Blue Rose
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra/Rosemary Clooney Lyrics

The first line of the song, "I want some red roses for a blue lady," is an expression of a man's desire to comfort his unhappy or sad lady. He requests the florist to take his order and expresses the significance of the red roses as an apology for his mistake. The second line is his plea to the florist to understand the nature of his order and to follow it with due care. The third line indicates that the man had a quarrel with his woman, and the fourth line indicates his hope that the roses would chase away her blues.

The second verse, "Wrap up some red roses for a blue lady," is a continuation of the man's request to the florist to fulfill his order. The third line of this verse suggests that the recipient of the flowers is the sweetest girl in town, and the fourth line indicates that the man hopes the roses would have the desired effect of cheering her up. The final line, "And if they do the trick, I'll hurry to pick your best white orchid for her wedding gown," is a poetic way of saying that if the flowers make her happy, he will take their relationship to the next level and propose to her.