Folk Songs About Roses

[list compiled by John Sincock]
The Rose", recorded by Amanda McBroom, Bette Midler  and others.

"The Bonny Bunch of Roses", a traditional Irish song (really about
Napoleon), recorded by lots of people including Seamus Ennis and Fairport
Convention (not together).

"Blood Red Roses", a sea chantey recorded by, among others, Richard & Mimi
Farina (on the "Memories" LP and on various compilations).

"Blood Red Roses...Oh, ye pinks and posies! Go down, ye blood red
ro-oses..." And the blood from a floggin' flows slowly down. Try Robbie
O'Connell, I think on "Four Green Fields" with Mick Moloney and the other
Jimmy Keane. Forget Richard & Mimi. IMFO - John

Dave Alvin's Plastic Rose on Blue Blvd, Hightone
Records, 1991.

The Bramble and The Rose
'Til A Tear Becomes A Rose (John Prine et al, on Compass's "Hands Across the Water")
Goodbye to The Roses (Jenny Armstrong)
Roses on the Fourth of July (Nanci Griffith)

June Tabor has a whole CD devoted to roses, real and otherwise: Rosa Mundi

Joni Mitchell has a song called "For the Roses

Bread and Roses" sung by Bobby McGhee on the Smithsonian Folkways Clasisc American
Labor Songs

Nancy Hewitt- Roses Every Friday from 3 Wishes 4 Eve
Christine Kane-She Don't Like Roses from Rain and Mud and Wild and Green
Lui Collins and Dana Robinson-Rarest Rose from Paired Down or Leaving Fort Knox
Beth nielsen Chapman-Color of Roses from Greatest Hits
John Flynn-Orgami Roses from John Flynn

Red is the Rose recorded by Makem & Clancy
The Rose of Tralee & The Rose of Mooncoin I think were recorded by Paddy Reilly,
My Love is like a Red, Red Rose, is an old Scottish Ballad recorded by Andy M Stewart

Tommy Sands (There were Roses)

Annie Gallup's "Fight the Devil",
with the chorus "If you loved me, you would bring me roses...").

The Last Rose Karen Mal Dark-Eyed Sailor
Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming Diane Zeigler December In Vermont
Gypsy Rose Tracy Grammer Flower Of Avalon
The Bonny Bunch Of Roses (An Binnsin Luachra) Willie Clancy The Pipering Of
Willie Clancy - Volume 1
Roisin Dubh (The Small Black Rose) Cherish The Ladies Out And About
Rose's Rambles Ron Carlson Songs We Sang Together
Rarest Rose Lui Collins Waterbug.com Artists Sampler
October Roses Various Circles In The Stream - Volume 1
A Rose And A Baby Ruth George Hamilton IV Kerrville End Of The Century
The Rosebud Blooms But Once Acie Cargill, Debra Cowan & Susan Brown The
Songs And Ballads Of Hattie Mae Tyler Cargill
The Bramble And The Rose Cathy Barton & Dave Para Old Songs / Live From The Dutch
Barn/Old Songs Festival
Moonlight And Roses Cheryl Wheeler Circles & Arrows
The Bramble And The Rose Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin Our Town
Bed Of Roses Beth & April Stevens Sisters
Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming William Pint & Felicia Dale When I See Winter Return
I'll Be Your San Antonio Rose Jack Radcliffe Hottest Hands in Town
Rose In The Mountain Mike Seeger & James Leva, Carol Elizabeth Jones & David
Winston Third Annual Farewell Reunion
Jimmy Rose He Went To Town Mike & Peggy Seeger American Folk Songs For Children (Disc
1)
Blood red Roses Danny Spooner We'll eithr bend or break 'er
Blue Roses No Strings Attached Blue Roses
Yellow Rose Of Texas Skip Gorman Greener Prairie
One Rose Julee Glaub Blue Waltz
The Faded Roses Of December Finest Kind Lost In A Song
To An Old Rose Frank Ferrel Yankee Dreams
The Rose You Wore For Me Debra Cowan The Long Grey Line
The Rose You Wore For Me Debra Cowan Banks of Green Willow
Go Down You Blood Red Roses Paul Clayton Sailing And Whaling Songs Of The 19th Century
Hey Ho, Nobody Home/Ah, Poor Bird/Rose Rose Atwater Donnelly Where The Wild Birds Do
Whistle
My Luv's Like A Red Red Rose Sheena Wellington Strong Women
Maybe Then I'll Be A Rose Savourna Stevenson, June Tabor, Danny Thompson
Singing The Storm
My Love Is Like a Red Rose Mrs. McGrath World Library of Folk & Primitive
Music - Scotland Vol 3
The Sailor On The Rope/The Bonnie Bunch Of Roses/Hornpipes John Rae Voice Of
The People 02: My ship shall sail the ocean
The Bonny Bunch O' Roses Cyril Poacher Voice Of The People 08: A Story I'm
Just About To Tell
The Banks Of Red Roses Lizzie Higgins Voice Of The People 10: Who's that at
My Bed Window?
Rosebud Bullets Myshkin's Ruby Warblers Rosebud ? Bullets
The Knight Of The Rose Eileen McGann Turn It Around
Wild Rose Of The Mountain/Wild Rose Of The Mountain John McCutcheon Water
From Another Time
October Roses Cindy Mangsen Songs Of Experience
The Black Rose James McCandless & Julianna Macarus Out West Somewhere
Roses from the Wrong Man Christine Lavin Beau Woes & Other Problems of
Modern Life
Faded Old Rose Jack Hardy Bandolier
The War Of The Roses Jack Hardy The Cauldron
Lo, How A Rose Herdman Hills And Mangsen Voices Of Winter
Single Roses Andrew Calhoun Shadow Of A Wing
The Banks Of Red Roses Ian Robb And Hang The Piper Ian Robb And Hang The
Piper
On The Bonny Banks O' the Roses Duncan McPhee Songs Of The Travelling People
Rose In June Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman Bonnet & Shawl
Rosebuds In June Watersons Green Fields
Rose Of Allandale Martin Simpson Cool & Unusual
Plains Of Waterloo / The Bonny Bunch Of Roses Martin Simpson When I Was On
Horseback
Rose Maddy Prior Memento
A Rose In April Kate Rusby Hourglass
A Rosebud In June Magpie Lane Jack-in-the-Green
Blood Red Roses Johnny Collins, Dave Webber & Pete Watkinson Shanties And
Songs Of The Sea
The Bonny Bunch Of Roses O Harry Cox The Bonny Labouring Boy (2 CD) (Disc 2)
Farewell Rose Of England Dansaul Foot And Mouth
The Bonny Bunch Of Roses Louis Killen A Bonny Bunch
The Rose of Newfoundland Al Grierson A Candle For Durruti
Budded Roses Woody Guthrie Long Ways To Travel: The Unreleased Folkways
Master 1944-1949
Bed of Roses Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen Live in Concert
Little Rose Maria Gillard Little Rose
Wild Rose Aengus Finnan Fool's Gold
Rose Tatoo Kat Eggleston First Warm Wind
Red Roses For Me Tom Maguire Songs Of Home
The Briar And The Rose Niamh Parsons & the Loose Connectiuons Loosen Up
The Rose of Avonmore Sean Tyrrell Let Loose in Letterfrack
Red Is The Rose Don Stiffe From West To East
The Bonny Bunch Of Roses Seamus Ennis The Bonny Bunch Of Roses
Garden Rose Kris Delmhorst Oddlot
Garden Rose Kris Delmhorst Five Stories
Roses On Your Bed Catherine Cunningham Circles of Crazy
The Rose You Wore For Me Debra Cowan Demo
Rarest Rose Dana Robinson & Lui Collins Paired Down
The Rose Of Allendale Harvey Reid And Joyce Anderson The Great Sad River
The Rose In The Garden Josephine Marsh Band I Can Hear You Smiling
The Road & The Rose Hugh Blumenfeld Barehanded
Ralph To Rose Lou & Peter Berryman The Pink One
Goodbye To The Roses Jennifer Armstrong Dancing In The Circle

Linda Allen: "October Roses" OCTOBER ROSES [Redwood]
IVIE ANDERSON with DUKE ELLINGTON \Rose of the Rio Grande \The Jazz Singers
'30's \ Columbia
Frankie Armstrong/I DON'T WANT Your Red Red Roses / I Heard A Woman Singing
/ Flying Fish 332 BYRON BERLINE & VINCE GILL \ Rose of Old Kentucky \
Legacy\Sugar Hill
CHUCK BERRY \ Ramblin' Rose \ 20 Greatest Hits \ Black Tulip
JOHNNY BOND \ Rose of Reynosa \ Johnny Gimble's Texas Honky Tonk Hits \ CMH
JJ Cale / Rose In The Garden / Close To You
A.P. Carter / I Found You Among The Roses / Carter Family Original
Recordings / Columbia 7300 V CARTER FAMILY-When The Roses Bloom Again
Gold
Watch & Chain (Rounder/Mercury)
CARTER FAMILY-Sweet As The Flowers In Maytime + Will The Roses Bloom In=20
Heaven
Give Me The Roses While I Live (Rounder/Mercury)
Carters' "When the Roses Bloom in Dixie Land
Beth Nielsen Chapman // The Color of Roses // Greatest Hits
BOB CHEEVERS \ My Young Dixie Rose \ Gettysburg to Graceland\Back Nine
John Cowan "Last Summer Rose"
Ken Curtis / Room Full Of Roses / Lucky U Ranch Broadcasts / Longhorn
records 701 V (1954)
DELMORE BROTHERS - When the Roses Bloom Again - Brown's Ferry Blues - County
RICHARD DOBSON/a rose is a rose/BLUE COLLAR BLUES/brambus
Pat Donohue and Mike Dowling: Wild Rose (Two of a Kind  Groovemast
ers Vol. 8), Solid Air 2028
JOLLY DUNN \ The Blue Rose of Texas \ Same \ Warner Bros
SALLY FINGERETT \ Mama Ghetto Rose \ Ghost Town Girl \ Amerisound
ERIK FRANDSEN \ The Rose of Rangoon \ Live at the Bottom Line 88 \ Fast Folk 502
James Galway /The last Rose of Summer
Nanci Griffith "Everything's Coming Up Roses" BLUE ROSES FROM THE MOONS (Elektra)
Mick Hanley / I Wish My Love Was A Red Red Rose / As I Went Over Blackwater/ Green
Linnet 3007 Herdman, Hills, and Mangsen // Goodbye to the Roses /At the Turning of the Year
HOMER & JETHRO \ Yellar Rose of Texas \ America's Song Butchers\ Razor & Tie
SI KAHN \ Wild Rose of the Mountains \ Doing My Job \ Flying Fish
Seamus Kennedy / My Love IS Like A Red red Rose / Favorite Selections / Granshaw #8
JAMES KING- Wear The Red Rose Bed By The Window (Rounder/Mercury)
PEE WEE KING \ San Antonio Rose\ Stars of the Grand Ole Opry 26-47\RCA
Terry Kitchen "A Perfect Rose"
Christine Lavin/Roses From The WRONG Man/Beau Woes/Philo 1107 V (1986)
JENNY LESTER -Don't Neglect The Rose Friends Like You (Triple Header/Festival)
Kathy Mattea / Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses / A Collection Of Hits /
Mercury 842-330
MONTAN SLIM \ My Oklahoma Rose \ Have a Nice Day \ RCA
LARRY PENN \ Tuscan Red Rose \ I'm a Little Cookie \ Collector
KIMMIE RHODES, Wild Roses, West Texas Heaven, Justice
TOM RUSSELL \ The Rose of San Joaquin \ Same \ Hightone
Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin / Bramble And The Rose / Our Town /Rounder 304

Dave Mallett from his amazing disc The Artist in Me.
The song is called Red Red Rose.

the yellow rose of texas

the wild rose of the mountain

Bread and roses done by Judy Collins

the girl in the "Star of the County Down" is Rose McGann
(from the banks of the Bann) this is done by many including the
Chieftans (maybe along with Van Morrison?)

ROSES IN THE SNOW (Ruth Franks)

Wild Red Roses on the radio... done by Larry Stevenson Band

The Red Clay Ramblers (or at least three of them) have a CD of Carter Family
songs with both
"Give Me the Roses" and "When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland" on it. I think
it's on Mike Craver's Sapsucker label now, from an original Flying Fish
record.

Rosebud In June - also recorded by Steeleye Span / Below the Salt

There Were Roses - also recorded by Moloney, Keane, O'Connell / There
Were Roses and Sean Keane / All Heart No Roses & Portrait, v.2

The Bramble and the Rose - also recorded by Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer
/ The Bramble and The Rose

La Vie en Rose - Susan Werner / Live at the Tin Angel

The Fiddle and the Rose - Tom May - "River and the Road"
The Bramble and the Rose - Several different versions of this song, but try
Reilly and Maloney's version from one of their early albums.
Roseville Fair - Bill Staines - "First Million Miles"
Rodeo Rose - Bill Staines - "First Million Miles Vol. 2"
Gypsy Rose - Tracy Grammer - "Flower of Avalon"
Red Red Rose - David Mallett - "Artist In Me"
Dreamstreet Rose - Gordon Lightfoot - Dreamstreet Rose

White Rose Fred Eaglesmith
I threw away the rose Merle haggard
Rose Tatoo david byrne
rose from the mountain the flatlanders
don't neglect the rose ginny hawker
ice rose alvin youngblood hart
yella rose butch hancock
roses in the snow emmy lou harris
bramble rose tift merritt
will you be my rose bill morrissey
500 roses otis taylor
trampled rose tom waits
rose of san joaquin tom russell

Rosebud in June - Steeleye Span does it, so does Maca

Zoe Speaks with "Just a rose will do" on Birds Fly South
Bed of Roses--Steve Gillette and Cindy Manges (one of my all-time favorites)
Red Roses--Martin Simpson and Jessica Ruby Simpson
There Were Roses--Tommy Sands (many other versions
Mick Bolger here with Colcannon. On our CD, 'Corvus' (which should be in your library) we
have a track called 'Last Letter Home'. The chorus goes "And I dreamed of a rose in a Spanish
garden ..." It's not about roses per se but a rose as a metaphor, as you might expect. Sam Bush
made a recording of the song

FLATT & SCRUGGS
SONGS OF GLORY

andrew calhoun has a song called "Single Roses" on his Shadow of a wing album

The Rose You Wore For Me" written by Danny Carnahan is on my solo CD
"The Long Grey Line

1. Red is the Rose (Schooner Fare or Tommy Makem)
2. Roses Around My Feet (Tish Hinojosa)
3. Roses on the Fourth of July (Nanci Griffith)
4. Rosa Mundi (June Tabor) This is an entire CD about roses, including Barbara Allen, which
would be a terrific one to include
5. Roses in the Snow (Emmylou Harris)
6. Roses (Jamie Anderson)
7. Rose of Sharon (Wishing Chair)
8. Roses (Catie Curtis)
9. Rose of Sharon (Michael Smith)
10. Rose Tattoo (Kat Eggleston)
11. Sweet Desert Rose (Bill and Bonnie Hearne)
12. Rose of Old Kentucky (Byron Berline)
13. Roses and Intentions (Lynn Miles)
14. Wildwood Flower (Carter Family)--includes the line, "I will twine with my mingles of raven
black har/'mong the roses so red and the lillies so fair")

Steve and Cindy's "Bed of Roses"
Roseann Cash's amazing '10 Song Demo' has "Bells and Roses"
Larry John McNally's "Making of Vibrolux" has "Like a Rose."

If you need a short instrumental, Karen Mal's "The Last Rose" is 1:17
with no vocal and might make a nice outro.

Lafe / Hey Rose / Am I Gone / Skyhunter Records

Additional song suggestions? Email Richard Gillmann