The Kentucky Derby is oft referred to as “The Run for the Roses.” In honor of the 151st running of the race, I thought a play list of songs with the word Rose or Roses in the title might be apropos. Run at the Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky annually on the first Saturday in May, it is the first leg of the Triple Crown, which also includes the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. The latter races will offer a segue to yet another fitting playlist of songs with the word Horses in the title – stay tuned.
Alternately called “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports,” “The Fasted Two Minutes In Sports,” or “The Greatest Two Minutes In Sports,” it was actually run in under two minutes by Secretariat in 1973 with at time of 1:59.4, quicker than any song on the playlist. Amazingly enough, every horse in the field in this year’s 2025 running can trace its ancestry five or six generations back to this legendary racehorse.
Dan Fogelberg’s 1981 release from Innocent Age lends its name to the blog post with “Run For The Roses,” a song he was commissioned to write by ABC now 45 years ago. The song is followed by “My Old Kentucky Home” – while not a rose song, it is a longstanding tradition that the song be performed as the horses make their way to the starting gate at the Derby. Some other notable songs include “The Rose,” “Kiss From A Rose,” Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn,” “Ramblin’ Rose,” “Roses Are Red,” “My Wild Irish Rose,” “Second Hand Rose,” and “(I Never Promised You) A Rose Garden.”
Here is Dan discussing his commission and love for the song:
His words of introduction were prophetic, if not tragic – “…it deals with the odds that we all have to face in life”… “Cause we all have those moments, you know? That you either grab ‘em, and you take ‘em, and you take advantage of, and you move on. Or, perhaps regret that you didn’t the rest of your life.” Luckily he took advantage of his opportunities along the way, as he succumbed to cancer at the young age of 56.
Some famous and/or inspiring quotes about roses include:
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
– Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare
Of all flowers, methinks a rose is best.”
– William Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying”
– To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, Robert Herrick
A single rose can be my garden… a single friend, my world.
– Leo Buscaglia
But he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.
– The Narrow Way, Anne Bronte
If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.
– Therese of Lisieux
It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important… People have forgotten this truth, but you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.
– The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint–Exupéry
Gather the rose of love whilst yet is time.”
– The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser
But he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.
– The Narrow Way, Anne Bronte
We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
– Lettres Écrites De Mon Jardin, Alphonse Karr
The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.
– Kahlil Gibran
Just remember, during the winter, far beneath the bitter snow, that there’s a seed that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes a rose.”
– Bette Midler, The Rose
To run for the roses songs in the playlist – enjoy!
I hope that this music and my blog truly serve as a “revival: a new presentation of something old,” a springboard to return to the music of your youth, or perhaps to find artists you want to discover anew. Rediscover the passion of music in your life.
Live in the moment.
Enjoy the moment.
Love the moment.
Listen to the MUSIC!