AARP Online Community and Discussion Forums - Run for the ROSES - Rose Songs

WilliamS68311 · ‎05-04-2025

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.”

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. – Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare

https://listentothemusicblog.com/run-for-the-roses-rose-roses-songs/