roses are red

[Nefertiti]

Hi there.

" And when the big day came,"
1. Do you call graduation day big day? Is it usual?

"Roses are red, my love.
Violets are blue."
2. What does the verse imply? Sure, most roses are red and violets are blue. So...?

" But luck, may god bless you."
3. Is the quote a common expression? Is it the same as 'good luck, may god bless you'? Which one is more common?

Note: luck can mean either good luck or bad luck, how do we know it means good luck in the verse?

I just reheard the song. The singer did sing "Good luck". Probably it's a typo.


Thanks in advance.

________________
The Song Vinton Bobby - Roses Are Red LYRICS

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Nefertiti

Hi there.

" And when the big day came,"
1. Do you call graduation day big day? Is it usual?

"Roses are red, my love.
Violets are blue."
2. What does the verse imply? Sure, most roses are red and violets are blue. So...?

" But luck, may god bless you."
3. Is the quote a common expression? Is it the same as 'good luck, may god bless you'? Which one is more common?

Note: luck can mean either good luck or bad luck, how do we know it means good luck in the verse?

I just reheard the song. The singer did sing "Good luck". Probably it's a typo.


Thanks in advance.

________________
The Song Vinton Bobby - Roses Are Red LYRICS

1 There can be any number of Big Days in a person's life. Graduation Day is one of them. 'Big Day' doesn't automatically refer to graduation (although it may do in the song).

2 'Roses are red,/Violets are blue/<whatever>.../<whatever>... you' is a conventional rhyme, often adopted by love-struck teenagers who aren't great poets.

3 Don't be too quick to suspect there's been a typo. This song has been sung many times, and singers with a Hispanic background may well say 'Luck' - a Spanish girl who used to wish me good luck every morning used to say ¡Suerte, Bob!. (But "Luck, may god bless you" isn't idiomatic.)

b

[rewboss]

Originally Posted by BobK

2 'Roses are red,/Violets are blue/<whatever>.../<whatever>... you' is a conventional rhyme, often adopted by love-struck teenagers who aren't great poets.

Well, I don't know any modern teenagers, love-struck or otherwise, who would use this poem.

The "original" rhyme, as used in Valentine's cards, is:

Rose are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you.

An alternative for the last line would be: "And I love you."

This poem is now used, as BobK says, to represent crude romantic poetry, particularly of the sort you might find in mass-produced Valentine's cards. For example, if you see a cartoon where somebody is writing the words "Roses are red...", this indicates that they are writing (or trying to write) romantic verse.

Most often, though, you'll see this verse being parodied. For example:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
A kipper's a fish
That smells like you.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Please don't kiss me,
'Cause I have the flu.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Most poems rhyme,
But this one doesn't.