Stewart's music career began in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica. In 1963, he joined The Dimensions as a harmonica player and vocalist. In 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars before moving to the Jeff Beck Group in 1967. Joining Faces in 1969, he also maintained a solo career releasing his debut album that year. Stewart's early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, and R&B. His third album, 1971's Every Picture Tells a Story, was his breakthrough, topping the charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, as did its ballad "Maggie May". His 1972 follow-up album, Never a Dull Moment, also reached number one in the UK and Australia, while going top three in the US and Canada. Its single, "You Wear It Well", topped the chart in the UK and was a moderate hit elsewhere.
After Stewart had a handful more UK top ten hits, the Faces broke up in 1975. Stewart's next few hit singles were ballads with "Sailing", off the 1975 UK and Australian number-one album, Atlantic Crossing, becoming a hit in the UK and the Netherlands (number one), Germany (number four) and other countries, but barely charting in North America. A Night on the Town (1976), his fifth straight chart-topper in the UK, began a three-album run of going number one or top three in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia with each release. That album's "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" spent almost two months at number one in the US and Canada, and made the top five in other countries. Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977) contained the hit "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" as well as the rocker "Hot Legs". Blondes Have More Fun (1978) and its disco-tinged "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" both went to number one in Canada, Australia and the US, with "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" also hitting number one in the UK and the top ten in other countries. Stewart's albums regularly hit the upper rungs of the charts in the Netherlands throughout the 70s and in Sweden from 1975 onward.
After a disco and new wave period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stewart's music turned to a soft rock/middle-of-the-road style, with most of his albums reaching the top ten in the UK, Germany and Sweden, but faring less well in the US. The single "Rhythm of My Heart" was a top five hit in the UK, US and other countries, with its source album, 1991's Vagabond Heart, becoming, at number ten in the US and number two in the UK, his highest-charting album in a decade. In 1993, he collaborated with Bryan Adams and Sting on the power ballad "All for Love", which went to number one in many countries. In the early 2000s, he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook.
In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists". A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at No. 33 in Q Magazine's list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time. As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and he was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Stewart
Studio albums
An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (1969)
Gasoline Alley (1970)
Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
Never a Dull Moment (1972)
Smiler (1974)
Atlantic Crossing (1975)
A Night on the Town (1976)
Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977)
Blondes Have More Fun (1978)
Foolish Behaviour (1980)
Tonight I'm Yours (1981)
Body Wishes (1983)
Camouflage (1984)
Every Beat of My Heart (1986)
Out of Order (1988)
Vagabond Heart (1991)
A Spanner in the Works (1995)
When We Were the New Boys (1998)
Human (2001)
It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook (2002)
As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II (2003)
Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III (2004)
Thanks for the Memory: The Great American Songbook, Volume IV (2005)
Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time (2006)
Soulbook (2009)
Once in a Blue Moon: The Lost Album (2010)
Fly Me to the Moon... The Great American Songbook Volume V (2010)
Merry Christmas, Baby (2012)
Time (2013)
Another Country (2015)
Blood Red Roses (2018)
The Tears of Hercules (2021)
Blood Red Roses
Rod Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Go down you pinks and posies
Go down you Blood Red Roses
Go down you pinks and posies
Sailing out of Boston one hundred days at sea
On the good ship Bonadventure, a'whaling men are we
We set sail for the Cape Horn, where the seas are cold as ice
The wind will bite right through you like a thousand starving mice
Our ship is made of solid wood but our men are made of steel
One step outta line you'll be hauled beneath the keel
Go down you Blood Red Roses
Go down you pinks and posies
Go down you Blood Red Roses
Go down you pinks and posies
Ah, the captain's name is Joshua, a mountain of a man
The rest of us are salty dogs, misfits of the land
There's something in the air tonight, the men they cannot sleep
Are they dreaming of a watery grave or the ghost of Moby Dick
We'll be home before the new year with stories to be told
With a ship load of whale oil and a pocket full of gold
Go down you Blood Red Roses
Go down you pinks and posies
Go down you Blood Red Roses
Go down you pinks and posies
Ahoy me boys there she blows, a monster of the deep
Lower the boats away me lads she must be sixty feet
Steady boys, now hold your nerve she's a killer of a whale
She could sink this ship with just one flick of her mighty, mighty tail
Go down you Blood Red Roses
Go down you pinks and posies
Go down you Blood Red Roses
Go down you pinks and posies
The lyrics to Rod Stewart's song "Blood Red Roses" tell the story of a group of whaling men sailing out of Boston on the good ship Bonadventure. The ship sets sail for Cape Horn, where they will hunt down whales for their oil and return home before the new year. The captain is named Joshua and is described as a "mountain of a man," while the rest of the crew are "salty dogs" and "misfits of the land."
The first verse of the song sets the tone, as the singer addresses the flowers on the shore, calling for them to "go down." This could be interpreted as a warning to the flowers to avoid the dangerous sea, or a message to the men on board the ship that they are leaving the safety of land behind. The second verse describes the cold, harsh conditions of sailing near Cape Horn, with winds that "bite right through you like a thousand starving mice."
The third verse introduces the whale-hunting aspect of the story, with the crew spotting a giant whale that could "sink this ship with just one flick of her mighty, mighty tail." Despite the danger, they lower the boats and successfully harpoon the whale. The final verse indicates that the crew will return home with a shipload of whale oil and a pocket full of gold, ready to tell their exciting tales.
Overall, the lyrics of "Blood Red Roses" capture the danger, excitement, and adventure of a whaling voyage in the 19th century.
Line by Line Meaning
Go down you Blood Red Roses
The singer is saying that the Blood Red Roses should fade away and be forgotten.
Go down you pinks and posies
The singer is saying that the pinks and posies should also fade away and be forgotten.
Sailing out of Boston one hundred days at sea
The crew has been out to sea for 100 days since leaving Boston.
On the good ship Bonadventure, a'whaling men are we
The crew are whalers on the ship named Bonadventure.
We set sail for the Cape Horn, where the seas are cold as ice
The crew's destination is Cape Horn, which has very cold waters.
The wind will bite right through you like a thousand starving mice
The wind is extremely cold and harsh, like being bitten by many mice at once.
Our ship is made of solid wood but our men are made of steel
The ship is strong, but the crew is even stronger and resilient.
One step outta line you'll be hauled beneath the keel
The captain will punish any crew member who disobeys him severely.
Ah, the captain's name is Joshua, a mountain of a man
The captain is named Joshua and is a physically imposing figure.
The rest of us are salty dogs, misfits of the land
The crew are rough and experienced sailors, who don't fit in well on land.
There's something in the air tonight, the men they cannot sleep
The crew are restless and anxious, possibly due to a premonition of danger.
Are they dreaming of a watery grave or the ghost of Moby Dick
The men may be worried that they will die at sea, or that they will encounter the dangerous whale, Moby Dick.
We'll be home before the new year with stories to be told
The crew are optimistic that they will make it back home and have exciting stories to share.
With a ship load of whale oil and a pocket full of gold
The crew expects to return home with valuable whale oil and some wealth.
Ahoy me boys there she blows, a monster of the deep
The crew have spotted a large whale in the distance.
Lower the boats away me lads she must be sixty feet
The crew are lowering their small boats to try to catch the enormous whale, which is 60 feet long.
Steady boys, now hold your nerve she's a killer of a whale
The crew need to stay calm and be brave because the whale is very dangerous.
She could sink this ship with just one flick of her mighty, mighty tail
The whale is powerful enough to sink the entire ship with just one movement of its tail.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Ewan MacColl, Rod Stewart, Kevin Savigar, KEVIN STUART JAMES SAVIGAR, PEGGY SEEGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind