Run for the Roses

Listen while you read: Run for the Roses

Born in the valley and raised in the trees
Of western Kentucky on wobbly knees
With Mama beside you to help you along
You'll soon be growing up strong

All the long, lazy mornings in pastures of green
The sun on your withers, the wind in your mane
Could never prepare you for what lies ahead
The run for the roses so red

And it's run for the roses as fast as you can
Your fate is delivered, your moment's at hand
It's the chance of a lifetime in a lifetime of chance
And it's high time you joined in the dance

From sire to sire, it's born in the blood
The fire of a mare and the strength of a stud
It's breeding and it's training and it's something unknown
That drives you and carries you home

And it's run for the roses as fast as you can
Your fate is delivered, your moment's at hand
It's the chance of a lifetime in a lifetime of chance
And it's high time you joined in the dance

~  Dan Fogelberg

It's Kentucky Derby Day! Grab yourself a mint julep and place your bet!

Dan Fogelberg died almost ten years ago, and I'm still pretty sad about it. He was 56. I got to see him play an acoustic set back in the mid-70s at the Capital Theatre in Passaic NJ, and I can still remember that show. Seriously, for someone my age who's been to a number of concerts to remember a specific one means it was impressive. "Run for the Roses" was released on 1981's The Innocent Age, and truly, this song speaks to a loss of innocence. It's not too hard to hear the song as metaphor for coming-of-age.

Fogelberg premiered the song the night before the Derby in 1981, mourning the fact that he'd never attended the event. I do hope he got to do so in the following years.

When my family was young and intact, we would place our bets on our favorites running in the Derby. I always selected my horses based on how much I liked their names. Because I knew no other way to do so. My experience with horses was taking my oldest daughter to horseback-riding lessons when she was a pre-teen. I think there were a couple of times when my choice, based solely on the horse's name, actually won! Yes! Pour me another mint julep!

The Run for the Roses will begin at 6:34 tonight at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. I am placing my bet on Lookin at Lee with 28 - 1 odds. Following that loser, I'll bet on Hence (22 - 1), Irish War Cry (13 - 2) and Practical Joke (16 -1).  Do I expect to win? No. But I get a mint julep anyway.

So it's high time you joined in the dance. Place your bet! It's the chance of a lifetime in a lifetime of chance. What have you got to lose?