Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Lyrics Meaning

This power ballad was released in 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album, "Open Up and Say... Ahh." The band got an early Christmas present on December 24, 1988, when it became their first and only #1 hit in the US. It remained at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts for three weeks.

"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was written by lead vocalist Bret Michaels. His inspiration, he says, came after having his heart broken by his then love interest, a stripper from Los Angeles. The band had a gig at "The Ritz," a cowboy bar in Dallas, Texas. When the show ended, Michaels gave his sweetheart a call. While they were talking, he heard the voice of another man in the background. The heartbroken Michaels penned the song while sitting in a laundromat with his acoustic guitar.

Every rose has its thorn

Just like every night has its dawn

Just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song

Every rose has its thorn

With Michaels' twang, the reference in the chorus to `cowboys,' and the acoustic backtrack, "Every Rose" had a country feel rarely found in the power ballads of glam metal bands. Dee Snider, of Twisted Sister said the song "completely killed the metal in the pop metal scene... All of a sudden, all the heavy metal rock bands got rid of their distortion pedals and went f---ing acoustic."