Bed of Roses Words & Music by Rex Benson & Steve Gillette

When Rex Benson and I first started writing songs together we agreed that we wanted to write songs that could be big hits, and make a lot of money. One of the most promising title ideas we had was the old saying, 'life ain't always a bed of roses.' It seemed to be familiar enough, and musical enough, and had the possibility of a slightly ironic or suggestive subtext. All of which seemed to make it a good candidate for our efforts.

Rex used to say that he wished there was something like a dictionary of clichés. This was before the Internet and all the resources that are to be found there today. There actually were books like Eric Partridge's "Dictionary of American Slang and Unconventional English" and his "Dictionary of the Underworld." Both are fascinating reading, easy to get lost in, but a little too esoteric for anybody but an English major.

A lot of our songs are based on similarly well-worn sayings: "Glass Houses," "Healing Hands," "The Restless Wind," "Tell Tale Heart," "The Test of Time," "The Ways of the World," etc. It's clear that we were aiming at a big target — the country music audience and the stars who made the records for them.

Which brings me to one of the themes I wanted to touch on in our discussion of this song, and that is the old bugaboo of 'selling out.' I used to say I tried to sell my soul but didn't get any offers. Now I don't so much worry about it, instead I concentrate on trying to say what I mean as best I can, and letting the chips fall where they may.

But there is something we talk about quite a bit in the workshops and that is an issue for which I borrowed the term 'spiritual materialism.' According to Psychology Today, "Spiritual materialism is a phrase originally coined by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche that he used to describe the grasping after material accomplishment within the context of spiritual pursuit. His characterization is not novel; rather, it echoes a sentiment that has been addressed by spiritual teachers and the wisdom teachings for centuries."

By bringing it up, I only mean to say that by using our skills and our gifts for material success we can fall short of something better. It's one thing to try to be successful, but it may be that the real power a songwriter has is in honoring the best possible communication with the listener. This may require him to abandon the tricks, the guile, the soft soap, the leg pulling and glad handing; all the ways that we might calculate to 'get over' on the listener. It's like using 'the force' to cheat at cards.

I had a friend who had written a love song in which he could substitute any two-syllable woman's name in the chorus. I don't know if it got him very far, but that's the kind of deviousness that can make life more difficult for the rest of us aspiring 'silver tongued devils.' That sort of thing can give seduction a bad name. On another page on this site I talk about showing up at the muse's door and encountering her father who questions us about our intentions.

This song has some suspiciously manipulative ploys, some flattery, some patronizing insinuations, and I'll be the first to admit it. When I sing it, I fear that I'll be called out on the blatant blarney of the first few lines. But in my own defense I contend that yes, a woman might recognize when she is being flattered, but might forgive some of that if the singer is making an effort at respectful wordplay - playful poetics that hint at the compact of shared intelligence, the conspiracy of love-making.

I believe the song works on several levels. The literal language may not be its strongest suit. There is a symbolic language at work in the song which was not something we were conversant with, except in that way that many people say things they don't completely understand, but which might contain some truth to be understood better later on. Words have many components, the literal and the figurative, and some other vague baggage which may or may not reinforce the premise of the song.

The choice of harmonic colors in the song can also have leverage on our emotions. The chords can emphasize tension, uncertainty, motion or action, and a sense of satisfaction or coming to rest in a return to the 'home' chord of the key. This is a very large topic and is necessarily brief in this article, but this song offers a chance to talk about one of my favorite harmonic devices; the secondary dominant chord.

Simply put, a dominant chord or dominant seventh chord seeks to 'resolve' to the tonic chord of the key. The dominant chord is based on the fifth degree of the scale, and is often called 'the five chord.' This is the chord that 'calls' for resolution by leaning toward the home chord and the completion of the musical phrase. In the video below, we perform the song in E so the fifth scale degree is B, making the B chord, or more commonly the B seventh chord the dominant chord.

A secondary dominant is a chord which has a similar 'craving' but for a different note, usually at some point of interest in the song. Any note in or out of the key of our song can be the object of this secondary dominant chord, and the secondary dominant chord can be based on any note, even ones that are 'borrowed' from other keys. Here is an excellent discussion of the secondary dominant and related music theory: Article @ hearandplay.com.

In our song, where the lyric says 'one of these nights when we're sharing a dream,' on the next beat after the word 'dream' we go to a minor chord based on the second scale degree of the key of E, which is F# minor. But then that chord is changed to an F# major by raising the third of the chord, the A to an A#. This occurs on the word 'by' on the next line, 'gonna take you by the hand.'

In doing this, the new F# major chord becomes a secondary dominant chord which 'wants' to resolve to the B chord, which is itself the dominant chord of the key of E. So we have created a moment of tension which 'urges' toward a resolution which itself builds on the tension and directs it toward the home chord to bring the song to a point of rest. The song then proceeds into the chorus, 'and lay you down on a bed of roses, etc.'

In their arrangement of the song, the group Chesapeake have found alternate ways for the chords to 'walk' through this passage. They shift the chords and the bass line to different beats the second time through and give an unexpected lift of interest to the lyrics and the harmony. It's a subtle difference, but admirably creative.

It is an almost unforgivable metaphor that a bed of roses might actually be a place where love can be shared. No mention of thorns. It's all very cryptic and suggestive, but hopefully in the right proportions it can be acceptable to the listener. Especially acceptable if it comes from a charismatic voice already associated with romance. And, this is important, a good melody can come to the aid of an intentionally humble lyric, and convey a strong emotional message of its own.

It was Mel Tillis who was the first to take the chance and record the song. Then we heard that Mickey Gilley had recorded it, but that it had not been released. The Oak Ridge Boys have recorded it, and Jerry Jeff Walker and our old friend, Chuck Pyle have sung it as well. Since Kenny Rogers' version there have been many others.

One of the most thrilling for us was the version by Chesapeake with Linda Ronstadt. That's a wonderful recording and it can be heard here:

Chesapeake with Linda Ronstadt

Kenny Rogers was the person we always hoped would record the song. We might have even been hearing his voice as we were writing and imagining the reading he would bring to it. This is something all writers do at some point as they imagine a song into being. It took several years for us to convince him that it was a suitable song for him, but he really brought it to life. His version is a duet with Linda Davis who sang with him on so many of his hits. I recently found their recording and it can be found here:

Kenny Rogers with Linda Davis

I was astonished to see that there have been over three-million plays. As I looked through the comments I was moved to tears by some of the messages. They brought up a dimension of the song that we couldn't have contrived — that aspect of the song that some have taken to heart as a comfort against loneliness and loss. What Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the poetic voice of the early women's movement called, "the solitude of self," and what Guy Clark referred to with his line, "A coat from the cold."

There is much discussion of the symbolism of flowers. Each rose has its own inference; the red, love of course, but passionate love. The pink rose is more innocent and delicate, the yellow may have a more Platonic suggestion, or even a regretful or heartbroken message. I am sure we had no understanding of that world when we began to write the song. The French and the Victorians made much of it, and some still do, but for us we're happy just to have written the song. It was Ernest Hemingway who said, "I hate writing, but I love having written."

Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen singing "Bed of Roses"

Here's a video of Cindy and me singing it at the Rose Garden Coffeehouse in Massachusetts.

Here are the lyrics as we sing it:

You're that one special woman
I thought I'd never find
With the strength to be gentle
And the courage to be kind.

And though it hasn't all been roses
Still I know you understand
One of these nights when we're sharing a dream
I'm gonna take you by the hand

And lay you down on a bed of roses
In that peaceful shelter only love can provide.
I'll lay you down on a bed of roses
And then I'll lay me down right by your side.

There's no diamond on your finger,
Just a simple wedding band.
Seems your knight in shining armor
Is just an ordinary man.

Though I promised you a kingdom
And we don't have all we planned
One of these night when we're making believe
I'm gonna take you by the hand

And lay you down on a bed of roses
In that peaceful shelter only love can provide
I'll lay you down on a bed of roses
And then I'll lay me down right by your side.