Rosie

Album: Stranger in This Town (1991)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Rosie" is an uptempo song about a fallen woman, not that she has fallen as far as the unfortunate in Al Stewart's "Old Compton Street Blues," but the inference is that "In this low class joint, dancing in the dark all day," the narrator's former high school sweetheart is one step away from walking the street.

    The song doesn't say if his desire to take her away from all this is successful, indeed it is more of a plea than a narrative.
  • "Rosie" was actually written for the Bon Jovi album New Jersey, but ended up on Sambora's vastly under-rated debut solo album.

    Running to 4 minutes 49 seconds, it was co-written with Desmond Child and Diane Warren, the latter of whom, although a fine songwriter is not the sort of name one would immediately associate with mainstream rockers like Sambora and John Bon Jovi. Although the song is an obvious single, it was not released as such. There are bootleg versions which feature the full Bon Jovi line up. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")Songwriter Interviews

Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.