Billy Holiday Speaks of “the Rose”
If we can use his songs as a true basis for the kind of man he was, Conway Twitty fucked around a lot. In his various works (gospel excluded) he was either running around on what seemed to be a steady girlfriend/wife, or he was caught and crawling on back to her. Conway Twitty was a man always moving. He was a man never afraid to take chances. He did what he wanted with no regard for anyone else… except for when he got caught and he dragged his sad ass back on his knees bawling for forgiveness.
Many would wonder what motivations Conway had to be a man like this. What insatiable lust for for women, power, and sex caused him to work his way through more than likely ALL of Tennessee’s ladies? It wasn’t lust, nor power, or a sense of great arrogance that pushed him to do these things. As we find out, Conway was a man who did what he did because he was driven by fear.
How do I know this? Because I’ve damned listened to “The Rose.”
As you can see, Conway was a man who was haunted. A man haunted by the crippling fear that he was missing out on something in life. That somewhere out there was a happiness, or even a lover, that he was destined to miss out on if he didn’t take that chance.
Oh, how we all can relate. How many of us sit idly by as the days pass? How many of us have looked back at our lives and thought about particular moments and people? Do you remember that girl that you had a crush on for so long? That one night… that one night in particular where you two really seemed to hit it off, you both had a few drinks, and you ended up sitting on the bed together. Recall now how you were too scared to make that move. Remember how you awkwardly ended the night without so much as a kiss. You never heard from her again. Think back again to that time… except you actually have balls this time. You kiss that woman passionately, you make sweet love to her and fall asleep in each others arms.
You would have married her.
You would have had beautiful children together.
You would have died a happy man who had lived a life fulfilled. She would have held your hand as you slipped off.
But you’ll never experience any of that. You’ll rot away in front of your computer, where you constantly refresh Facebook so you can see Her latest status. You’ll see her posts about how she is getting married, having children, and you’ll see that picture of her hugged up next to her man. In your mind you cut his head out of the picture and paste your own in its place. It would have been so sweet. You imagine the moments after the camera flashes. You smile at one another, and move in for a tender kiss. Her lips pressed against yours. This is not your reality. In your reality the only thing that is going to be pressed to your lips is a revolver within a few months.
Yeah, so “The Rose.” A song that should serve as a cautionary tale. If you want something in life, go out and get it. Don’t be one of those poor souls who lives their entire life having to wonder. Don’t let your “What Ifs” outweigh your positive memories.
Then again, don’t take it from me. I’m just gonna sit here the rest of the night, listen to this song, and cry.
Bonus AIM Comic because it is relevant and always too short for a real one anyway.
