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Midler, Bette - The Rose

Chords & Piano Lesson
Bette Midler - The Rose
Hello! Below you'll find my "The Rose" chords & lyrics chart as well as a tutorial video on how to play the piano accompaniment.
 

This classic song by Bette Midler has a great piano part. In the video I teach the full piano part with all the variations between verses, but you can keep it as simple as you want. 

Enjoy!

Lesson Video
Chord Chart

The Rose Piano Tutorial

Here's a piano tutorial video for The Rose:

The Rose Chords & Lyrics

[Intro]
C | C |
 
[Verse 1]
                 C               G
Some say love, it is a river
        F                G      C
That drowns the tender reed
                 C                G
Some say love, it is a razor
        F                 G       C
That leaves your soul to bleed
                 Em           Am
Some say love, it is a hunger
      F                    G
An endless aching need
         C               G
I say love, it is a flower and
F             G    C | C |
   You its only seed
 
[Verse 2]
           C                     G
It's the heart afraid of breaking
        F        G          C
That never learns to dance
            C                    G
It's the dream afraid of waking
        F        G           C
That never takes the chance
            Em                     Am
It's the one who won't be taken
        F                        G
Who cannot seem to give
             C                   G
And the soul afraid of dying
         F       G           C | C |
That never learns to live
 
[Verse 3]
                 C                            G
When the night has been too lonely
              F             G          C
And the road has been too long
              C                         G
And you think that love is only
             F     G          C
For the lucky and the strong
           Em                   Am
Just remember in the winter
       F                            G
Far beneath the bitter snow
              C                           G
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
            F           G               C | C | C | C |
In the spring becomes the rose
This document is the author's own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It's intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
This chord chart is here only to support online learning. We recommend buying official transcripts from a licensed and reputable publisher.
The Rose Piano Tips
1. Take It Slow: It's counterintuitive, but the quickest way to get comfortable and sound great playing a song is to practice it very slowly at first. Steady rhythm and counting are crucial to sounding like a pro, so let yourself get used to feeling the beat at a slow, easy tempo. Once you can nail "The Rose" slowly, *gradually* speed it up. You'll sound much better than if you jumped in at full speed!
 
2. Use The Pedal Wisely: Utilize the sustain pedal to connect the chords smoothly, timing your lifts with the arrival of a new chord. For help with sustain pedal timing, check out this video.  
 
3. Simplify if need be: "The Rose" still sounds great even if you simply hold out the chords and ignore most of the rhythm patterns and extra details in the tutorial video. Feel free to keep it simple, especially if you sing while playing. As you get comfortable, you can always add the fancy stuff later.
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