Bon Jovi – Bed Of Roses

General CommentMy sister told me that at his concert, he said this was his most autobiographical song. Most know he is married to his high school sweetheart, but at one point he was heavily involved in the 'rock star lifestyle' which includes heavy drinking, drugs, and sleeping around. I would say it's safe to assume that he means that although he was partying it up and sleeping around, his heart was always with his wife. It is a romantic song, but bittersweet because of the cheating and betrayel that underlines the message

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  @MoonAngel481
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  @MoonAngel481 I imagine aspects of the song are autobiographical, particularly as he was actually sat, hungover, at his piano and wrote this in an absolutely awful state. However, I must disagree with your comment on the drugs and sleeping around. I've seen countless interviews where he rejects drugs entirely, and more so rejects the idea of sleeping with another woman. He's loved Dorothea since he was a teenager and despite his statement that "the temptation" to sleep around "was always there", he could never hurt her that way. I imagine he's been kissed and unwillingly touched by a variety of women throughout the years, but he's been extremely loyal to his wife. Presumably, the references to cheating on his wife stem from the temptation he mentioned, but he assures that he's never acted on it.

  Flag SophieJP95on September 14, 2016  

General CommentGuys, this song is about Jon and Dorothea. If you didn't know, Jon wasn't exactly the perfedt boyfriend there for a while. Then he matured, felt terrible for how he'd lived the rock n' roll lifestyle, and wanted to tell her he's sorry, and that he loves only her.

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  @Samborafp

General CommentThis song is obviously about his life on the road, the mistakes he's made (cheating on his wife), and trying to keep it all together. I'm just guessing here but I imagine at some point his wife caught him cheating, and either left of was thinking of leaving, and he's on the phone with her everyday trying to work it out. At the same time he's on tour (that;s the mistress that calls him to stand in the SPOT LIGHT again. Spotlight obviously, stage lighting)and can't just "leave his job" to go make this right.

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  @smokeeater213
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  Best comment here. Although I'm not that certain of his cheating. Obviously the mistress is the audience but this blonde in his bed... Probably he did so, it looks like this but I read somewhere that 'blonde' may mean, in some slang I guess, ' kind of a guitar (bacause of its color).

  Flag Legia1916on January 10, 2013  

General CommentAfter reading the words as the song played in iTunes this sonmg became more powerful to me.

Many references to him being without the girl he loves and wants (I think they've split, as opposed to a long distance) and he's gone off either travelling or just wandering. He gets drunk, he can have girls if he wants but he's still lonely without the one he wants. The King's ransom in dimes line is quite stunning.

And because he cant be with her, every night he hurts (bed of roses -> bed of nails)

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  @michael1986
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  I only like the last line of your comment, because you get it right here. But they didn't split, they 9Jon & Dorothea) are separted by a long distance since Jon was away on the road. Yeah, the song I heard is very personal and about his living on the road and missing his wife/home.

  Flag Legia1916on January 10, 2013  

My InterpretationI understand everyone has his or her own oppinion, but there are lots of really crappy suggestions here.
This son became one of my favourites back in 93 and me and my friend "decoded it" for fun.
I belive Jon is singing about himself.

1. verse is him somwhere out there in the world, on tour lost track of days and dates. He's got a hangover because of drinking to much and he's got a strange blond in his bed...probobly a groupie...he's not even sure if she's left yet. And he's realizing that his behaviour is not worthy of any movie. In other words hi feels like shit!

2.verse This is so great. "With an ironclad fist I wake up and french kiss the morning" He wakes up stretching, fists closed and yawns :) like most of us do when we can sleep untill we wake up on our own. Again he has a hangover...a marcingband drum-drum-drum in his head. And he has a nice talk with his girlfriend/wife.

3.verse Now his on the road again. He's so far away that no mather withc direction he takes a step, he could say it's one step closer to home. And he misses his girl and would pay like A LOT to be able to see her face when he calls her. (Remember this was before cell-phines and Skype etc) But even though he misses her and logs to see her, he's struggeling to find time in his busy day to call her, and when he does it's hard to get through to her (have you ever tried long distance phone calls from a payphone in another country)
"The bird on a wire" I like to think of as maby the "phone signal" travelling through the phone lines...or maby I see a bird outside in a tree and I send it a message with my thoughts and hope you see a bird outside in your tree and "hears" it... I like the last one best. And "Baby blind love is true" is hislove for her, even though he can't see her.

Bridge. He's in some bar, drinking wiskey, the barkeeper looks at him with like an invite...wanna do it in the back-kind of invite. And he might have said yes, because he often do. But this one is just to funny so he laughs insted.

4. verse. When she goes to bed at night and closes her eyes , then she must know that even though he has to go on stage and preform, he will be thinking of her. I belive his mistress here is the rock'n'roll life, the show, the stage. Music always com first, family second. And after he wont be alone, but he still feel lonely. And he's got nothing to proove his love for her. She must just belive that he would die for her...thats how much he loves her.

I'm sorry my english is not perfect, but I hope I got my opinion across :)

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  @LinnMK

General CommentThis is long distance. He is trying to write a song but can't find the words. You ever have writers block, you drink, and do marijuana (And some blond gave me nightmares). Blond is another word for marjuana, he hallucinated that the girl was still in his bed, then he started thinking of crazy stuff, like weed does to you. He then wakes in the morning with a hangover (while some marching band keeps its own beat in my head) and he's talking to his girl on the phone.
The chrous part he wants this girl tonight he misses her so much he wants to lay with her tonight but
she is not there so it will be very hard to sleep (toss and turn) without her. The holy ghost is supposedly in our hearts, mind and soul, how much closer can you get to someone other than this. He is missing her he is trying to call, he either can't get through or run out of time (10 cents for each minute long distance payphone remember). He wishes he could see her, he knows he can't but still they hang on (blind love is true). Then his cup is empty at the hotel bar, the batender looks at him to see if he wants another but he starts laughing because her wig is crooked. The mistress is his career, he has to go away again to perform, although he has fans, band members he will still be lonely still missing her. It' s not about cheating. Just about someone who misses the person they are with.

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  @zeeben
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  Man, this comment is awesome. Thanks. The only thing I don't quite agree with is the 'marijuana' part.

  Flag Legia1916on January 10, 2013  

General Commentclydesevens - surely you jest. "Ghosties"? No, you fool, it's "I want to be as close as the Holy Ghost is. It's a Catholic thing. You either get it or you don't.
And the mistress reference is clearly referring to the music business and the touring/concert life.

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  @aboldone

General Comment"sitting here wasted and wounded" "bottle of vodka still in my head" this song is definitely about him living the "rock star life" and realizing he didn't treat his wife right like most people are saying. "I wanna lay you down on a bed of roses, for tonight i sleep on a bed of nails" i think this song is also about the long distance thing, but it's not a physical distance, it's emotional distance

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  @anana220

Song MeaningThe song starts with the speaker trying to find some inspiration. He's so far gone that he can't capture the music. He has tried many different tactics to give him some sustenance in life, but they just end up becoming baggage and don't serve as music (music as a metaphor, and music as literally). He's concerned that he won't be remembered the way he wants to be because he can't write from the heart. It's a performer's nightmare.

In the next stanza, he explains that when he goes through life, he puts on a protective shield. This is the only way he can enjoy, love, or get through it. His head tells him how to act and when to do things, like something rhythmic or recited. He sings (or talks) with music about wanting these things to be different--about love, truth, and what music means to him. (Yes, this is a love song about music.) All he needs is music because it is the only thing he can be truly himself with, even as he struggles to write about something real.

He wants to dedicate a song to something happy. A bed of roses is an idiom about living a peaceful life. Despite the fact that he is struggling thought life on a bed of nails, his music is the happiest aspect where he is concerned. He wants to be as close to music as inspiration (the Holy Ghost). He literally wants to inspire music.

He then goes on to say that he's so far away from peacefulness/inspiration that every time he writes a song, he knows that it can't be more of a lie. Everything he had done was to get closer to this feeling, despite the fact that it led him farther away. Despite all the time he has spent, there is never enough to do music properly, or he still can't get through to the feeling. Then, the bird (or inspiration--Holy Dove) comes on a whim, making music and inspiration one again. This feeling of awe or love is true again, he realizes--music is great.

In the next verse, he realizes that he can't hide from who he is any longer. The blond girl (perhaps revealed to be the bartender), is a fake. His life has been built on lies, and he realizes that this is why he had a struggle with his art after inspiration ran dry. The lies are still tempting but he mocks them because life is short and there's no time left for them.

When inspiration leaves him, he's be thinking about it and his music. Lies and fame will take over his attention again while he goes back and forth between performing and writing. He will be around fans, but he'll be lonely without inspiration or feeling when he plays his music. He has learned that he no longer has to prove himself to them and can just enjoy what he is playing. Now, he'd die to defend his music because it is true.

All in all, this is a great song from what I believe to be about the struggle between inspiration, loving music, writing, and buying into the lies that make money. Bon's vocals are heaven and I applaud him for having such a glorious combination of melody, lyrics, and voice.

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  @cursive57

General CommentThis song to me and my girlfriend, is ours. some say not very romatic, but there is a lot of meaning in each verse. The verse that begins with "Well I'm so far away..." I'm sure has to do with a long distance relationship, and how much the guy can't help being so far and how much he really wants to be there for that girl. Kim and I are pretty much on opposite coasts, her west, gotta love cali, and me in the new england states. Anyhow, the part of that verse "blind love is true" I think means, well what is blind? you cant see right? well in a long distance relationship, you dont see the person, sometimes for long periods of time. And if you can go without seeing someone you love for a while, and you both are able to hold on while the love just keeps growing, it can be true. The verse that reads "When you close your eyes...." with the mistress and everything, the mistress could be anything calling you away from the one you love, like my mistress is school, if I didn't have to be here, I'd be with her. At the end of that verse, he means that no matter what may happen, such as me being more involved and drowned in my school work and the corps, and not calling her once in a while to tell her i love her, while he is gone shouldn't matter, that that is not where his love or his heart is, he belongs to her and his being away is only temporary, his love for her will last, through anything. I love you Sweetie!

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  @friar582
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  wow.. she's soo lucky to have you.. thats like the sweetest most honest thing ive heard a guy say ._. and trust me im around a lot of em..

  Flag StitchxThesexWoundson January 05, 2011