I Touch Roses

I'm torn between two interpretations of this song. On one hand, it may just be nonsensical, and not mean anything. Hence the line, "I think you think too much". It's got a good beat (and a great memorable melody) and you can dance to it.

On the other hand, it could be sexual. "Roses" could be a metaphor for the singer's "private parts", and he/she is saying, basically, "Hands off. Only I can touch there." Yeah, that's probably it.

Either way, an awesome song from a great 80s band.

Led Zep, this is very much a sexual song. Growing up in the 80’s the songwriters wanted us to use the metaphors in their songs for multiple meanings. In Shakespear’s time, a rose took on multiple meanings, “a rose plucked and distilled into perfume describes a married woman, while a rose that withers on the stem describes a spinster.” I think there is something there, but it’s just not gonna happen….yet, hence “you still can’t touch my roses.” That’s my take on it.

This is just Xing in the 80's

In writing, the rose and roses have always been symbolic of a woman's femininity, often directly referencing a woman's down-below. In the rock era, lyrical metaphors are usually very on-the-nose. When Susan Ottaviano - a gay woman - sings, "I touch roses," it's a literal "touch" she's referencing. I've always taken it to be a big, collective rolling of the eyes from gay women to the straight men who are infatuated with them. Breaking it down:

First verse starts, "If you think I'm magical/'Cause roses bloom with my touch"...seems to be remarking on some hetero man's fantasy imagery of her setting another woman's orgasmic pleasure aflame with a supernatural touch. But she dismisses it as just sexual: "That's mathematical/I think you think too much."

Next verse: "If you try to talk with me/If you try to copy my/Pocket full of poses/You still can't touch my roses." This seems to address the popular juvenile male fantasy that he can turn a gay woman to him, or get himself into a threesome with two gay women. The pocket "full of poses" line conjures up all sorts of posing and fronting from the man, trying to get the women to play along with the fantasy. She's saying, "Uh...no."

Last verse, same message as the first: "If you think I'm magical/'Cause roses bloom with my touch/But magic's just not practical/I think you think too much." Again, telling him it's not some secret fairytale lesbian magic; it's just sex; just a normal, regular-day thing, just like with hetero folks.

Remember that this was released in 1985, written in 1984. America was very different then with respect to gay people. The White House referred publicly the the exploding AIDS epidemic as "The gay plague." Being gay at that time basically meant you were either demonized, misunderstood, or both. Lots of songs were written in the 80s that expressed this, and many were like an "Idiot's Guide to Gay" for all the people who didn't understand that they were just normal people like them.

The chorus just repeats the title of the song over and over: "I touch roses." This fits perfectly with the rest of the theme: "I am who I am, it is what it is. Deal with it, dude, and move on."

Okay, hello. This is about those who "have it" and those who don't. The land of the wannabe and how they may try and try, even copy those who just command attention when they walk in to a room...you know, that intangible quality that everybody doesn't have...jealous bitches want what they can't have...those who do have it, like me, know all about these haters...it's saying that all I have to do is touch something, with my person, or my mind, or sprit, and BOOM! Roses...or all good...like most people, all they make are fingerprints, bad blood, and general nuisances of themselves. The part saying you still can't touch my roses, is like saying, "you can't touch this" or best just get out the way, don't even try, etc.

Like so many great songs, this leaves interpretation mostly to the listener. It could be a putdown of someone who is jealous of someone's talent. That's one possibility. But I prefer to think of it as more like "Trying to figure out how I do what I do is futile. Don't try to analyze it; I don't even know myself how it works. Just enjoy it."