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Dear Rosemary Lyrics

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 a part of me.
You know you are, you are, you are.
Rosemary you're a 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 a part of me.
You know you are, you are, you are.
Rosemary you're a 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.
Song Info
Submitted by
intothegrinder2 On Apr 01, 2011
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23 Meanings

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Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

If 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.

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

Not Valid

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.

Not Valid

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.

Not Valid
Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

Hey 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.

Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

"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...

I like this interpretation, especially since he was talking about his first girlfriend and how she broke his heart.

Not Valid
Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

@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.

@CJuneau1 I took that part of the knife not being ordinary being the gun used to kill Kurt not being ordinary, but it is just my interpretation.

Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

On 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.

Song Meaning

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!

Not Valid
Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

I 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).

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

Not Valid

@mikevox Go to www.cobaincase.com and listen to the tapes w/detective Tom Grant and read books related to the case and you will see that Rosemary is very involved because she was married to Danny Goldberg Nirvana’s manager and was the Cobain’s lawyer who found handwriting practice sheets in a backpack Courtney left at her office.

Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

hmm 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 :)

Same!

Not Valid
Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

didnt 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 ...

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...

Not Valid

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...

Not Valid

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

Not Valid
Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

While 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.

Cover art for Dear Rosemary lyrics by Foo Fighters

"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?