or another.

This past weekend, there was a 25th reunion concert of Unleashed, a University of Washington a cappella group that held its first concert in 2000, when I participated as a UW grad student.

Is it a bit on-the-nose to note that one of the first songs in our fledgling group’s repertoire was “The Rose”? In any case, it’s true.

Also true: the group’s founders — Andrea, Jessica, and Ivy — performed this song again at the concert last weekend. Their still-smooth delivery made the simple metaphor shine once more. And in listening, and contemplating a quarter-century of sowing and reaping, I was not ashamed to cry.

Above: Andrea, Jessica, and Ivy finishing “The Rose” on May 31, 2025. From video footage by Patrick Kolasinski.