"Blood and Roses"
Single by The Smithereens
from the album Especially for You
B-side"Behind the Wall of Sleep"
Released1986 (1986)
RecordedThe Record Plant, New York City
GenreAlternative rock
Length3:35
LabelEnigma
Songwriter(s)Pat DiNizio
Producer(s)Don Dixon
The Smithereens singles chronology
"Blood and Roses"
(1986)		 "Behind the Wall of Sleep"
(1986)

"Blood and Roses" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens. It is the first single released in support of their debut album Especially for You.

Background

DiNizio explained of the song's origin, "I was walking home from my job as soundman at NYC's legendary Folk City nightclub through the freezing rain at about four in the morning when the bass line came to me, the chords and melody came later built around the bass part."[1] Lyrically, the song is about a girl DiNizio knew in highschool, who took her own life. The title was taken from a short story of the same name by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, a literary hero of DiNizio's. "I found out years later that Blood and Roses was also the title of an obscure early 1960s horror film directed by Roger Vadim", DiNizio said.

Release

"Blood and Roses" was released as the first single from the band's debut album, Especially for You. The single reached number 14 on the US Mainstream Rock Charts as well as number 99 in Australia. The song was released with a music video that features clips of the band interspersed with clips from the 1986 film Dangerously Close.

Formats and track listing

All songs written by Pat DiNizio, except where noted.

US 7" single (B-75002)
  1. "Blood and Roses" – 3:35
  2. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" – 3:04
European 12" single (2139-7)
  1. "Blood and Roses" – 3:35
  2. "Mr. Eliminator" (Dick Dale) – 2:00
  3. "Beauty and Sadness" – 3:47

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
The Village Voice United States Singles of the Year[2] 1986 13
Bruce Pollock United States The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000[3] 2005 *
WOXY.com United States Modern Rock 500 Songs of All Time[4] 2009 299

(*) designates unordered lists.

Charts

Chart (1986/87) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 99
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[6] 14

References

  1. ↑ Best of the Smithereens (Guitar Recorded Versions). Hal Leonard Corporation. 1995. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-793-54453-0.
  2. ↑ "Village Voice - Pazz & Jop Lists: Singles - 1986". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ Pollock, Bruce (March 18, 2014). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era. Routledge. p. 35. ISBN 9781135462963. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Modern Rock 500 Songs of All Time (combined rank 1989-2009)". WOXY.com. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  5. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 279. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ↑ "The Smithereens Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
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