The popular song “Paper Roses” wasn’t actually a Marie Osmond original. The song, which Fred Spielman and Janice Torre wrote, was first released by Anita Bryant as the opening track for her 1961 album Hear Anita Bryant In Your Home Tonight! It was her biggest hit on the Billboard pop chart, earning her a Top Five hit. Osmond covered it in 1973 as her first single release and her first as a solo performer.
Her debut solo album, Paper Roses, peaked at number one on two Billboard charts, making her the youngest female artist to do so and catapulting her name into international superstardom and musical royalty.
Meaning Behind the Song
“Paper Roses” follows the sad realization of the narrator that her partner’s love for her was as only as real as paper roses.
In the first verse, the narrator sings, “I realise the way your eyes deceive me / With tender looks that I mistook for love.” She then goes to tell him to take the flowers he gave her away and send her something that really reminds him of her. And there it is, an imitation of roses. That’s when she understood that he didn’t really love her.
Everything that he showed her right from the start was all a lie.
For You
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While the song’s theme was very adult, Osmond, who was barely a teen then, was able to convey the emotionally stirring feeling of pain and disappointment. She also performed the song at Madison Square Garden, which she said was her favorite live show.
In 1990, she rerecorded it for her Greatest Hits album, and the new version definitely sounded more mature. Nevertheless, Marie Osmond’s country version of “Paper Roses” at 12 couldn’t be surpassed. It’s an iconic sound. Don’t miss out on it by hitting the play button in the video below.
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