Seal: Kiss From a Rose Meaning
Song Released: 1994
Kiss From a Rose Lyrics
You became the light on the dark side of me.
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine...
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1TOP RATED
anonymous Mar 19th 2009, 16:26 report
I just listened to this song and if you listen to the lyrics it is gray not grave. plus I seen an interview with him where he said the same thing. The whole meaning to the song without me piecing out out is that she is everything to him. Power to keep pushing forward, Pleasure to be around and with, and Pain that sometimes happens to even the best of us in a relationship. The part about the snow if you look at the rest of the song obviously means everything he has been saying. Think of the snow as metaphorical (or symbol) of his life and thoughts being clouded/ or grey. The future is hard to see. With her there she shines the light that breaks through the cloudiness and makes it possible to see a bright future ahead. Like the others said it doesn't have to do with drugs. The song does reference them but is basically putting it as " Your Love is intoxicating and better than any drug". Anyhow that is just how I feel about it. I love the song and listen to it all the time. Hope you agree with what I had to say and enjoy the song as much as I.
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2TOP RATED
dscXcomplicated Jul 10th 2008, 02:39 report
Sorry if this is somewhat out of order...
but to be honest, I believe that this song has nothing to do with drugs.. you really have to read the lyrics...
"love remained a high that's not the pill".. did you catch that? NOT the pill, which makes me think that it's not drugs.. you REALLY have to pay attention.. and yes, there's more than just one form of a drug.. I'm sure.. but which one is more logical?? seal is a family man, not a drug pusher..
"you became the light on the dark side of me"
-simply, something like, "you showed me the light" or "you showed me the love".. ya know??
"but did you know, that when it snows, my eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen"
-to tell you the truth, this one I think just says this love story takes place in the winter.. I don't know what other way to put it.. I mean sure, it COULD be about how snow affects your eyes, and I'm 98% sure this isn't about drugs.. So I'm canceling that out all together. Honestly, what's wrong with writing a song that takes place in the winter? hey..it's possible..
"baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey"
-a rose usually represents beauty, and I'm assuming that grey is representing this, man's, life.. Sad, lonely, dreary, all of those. He's saying that something beautiful came into his sad, dark, depressing life.
"ohh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah"
-he's not used to getting this kind of treatment from anyone, especially a woman, so it feels strange to him for having a women care for him like this. and maybe he's possibly..ohh, I don't know... Skeptical??
"And now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the grave"
-"and now that your love/light is given to me" or "now that you are showing me this love/light"... "a light is being shown on this darkness." or "you have saved me from the dark" or "you drive the darkness away and fill my life (or life in general) with light".. any of those choices..
"there is so much a man can tell you, so much he can say"
-there are too many words to describe the love that this man is feeling.. He is overwhelmed with love, joy, and happiness
or.. possibly that this woman was fooling around.. and that man number 1 is saying that man number2 will tell her anything that she wants to hear.. maybe..
"you remain, my power, my pleasure, my pain"
-he's still going to love her, and she is is power, his pleasure,and his pain...duh..
he simply described her as a rose "pleasure and pain" "every rose has its thorns"
"to me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny, yeah.won't you tell me is that healthy,baby"
-he addicted to her. addicted to her love, personality, spirit, everything. and he is asking her if it is healthy for him. because (referring to the "there is so much a man could tell you, so much he can say" lyric) that she is fooling around on him, and he is still madly and desperately in love with her... Is it healthy for him, or should he just let go?
and since most of the lyrics are repeated, you can just repeat what I wrote, if you read these lyrics the same as me, that is. I hope this helped some of you realize what this song means.
thank you. -
3TOP RATED
anonymous May 13th 2008, 08:37 report
Umm... This is sort of random, but I think what he means by kiss from a rose is something that is both sweet and painful. A rose is sweet in appearance and fragrant, but it has thorns as well. So, by being kissed by a rose, he experiences a sensation of beauty and pain.
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anonymous Dec 2nd 2012, 01:17 report
Here's what I think:
Whenever he says "light" he's referring to love.
When he says "Love remains a drug that's the high and not the pill" he means that love is fantastic, not the path to get somewhere fantastic, or in other words, love is the mountain, not the climb (and it always will be).
When he refers to a kiss from a rose, he either means a) the soft petals of a rose are metaphorically her lips when she is literally kissing him b) her beauty reminds him of a rose, and "kiss" because that's just something sweet people do c) he's getting a thorn to the lip, but he's kissing a rose, so he's conflicted.
When he says "the light on the dark side of me" he's simply saying "my better half" in a more poetic manner.
When he talks about "grey" or "the grey" he means the unclear, or stuff about her that he's not sure of, maybe her past.
When he says "to me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny, would you tell me is it healthy baby" he means he loves her more every day, and he needs her, but he's so used to being independent that he feels he's in unexplored territory, so he wonders if he's doing it right.
When he says "When it snows my eyes become large and the light that you shine can't be seen" (I know everybody else says "can be seen" but I think it's "can't".) it means when she leaves, he feels cold and alone, maybe scared, so his pupils dilate, but your pupils are just holes in your eye (covered by a lens, so don't go trying to stick stuff in your pupils) so they reflect no light. He was just being poetic. It is a love song, after all.
When he says "You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain" he means "you are everything to me, I need you", because think about it, if you are powerless and numb to all emotion, what's left?
When he says "And if I should fall along the way, I've been kissed by a rose on the grey" means "if you were to break my heart, at least I can say I gave this all I had, and in return I got some of your love" or maybe "I want you to know that if you do break my heart, I'll still thank you for lighting up my life in the time that we had".
When he says "There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea" he just means that he was alone, nothing was really keeping him alive, he was just a lonely, fading island in an empty sea.
When he says "Now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the gray" he could be referring to a child that they're about to have together, and how this is another huge ray of sunshine on his formerly depressing existence, but that's a little far ahead. More likely he's just saying how she's grown up now and he sees her differently, and he's in love with his childhood friend. Aww:)
When he says "There is so much a man could tell you, so much he could say, but you remain my power, my pleasure, my pain" he means how there are so many ways to say I Love You, so much he wants to say besides that, and how easy she is to talk to, but for now he'll stick with "you are my life, my everything".
When he says "The more I get of you the stranger it feels" he's most likely saying how he's never been in love before, and the longer he's in it, the more he realizes how much he's been missing out, and how it changes your entire perspective.
Yeah, I pretty much covered every line of the song, just out of order... Thanks for readin' all the way through, though! (Little disclaimer thing here: These are ALL just my opinions! If you think differently, great! But if I helped you in some way, awesome! OK, disclaimer over. Bye-bye!) -
anonymous Oct 18th 2012, 17:55 report
the song is talking about instead if the drugs being his addiction, he realizes his addiction is to his love for the women
Love remained the drug that's the high and not the pill
In the grey. Not grave my dears -
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anonymous Mar 31st 2012, 10:48 report
my interpretation of what the song means is the rose is satan and the grey is hell. the snow part is cocaine. i beleive he is comparing his expierence with satan like cocaine. satan gives him his pleasure and pain, remember satan believes he is the light an when dealing with him seals eyes are open from his rebirth. seal has sold his soul.
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anonymous Jan 28th 2012, 02:01 report
Simple if you know your Bible. Sea is a reference to the masses of people. Seal himself is the graying tower, not because he is old...but because even though he is among a mass of people he feels alone, his very existence...his soul...is cold and dreary or gray. A love (her rose) so intense it's like an addiction brought light and color, brightness to this world of his. Now, even on the worst of days when the coldness of reality and life returns, her love is still there to draw him away, to open his eyes and touch his soul with a kiss by a rose on the gray.
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anonymous Aug 1st 2011, 22:47 report
I think when he says `my eyes become large, and the light that you shine can be seen`, he`s referencing that she`s the light within him, and that that light actually shines through him.
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anonymous Jun 4th 2011, 07:07 report
From what others have said, and what I've read from the song itself, it seems he's comparing love to drugs, eg. the references to snow, and the line where he actually mentions drugs, saying her love's better than any of them.
Even though he probably isn't a drug user himself, is it possible he could still be writing about them? There are probably still a lot of people that could relate to the song so maybe that was his goal. Or maybe he just thought it was a cool comparison. -
erikdjones22 May 28th 2011, 15:40 report
this was guided to me....
kiss from a rose... first of all you must believe in the fantasy, personally. And then art will reveal its phantasm to you. The very essence of what the artist is trying to express becomes personal to its veiwer. unleashing different interpretations on the art its self. But still remaining personal to the viewer and the artist...
you ever heard the song "Gloria" by the enchantments? to see what i mean you must once again watch The Matrix II and listen to this song to get my drift.
A kiss from a rose is a blessing from a magical person, such as ms. gloria. the rose is the mole configuration on her neck, and others. Not to single or exclude anyone from this belief. In the song by the enchantments. "She Did This For US."
a greying tower...
a man, a place where this man stands saddened and lonely far from anyone. or thing. a "greying" a dying or a darkening. or growing(more understandable)
you became the light(life) on the "darkside of me"...
you, the light, became that one thing that could bring his dying heart back to life.
love remains a drug...
love is addictive but it is not an unnatural, or artificilal substance or occurance.
and did you know that when it snows...
if you have seen snow you know that it amplifies light. and through this snow, an amplifier, the light, her love or her or his knowledge can be known or seen.
I "compare"the key word. to a kiss from a rose on the grey...
I compare you to a blessing from a rose(special person) during this time of saddness.
now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the grey...
and now that i can see that this knowledge of you this form, is manifesting. I am once again growing happy out of this depressed state, because you are here!
the agony and the ecstasy...
PHANTASTIC!
and if i should fall...
i am to remember. and all will be well.
i guess that should be the love felt by THE INFAMOUS DAVY JONES from the goddess CALYPSO(daughter of poseidon) that is the correlation.
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anonymous Feb 22nd 2011, 23:45 report
"Now that your rose is in bloom...kissed by a rose on the face."
It's clear to me that the rose is Heidi Klum's vagina. Do the math. -
anonymous Feb 21st 2011, 20:40 report
Doesn't anyone here have any street experience? It's "grave" and he's a junky, and this isn't a "happy happy" song, even if it is quite beautiful. The key phrase is (from memory) "my eyes become wide and the light that you shine can't be seen". He's telling her loves her but when he shoots up all her love won't matter much. She's a rose, he's a dead man. Her love is a "kiss from the rose on a grave". She's probably not going to save him.
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anonymous Feb 19th 2011, 07:11 report
Oh gaad. It is obviously his point to make the song giving the impression of being about drugs. It's a friggin poetic simili. So damn obvious. whats the point of discussing.
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anonymous Jan 22nd 2011, 08:48 report
Okay people i think many lyric's online are confusing people...the correct lyric's are;
"...when it snows my eyes become large and the light that you shine CAN'T be seen..."
this is what he meant, when the song came out a long time ago i had a book with the lyric's and the sheet music and in that book it showed "can't" now i don't know if it's his accent or they wrote it weird in some places maybe in the actual cd it still said 'can' who knows but it's not rocket science that this sentence makes more sense anyways...
i found lyric's online too that had the "can't" in place of the 'can'
I listen to the song over and over and if you bring up the volume and if you can play it a little slower he doesn't cut the caaan]....you can clearly hear especially when you slow it down him saying can't...
pronouncing the t is hard in music as a teacher of music I hear a T...try saying "can't be seen" in a normal everyday voice...you woudl sound stupid if you said "Can'TTTTTT BE SEEN" say it over and over..you'll see WHEN YOU SING THE WORD 'CAN' you hear a nnnn like a hum and actually the nnn is longer...Try it when you sing it with Can...it's hard not to sing '...and the light that you shine cannn be seen' you feel forced to elongate the n sound but with can't you sound just like seal singing it -
anonymous Dec 11th 2010, 14:49 report
I seriously think this song is about either cocaine or heroine. I'm not trying to say that Seal is a drug pusher, but the song is about it. I don't even think Seal wrote the song. I mean, it could be about love (definetly not sex or being raped by a viking), but to me, there are so many refrences to drugs. Ugh! I used to love the song until I realized it's totally about drugs.
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anonymous Oct 24th 2010, 08:33 report
There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea.
(This is him alone and depressed [graying]. This can mean aging too but this "gray" is a theme in the whole song and depressed/sad/lifeless seems to fit well for me.)
You became the light on the dark side of me.
(Now her light has become part of him. Specifically the dark side of him. What could that be? The Depression? Temptations? Mistrust of dislike of people? She has changed that part of him and introduced light to the dark.)
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.
(Is this what has been replaced? Now his dark side doesn't need drugs because Love is a better high.)
But did you know,
That when it snows,
(This could reference drugs - maybe drugs happening around him. "When it snows" is something external occurring not an action by him.)
My eyes become large and
(This is certainly puzzling. When do eyes become large? In fear or excitement?)
The light that you shine can be seen.
(This is about that "light on the dark side of me" mentioned earlier. He is changed inside and His dark side isn't so dark anymore and it's obvious to others but also to himself. He can notice the light's effects in his heart when faced with this temptation.)
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grave.
(This is a visual - the soft, delicate, vibrantly colored, fragrant beauty against the cold, hard, rough, gray stone. Another reference to light against dark.)
Ooh,
The more I get of you,
The stranger it feels, yeah.
(Just what it says.)
And now that your rose is in bloom.
(Now that her life - loveliness - light - good is starting to "bloom" in his heart; change him into a better man.)
A light hits the gloom on the gray.
(Love shines into my soul.)
There is so much a man can tell you,
So much he can say.
(Just as it says.)
You remain,
My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
(Just as it says - our lovers/partners ARE our power, pleasure and pain.)
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?
(Just as it says.)
I've been kissed by a rose on the gray
(Something life-giving has happened to the sad, dying, self-destructive, places in his heart.)
...And if I should fall along the way
(and if I should slip)
I've been kissed by a rose -
anonymous Oct 7th 2010, 08:05 report
"The word love was never mentioned in this song." Someone didn't listen to the song or bother reading the lyrics. Oh well. Since I'm with a guy that this song reminds me of I'll try..
There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea.
(He was growing older, alone, looking out at the world)
You became the light on the dark side of me.
(She came into his life and showed him love)
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.
(He became addicted to her love)
But did you know,
(But did you know)
That when it snows,
(That when my heart grows cold because I'm getting apathetic and having doubts again)
My eyes become large and The light that you shine can be seen.
(My eyes open wide in wonder as your love warms my heart to the point everyone can see the difference)
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey.
(Baby every time you kiss me reminds me I'm not alone anymore)
Ooh, The more I get of you, Stranger it feels, yeah.
(He knows she loves him dearly but he's not used to it)
And now that your rose is in bloom.
(He knows she has a lot to show him? I don't know how to see this line.)
A light hits the gloom on the grey.
(Her love shines through his darkness and brightens his world)
There is so much a man can tell you, So much he can say.
(He doesn't know how to show his feelings for her?)
You remain, My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
(She's everything to him. Gives him strength to try harder, makes him happy, but he still hurts?)
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.
(As time goes on he finds himself becoming more addicted to her)
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?
(He's getting apathetic again, he obviously had some bad relationships in the past)
But did you know, That when it snows, My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.
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,
I've been kissed by a rose on the grey,
I've been kissed by a rose
I've been kissed by a rose on the grey,
(repeat from earlier)
...And if I should fall along the way, I've been kissed by a rose
(He knows that if he gets to the point of breaking down or giving up all he has to do is remember that she loves him)
The lyrics repeat for the rest of the song. -
angie Sep 26th 2010, 10:42 report
A greying tower he represents himself as an older strong man. A tower represents 'strength' grey representing 'older'.This song to me is about an older more experienced man meeting and wooing a young less experienced, delicate girl. The rose represents her 'tenderness, youthfulness'. The relationship is based purely on sex, on his part. The word love was never mentioned in this song. The way he felt for her became an addiction because he was so caught up in lust, he was powerless to the sex. Then when she finally opened up to him he can now say that a young beautigul girl fell deep in love with him. The more he be with her the strange it feels because he's never been with a girl as young and tender as her. Even when he is alone he can feel the presence of her deep emotions for him, even though he is only using her for sex. "Now that your rose is in bloom a light hits the gloom on the grey". Meaning now that her love is fully flourished and bloomed he can now say that he was loved by a younger woman. To him it was a game to see if he could get a young woman to fall in love with him--in which he won.
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angie Sep 26th 2010, 09:12 report
This song is about a man who was in great despair, he was lonely and felt hopeless. He met a woman who brought light to his world and he fell deeply in love with her. (When it snows his eyes become large and the light that she shine can be seen). When she leaves him alone it becomes cold and her true colors are now showing because his eyes are now opened to her deceit---her true colors are now showing.
This song is not about drugs it is about a man who was lost and hopeless he found someone and fell so deeply in love that it became and addiction. He was addicted to her softness, gentleness, and beauty like the rose. She obviously didn't feel the same way about him because she was cheating---(is it addiction healthy?) He is letting her go "I've been kissed form a rose on the grey". He can say that he has experienced love and was burned by it. This song is not about drugs or death. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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