“Roses” by Kanye West
“I know it’s past visiting hours, but can I please give her these flowers?”
That line sets the whole tone for the song, letting you know the gravity that awaits. For my first actual post for this blog about a piece of media, I wanted to pick something that’s had a strong impact on me. I honestly can’t think of anything other than this song, “Roses” by Kanye West.
Roses is the ninth track on Kanye West’s sophomore album, Late Registration, which was released on August 30th, 2005. It was released a year after his debut, College Dropout, which amazes me due to the difference in the albums because Late Registration sounds so much more grandiose than College Dropout. This can be seen in songs like “Diamonds from Sierra Lione” (the Jay-Z version, of course), “Touch the Sky,” “Crack Music,” and “Gold Digger.” It debuted at number one on Billboard, selling 860,000 copies in its first week, and eventually went on to sell over 3,000,000 copies.
The song includes a sample from Bill Withers’ song “Rosie” and gives the story of his grandmother being in the hospital and briefly details the experience. His lyrics in the two verses of the song touch on points of being a celebrity while still dealing with human events, how someone’s wealth can affect the quality of their healthcare, and how a family comes together in the most trying of times. I’ve tried looking into whether the story associated with the song is true, but so far, I haven’t found anything to support it. Nonetheless, the song strikes a chord with me.
A little background about me is that I have a huge family. I mean, HUGE. And that is on both of my parents’ sides, although I am closer to my mom’s. I easily have over 20 first cousins. My family is by far the biggest part of my life, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. I’m so grateful for them because I’ve seen firsthand that a family as close as mine is the exception, not the rule. I’ve also been in instances where you have a family member in the hospital, and all you can think of is their well-being, and I think this is why I can relate to this so much. Music, in my opinion, should make you feel something, and this song does that for me.
When I envisioned doing My Favorite Parts, for music at least, I pictured doing a post about a specific part of a song, like a sound or the way somebody sang something in particular. In this case, though, my favorite part is simply a specific lyric: the last lyric Kanye raps in the song. After mostly two verses of wondering if she’ll pull through this ordeal, they finally get the news that she will. After mentioning the gleam in the eyes of the members in attendance and the elation everyone is feeling from the news, he raps, “…to get there, we run, we fly, we drive,” showing the lengths the family will go to be there for their loved one. And after this follows a lyric that has stuck with me for a good portion of my life. “‘Cause in my family, we know where home is, so instead of sending flowers…” the beat stops at this point, and the only thing you hear now is his voice saying, “…we the roses.”
I don’t know what it was, but this lyric in particular has stuck with me ever since and is by far one of my favorite lyrics. I think that with music and other media, we look for things in them that we can relate to, bringing us closer to the song, movie, book, etc. This song became close to me because it’s something I could go through and, years later, have gone through. The thought of just sending flowers and a card is so easy, especially today, as so much communication is done digitally now. And this song challenges this and wants you to be present. We forget what can be done by presence, something flowers can’t replace, and the emotions attached to them. When I pass, I would gladly give up the most beautiful flowers in the world surrounding me to be wrapped in the arms of the old ass family and friends I love.
The thought of all this is something that I have come back to since and a value I want to carry with me for life. It’s to the point where I’ve named the business I opened with regard to this blog and everything related, We The Roses, LLC. I’ll know I’ve made it if he comes for me for copyright infringement. Hell, I even recently got a tattoo that I came up with years ago based on it. What makes it even more meaningful is that my cousin, Angelica, did it for me. She was a rose for me in this case, and I’m blessed to be able to say that I have a family that will drop everything when I’m in need and be my roses, just like I would be a rose for them. And together, we make one hell of a bouquet. Hopefully, as I go through this journey together with you all, I can spread positivity and be a rose to those whose gardens are bare. Thank you all for being here!