Foreign songs about flowers: world classics and popular hits

Yellow RosesHeron

Heron-Yellow Roses 1970

Known by the nickname “Komorebi Folk,” the British folk group Heron has a song called “Yellow Roses.” Another song that features yellow roses is the old folk song from the American South, “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”

Honeysuckle RoseAnita O’Day

Anita O’Day – Honeysuckle Rose

“Honeysuckle Rose” is a flower with a sweet fragrance and nectar, and the Japanese native suikazura (Japanese honeysuckle) is one variety.

The song is one of the jazz standards, and its lyrics liken a beloved person to a honeysuckle rose—quite sweet and a bit suggestive.

Perhaps for that reason, it’s often performed instrumentally or sung by female vocalists.

Rose Gives a LillyYuck

11 Rose Gives A Lilly – Yuck

This song is by the British indie rock band Yuck.

The group was originally formed mainly by members of Cajun Dance Party, and their sound could be described as airy power pop.

Among their tracks is this song, Rose Gives a Lily.

Days of Wine and RosesElla Fitzgerald

Days of Wine and Roses – Ella Fitzgerald

The Japanese title “Sake to Bara no Hibi” (“Days of Wine and Roses”) is famous as one of the jazz standards, but it was originally the theme song for an American film of the same name.

(It seems the film itself wasn’t much of a hit.) However, the theme song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and it has since been covered by many musicians up to the present day.

English RoseMotörhead

English Rose – Motorhead

Motörhead is a high-speed, loud-as-hell rock band said to have developed a sound that encompassed the musical qualities of thrash metal and hardcore punk long before those genres emerged.

Among their songs is one called “English Rose.”