“Kiss From a Rose” is a love song about powerful feelings and how one person can be another person’s light in the darkness on the edge of a grey sea.
Seal wrote “Kiss From a Rose” nearly 50 years ago. It’s almost unbelievable saying that. He was living in a squatter’s room with just an ancient four-track recorder for company. He recorded it on cassette, immediately hated it, and threw it in the corner. Seal later said that he was embarrassed about it. He hid it from his producer even as he recorded two albums in the middle and late 1990s. Once someone else got a hold of it, however, it just took off and eventually wound up selling 8 million records, winning multiple Grammys, and being No. 1 almost all summer the year it was released.
The Power of the Song
The lyrics are as murky as the grey sea that Seal describes in the first line of the song. They are metaphorical and cerebral, not the usual fare for love songs. For his part, Seal isn’t explaining the true meaning behind them. He intended them to be cryptic, and that’s how they’ll stay. Most of the song’s popularity came from Seal’s delivery, his powerful falsetto speaking to people and connecting with them.
Joel Schumacher wanted the song for the soundtrack of “Batman Forever” for the love scene between Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman. While the song didn’t wind up working out for the scene, Schumacher used it over the end credits. Initially, when Schumacher called Seal, the latter said that he didn’t have anything for him. That mirrored the song’s earlier history where Seal kept it hidden with only one of his friends having faith in both the song and Seal. That friend gave it to Seal’s producer, Trevor Horn, and Horn asked Seal about it. Seal’s comment after the success of “Kiss From a Rose” and the inclusion in “Batman Forever” was, “Well …”
Other Media
When it comes to massive hits appearing in soundtracks, it’s usual for them to be nearly everywhere. “Kiss From a Rose” is no exception. Just in the last 15 years, more than two dozen television programs from reality singing competitions to police procedurals have featured it. It hasn’t appeared in as many films, but the hits “Justice League” and “Thunder Force” join “Batman Forever” as vehicles for Seal’s signature song.
Lyrics
[Intro]
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
[Verse 1]
There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea
And you became the light on the dark side of me
Love remained a drug that’s the high and not the pill
[Pre-Chorus]
But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can’t be seen?
[Chorus]
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
[Post-Chorus]
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
[Verse 2]
There is so much a man can tell you
So much he can say
You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
To me, you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny
Won’t you tell me, is that healthy, baby?
[Pre-Chorus]
But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can’t be seen?
[Chorus]
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
[Bridge]
I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey
I, I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey
I’ve (And if I should fall, will it all go away?) been kissed by a rose on the grey
I, I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey
[Verse 2]
There is so much a man can tell you
So much he can say
You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain
To me you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny, yeah
Won’t you tell me, is that healthy, baby?
[Pre-Chorus]
But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can’t be seen?
[Chorus]
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
Yes, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
[Post-Chorus]
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
[Outro]
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
Listeners of music from the 1990’s, might also appreciate the song The Next Episode by Dr Dre
