Music Friday: How 'Diamond Ring' Lyrics Nearly Derailed Lynn Anderson's 'Rose Garden'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we recount the story of how country music legend Lynn Anderson nearly lost an opportunity to record what would become her signature song — "Rose Garden" — due to the "diamond ring" lyrics in the second verse.

Anderson was a big fan of "Rose Garden," a tune penned in 1967 by Joe South and recorded by South and two other male artists from 1967 through 1969. She wanted to cover it for an upcoming album, but her producer (and husband) Glenn Sutton was adamant that "Rose Garden" was not a "girl's song" because of a key line that went like this: “I could promise you things like big diamond rings / But you don’t find roses growin’ on stalks of clover / So you better think it over.”

"I had objected to it because it was a man's song and I didn't wanna do it, but she kept bringin' it in with her – she loved it," Sutton told author Michael Kosser in the book, How Nashville Became Music City U.S.A (2006).

As luck would have it, Anderson had some extra time left in one of her studio sessions, and Sutton finally relented — with a few conditions. He insisted on adding an up-tempo arrangement accompanied by a mandolin player and a full string section.

Columbia Records executive Clive Davis was so impressed with the recording that he insisted the song be released as a single in October of 1970 for the country and pop markets.

The song not only topped the U.S. Billboard Country chart, but it also reached #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and became a major hit internationally. It went to #1 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and Norway. “Rose Garden” is considered one of the most successful country crossover songs of all time.

Anderson told the Associated Press in 1987 that “Rose Garden” was perfectly timed to appeal to the youth of 1970.

“It was popular because it touched on emotions,” Anderson said. “It was [released] just as we came out of the Vietnam years and a lot of people were trying to recover. This song stated that you can make something out of nothing. You take it and go ahead.”

The song’s reprise, “I never promised you a rose garden,” essentially means “I never told you it was going to be easy.”

In 2019, Rolling Stone magazine included "Rose Garden" on its list of the "20 Songs That Defined the Early Seventies."

“Rose Garden” netted Anderson a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1971, while South picked up two Grammy nominations, one for “Best Country Song” and the other for “Song of the Year.”

Born in Grand Forks, N.D., Lynn Rene Anderson generated crossover hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and continued to tour until her death in July 2015 at the age of 67.

Singer Dolly Parton said at the time, “Lynn is blooming in God’s Rose Garden now. We will miss her and remember her fondly.”

Check out the video of Anderson's terrific live performance of “Rose Garden” in 2011. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along. Enjoy!

“Rose Garden”
Written by Joe South. Performed by Lynn Anderson.

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There’s gotta be a little rain some time
When you take you gotta give so live and let live
Or let go oh-whoa-whoa-whoa
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden

I could promise you things like big diamond rings
But you don’t find roses growin’ on stalks of clover
So you better think it over
Well if sweet-talkin’ you could make it come true
I would give you the world right now on a silver platter
But what would it matter
So smile for a while and let’s be jolly
Love shouldn’t be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There’s gotta be a little rain some time

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden

I could sing you a tune and promise you the moon
But if that’s what it takes to hold you
I’d just as soon let you go
But there’s one thing I want you to know
You better look before you leap, still waters run deep
And there won’t always be someone there to pull you out
And you know what I’m talkin’ about
So smile for a while and let’s be jolly
Love shouldn’t be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There’s gotta be a little rain some time,
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden

Credit: Photo by Mikiesmonkey, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Jewelry Sales Juggernaut Continues; June 2022 Spending Up 86.6% Vs. 2019

The jewelry sales juggernaut soared to new heights in June 2022, as consumer spending increased by 16.2% compared to June of 2021 (YOY) and an incredible 86.6% versus the pre-pandemic figures of June of 2019 (YO3Y).

The jewelry segment's three-year gain outpaced every other retail category.

Jewelry's sales performance in June 2022 mirrored May 2022's stellar numbers when YOY sales were up 22.3% and YO3Y sales soared 65.4%.

These statistics were reported by Mastercard SpendingPulse™, which measures in-store and online sales across all forms of payment.

The credit card company emphasized that discretionary spending in June 2022 continued to drive growth across the fashion-forward sectors.

In addition to the impressive gains in jewelry sales, luxury items (excluding jewelry) saw a June 2022 increase of 4% YOY, and a 54% YO3Y.

And with summer in full swing, consumers continued to break out from pandemic restrictions and spend more on travel experiences: Lodging registered strong gains of 33.7% YOY and 30.4% YO3Y, while Airlines followed a similar, albeit less impressive, trend line of 18.2% YOY and 7.3% YO3Y.

Overall consumer spending in June (excluding auto and gas) was up 6.1% YOY and 17.1% YO3Y.

According to Mastercard SpendingPulse™, e-commerce grew at a slower pace in June (1.1% YOY) but were roughly double June 2019 levels. By comparison, in-store sales in June 2022 were up 11.7% YOY and 10.7% YO3Y.

Mastercard SpendingPulse™ findings are based on aggregate sales activity in the Mastercard payments network, coupled with survey-based estimates for certain other payment forms, such as cash and check.

Credits: Shopper image by Bigstockphoto.com. Table courtesy of Mastercard SpendingPulse™.

Cambridge Fire Department Dive Team Saves Bridal Jewelry From Watery Doom

Members of the Cambridge Fire Department Dive Team needed only a minute to rescue a diamond engagement ring and gold wedding band from a watery doom at the bottom of the Charles River near Boston.

Lynn Andrews had removed her cherished rings while enjoying a Fourth of July weekend outing on board their friend's boat, Rebecca Rose, docked at the Charlesgate Yacht Club. She didn't want to get sunscreen on her rings, so she tucked them in the pocket of her husband's shirt.

"We're going about our day and it was awfully hot out there, and [Ninos] decides to take his shirt off to go for a swim. And as he took his shirt off, the rings went flying out of his pocket," Andrews told local ABC TV affiliate WCVB.

Lynn Andrews “was obviously quite distraught,” the fire department noted on its Facebook page. She told cbsnews.com that she didn't think she would ever see the rings again.

Ninos Andrews was confident that everything would be alright.

The couple contacted the Cambridge Fire Department Dive Team, which happened to be patrolling the river on Sunday, July 3. Lynn and Ninos described exactly where the rings had entered the water and firefighter Jeremy Marrache was able use those coordinates to quickly locate the precious heirlooms.

"Things in the river are usually pretty hard to find, so didn't really have a lot of confidence in finding it," Marrache told cbsnews.com. "But we figured we would at least give it a shot."

By a stroke of good luck, the engagement ring had settled onto the silty bottom on its side. When Marrache shined his flashlight at the bottom, the light reflected brilliantly off the diamond about 12 feet below the surface.

"Truly within a minute, Jeremy comes up with it, screams 'I've got it! I've got it!' and blew me a kiss, and I blew him a kiss," Lynn Andrews said.

“This is an amazing example of using our training for public service and a terrific opportunity for the dive team and marine unit members to practice working together,” fire Lt. Stephen Capuccio said in a statement posted to the Cambridge Fire Department's Facebook page.

Credits: Ring and rescue photos via Facebook / Cambridge MA Fire Department. Charlesgate Yacht Club photo by User:Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.