Every Class Has It's Thorn

If you find yourself unfamiliar with the seminal work of the 1980's hair-band Poison, here is a quick refresher for you. Here are the lyrics to the bands masterwork, Every Rose Has It's Thorn:

We both lie silently still
In the dead of the night
Although we both lie close together
We feel miles apart inside

Was it something I said or something I did
Did my words not come out right
Though I tried not to hurt you
Though I tried
But I guess thats why they say

Chorus:
Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn

I listen to our favorite song
Playing on the radio
Hear the dj say loves a game of easy come and easy go

But I wonder does he know
Has he ever felt like this
And I know that youd be here right now
If I could have let you know somehow

Chorus

I know I could have saved a love that night
If Id known what to say
Instead of makin' love
We both made our separate ways

But now I hear you found somebody new
And that I never meant that much to you
To hear that tears me up inside
And to see you cuts me like a knife

While this might have been one of the simplest, cheese infested rock ballads ever written, I love it now more than ever. I've now taught this song at least 20 times with guitar in tow. The fact that there are only a few new vocabulary words for my students who are at roughly a first grade reading level, is nice. Also, the fact that I can actually sing the song is cool. The thing I love most about this song is when I ask, "What is a rose"? "美化“，my students reply. Then I ask, "What is a thorn"? "刺“，a few students say. Then I ask slowly, "In this song...what is the rose"? Everyone gets very quiet and starts looking at the blackboard, which is full of lyrics. Then, without fail, one student will simply say, "美奴", or "beautiful girl". Slowly, a wave of understanding sweeps across the room and all of the boys in the class will start to laugh and nod in agreement. Somehow, Poison managed to write the perfect song. I've looked for other songs to teach my classes, but nothing has come close to the ease of singability, subtle allusions, and grit that Poison created with Every Rose.

I simply wanted to write a short ode to Poison and their song Every Rose Has It's Thorn. Who ever thought that a 1980's hair band ballad would work, and rock, so well in a classroom.