Mesmerizing with Conway Twitty’s Cover of “The Rose”

Perception of Love

Love can be anything to anyone. Sometimes, one’s perception about love greatly depends on his actual experience with it. Those who have fallen in love too hard but have their hearts broken in the end may see love as something harsh or painful. On the other hand, people who have loved and were loved back the way they wanted may take in love as delightful and tender. In other words, love has its bright and dark sides as it tweaks out someone’s heart. This is what the 80s hit song, The Rose, tried to embody.

Into Twitty’s Version

Originally penned down by then-budding songwriter Amanda McBroom in the 1970s, The Rose runs lyrics portraying love like the flower with its beautiful and prickly aspects. And as the song blooms, several artists have it covered in various styles. But the legendary country singer, Conway Twitty’s version of the song stands out. Try listening to his rendition of the song to find out, yourself, why his song is simply exceptional.

Twitty started out narrating the song’s first few lines before a tuneful music background. The song has a single melody all throughout. But, the country star was able to give more life to it by varying his pacing and accentuations in each stanza. Listening closely, it can as well be noticed that the country singer tries altering his voice’s texture. Thus, giving more emotions that reflect the precise message conveyed by each line of the song. Twitty is not just singing a song. More importantly, he’s trying to connect the song’s message to his listeners. Doing so adds pleasure to the audience’s listening experience.

It’s no wonder why this song’s cover became No.1 on the country charts soon after its release in 1983, making it the country star’s 30^th song that topped the Billboard country charts at that time. Prior to this, the multi-Grammy award-winning singer and actress, Bette Midler, first popularized the song in a 1979 film bearing the same title.

Love can be beautiful in its apparent sense. But like a rose, it’s inevitable not to notice its barbed parts. Yet, Conway Twitty has magnificently depicted the former aspect of love in its compelling interpretation of the song, The Rose.