You got away, got away, got away from me
Now get away, get away, get away from me

I couldn't grow just living in the shadow
Where do you go when no one's following you?
You ran away, ran away it was right on cue

Shall I go on, and on, and on,
And on, and on, and on again?

Rosemary you're part of me
You know you are, you are, you are
Rosemary you're part of me
You know you are, you are, you are
Rosemary please pardon me

Truth ain't gonna change the way you lie
Youth ain't gonna change the way you die

Dear Rosemary
Dear Rosemary

You've got a way, got a way, got a way with things
You got away, got away, got away with things

False starts, young hearts get shattered
Pick up the pieces coming down around you
You ran away, ran away, it was right on cue

Can I go on, and on, and on,
And on, and on, and on again?

Rosemary you're part of me
You know you are, you are, you are
Rosemary you're part of me
You know you are, you are, you are
Rosemary please pardon me

Truth ain't gonna change the way you lie
Youth ain't gonna change the way you die

This was no ordinary life
(This was no ordinary life)
This was no ordinary life
(This was no ordinary life)

I'm here from now on
But once I'm gone
I'm gone

Truth ain't gonna change the way you lie
Youth ain't gonna change the way you die

Dear Rosemary (dear Rosemary)
You're a part of me (you're part of me)
Dear Rosemary (dear Rosemary)
Please pardon me (please pardon me)
Dear Rosemary

You got away, got away, got away from me
Now get away, get away, get away from me

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Lyrics submitted by intothegrinder2

Dear Rosemary Lyrics as written by Taylor Hawkins David Eric Grohl

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group

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Dear Rosemary song meanings

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23 Comments

+3
General CommentIf what I said above is correct, if this song is about Rosemary Carroll... it almost comes across as accusatory.

"You've got away, got away, got away with things.
You got away, got away, got away with things."

The second line is a play on the first. It goes from "You HAVE a way with things" to "you GOT away with things."

"Truth ain't gonna change the way you lie.
Youth ain't gonna change the way you die."

The discussions on the websites that I found revealed that Rosemary Carroll believed that Kurt Cobain was murdered. The first line here mentions truth---did she know the truth, perhaps as a result of her attorney-client privilege with Courtney Love? The second line mentions "the way you die." Discussion involving Ms. Carroll all pertain to whether Kurt was murdered or committed suicide--aka, "the way you die."

"False starts, young hearts get shattered.
Pick up the pieces coming down around you.
You ran away, ran away, it was right on cue."

The "young hearts get shattered" line can refer to Kurt and Courtney's divorce.

That's all the interpreting that I have in me right now.

mikevoxon April 04, 2011 Link
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@mikevox

Great ideas and interpretation, I think it's right on as far as who it refers to.....
LiveRide9on April 16, 2011

That's kind of the first thing I thought when I heard the song too. I hate the people who say every Foos song is related to Kurt or w.e., and this one probably isn't either, but there's actually good reason to think it could be. I'm sure he knows another Rosemary, or it's just a name he chose to represent someone, but I could definitely see how it could be about Rosemary Carroll, especially with your interpretations.
spenceriscoolon April 17, 2011

This has nothing to do with Courtney Love or Kurt Cobain. I heard Dave was actually in love with some mystery woman who ended up marrying someone else and he was devastated. In his albums since The One he writes about this often - its a recurring theme.
youknowitsmeon September 21, 2011
+1
General CommentHey I'm new how do we write lyrics for everybody to see? Amazing song. The Foo Fighters have the most simple melodies and turn them into amazing songs like this.

UnknownUsernameon August 29, 2011 Link
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+1
General Comment"Then the lights went out, there was the sudden click and a flickering noise and she was alone with Dick at last. They looked at each other in the half darkness.
"Dear Rosemary," he murmored."

- Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1934

I dunno if Dave is all that into American Literature, but this book and these lyrics seem to fit pretty well together. Themes of truth and lies, young hearts being shattered, maybe its just a coincidence, i just thought it was interesting is all...
yajarobeon October 14, 2011 Link
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@yajarobe

I like this interpretation, especially since he was talking about his first girlfriend and how she broke his heart.
jmama307on November 14, 2011
+1
Song MeaningOn the songwriting credits it mentions Pat & Taylor coming up with the song, so I would say Nirvana references would be off.

I'd say the song is just about waving goodbye to an unhealthy relationship, someone that obviously had a huge impact on the narrator's life, but he finally got it together and is walking away from that situation.
urskkoon October 28, 2011 Link
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@urskko

I like your interpretation so I rated it higher :) With a name like Rosemary, perhaps she's an evil *itch. He should be happy to have her ugly fat arse out of his life. Let's toast to his freedom and her's!
ComeOnEileenon October 28, 2011
+1
General Comment@splayfee, I was thinking it was "knife" instead of "night". About the whole connection to Kurt Cobain's death and the lawyer, I don't really think it is about that really. If you try hard enough you can make any song sound like it's about anything. I think this song is about a relationship as are so many Foo Fighter songs. It's a fictional story about a man who apparently is about to murder his wife. There are a few clues like the first two lines "Now get away, get away, get away from me." "Youth ain't gonna change the way you die." This line is another clue. It isn't until the line I mentioned earlier that it is revealed that it is about murder. I think when he says it isn't an ordinary knife he means it is not being used for traditional purposes with the part about his wife not being ordinary being a dig on her. Of course, this is my interpretation and it would be sick as hell if it is Dave's interpretation as well.
CJuneau1on September 10, 2011 Link
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0
General CommentI hate the "every Foo Fighters" song is about Nirvana/Kurt... but a simple Google search for ("Dave Grohl" Rosemary) revealed the name Rosemary Carroll, who was Courtney Love's divorce lawyer.

One website revealed that "Rosemary Carroll [believed] that Kurt might have been murdered."

Can anyone shed some more credible light on this possibility?

P.S. Great song! (Like the entire album).
mikevoxon April 04, 2011 Link
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@mikevox

Courtney Love scares me and thinking of Frances makes me sad =( poor Cobain maybe rock stars shouldnt marry considering Curt Cobain and Ian Curtis but its just a thought Im sure some stars have good mirrages
cats0pajamason April 07, 2011
0
General Commenthmm interesting...it seems there are lyrics that would correspond to rosemary carroll...but i would like to think that it isn't about her...

but apart from that...how awesome is this song?! find myself tapping my foot every time i listen to it :)
GoodGrief88on April 11, 2011 Link
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Same!
davegrohliloveyouon April 20, 2011
0
General Commentdidnt dave invite someone to sing the backing vocals on this track? i think that was some dude from his past.. maybe there's a connection between the backing vocals guy and the meaning of the song?

and we have to remember that as a musician you someimes just choose names that fit into the rhyme ...
herchenmon April 11, 2011 Link
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@herchenm

Hes Bob Mould, you can google him.

Folks familiar with Mould's oeuvre - from his days in seminal punk rock band Husker Du, through the rise of alt-rock faves Sugar, and his ongoing work as a club DJ - may recognize a few of these tunes already. "City Lights," "The Breach," and "I'm Sorry, Baby, But You Can't Stand In My Light Any More" were all road-tested when he toured in support of his 2007 retrospective DVD Circle of Friends. Two years later, "Sorry, Baby," and the careful way its concerns turn as the song advances, remain disarming. The title may evoke a chuckle, but there is no laughter when it ends.
drop2on April 14, 2011

hm... true but Rosemary doesn't particularly rhyme with the rest of the song, and is not so common a name...
so it can be THAT Rosemary, but even so it doesn't mean that every line is about her. Songs can be like dreams where someone you know well sometimes has a different name, for some reason...

"young hearts get shattered" may also refer to the fans

"Youth ain't gonna change the way you die" can only be for someone who died too young

and the rest of the lines quoted by mikevox call to mind someone else, just like:

"living in the shadow" and "Where do you go when no one's following you?"

yep, great song, my favorite with I Should Have Known
kileytooon April 14, 2011

the "Youth ain't gonna change the way you die" line could also be like, I guess a blast on super health conscious people? Like, even if you live super healthy, you're still going to die someday. Morbid, but idk, if you think of the "truth ain't gonna change the way you lie" part as being like, even if you start telling the truth, any lie you told before will still hurt... it kinda makes sense.
Maybe only to me though :P
spenceriscoolon April 17, 2011

@ herchenm: as drop2 indicated, the guest vocalist is Bob Mould, guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist for HÃ¼sker DÃ¼ and Sugar.

On the Foo Fighters documentary, "Back and Forth", Dave Grohl says, "When you meet someone that really helped you become the musician that you are, I really think it's important to acknowledge that. Bob's voice is so signature, and to have him come to my f****n' house and do it on my f****n' record, blows me away." This quote along with a very interesting insight as to the method of songwriting used by Grohl can be found on the documentary at 1:27:50.
120inna55on April 19, 2011

yeah, they call it 5 minutes lyrics !!! amazing !!!
drop2on April 20, 2011
0
General CommentWhile completley unrelated, this song reminds me of the book The Giver, because a girl named Rosemary ran away (she was executed on her own accord) from the pain that she had to succumb once her boring life became filled with pain... youd have to read the book to understand though.
Eldrakon April 19, 2011 Link
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@Eldrak
0
General Comment"Youth ain't gonna change the way you die"

That could be cuz of all courtney loves plastic surgery and even though she looks young she will still die?
davegrohliloveyouon April 20, 2011 Link
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Dear Rosemary

Foo Fighters

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