"The Roses of Success" is a song featured in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sung when Grandpa Potts (Lionel Jeffries) is caught in the Vulgarian inventors' workshop and forced to modify a car that floats or face the consequences. The other imprisoned inventors sing this song in the hopes that they might cheer up the despondent Grandpa. He is cheered up and sings along, but in the end the car collapses.
Lyrics[]
Inventor 1:
Every bursted bubble has a glory
Inventor 2:
Each abysmal failure makes a point
Inventor 3:
Every glowing path that goes astray
Shows you how to find a better way
Inventor 4:
So every time you stumble, never grumble
Inventors 5 & 6:
Next time you'll bumble even less
All Inventors:
For up from the ashes
Up from the ashes
Grow the roses of success
Grow the roses
Grow the roses
Grow the roses of success
Oh, yes!
Grow the roses
Those rosy roses
From the ashes of disaster
Grow the roses of success
Grandpa Potts, spoken:
Yes, I know. But he wants it to float!
Inventor 2, spoken:
It will!
Inventors 1 & 2:
For every big mistake, be grateful
Inventors 3 & 4:
Hear, hear!
That mistake you'll never make again
No, sir!
Inventors 5 & 6:
Every shiny dream that fades and dies
Generates the steam for two more tries
Grandpa:
Oh!
There's magic in the wake of a fiasco
Inventor 5 & 6:
Correct!
Grandpa:
It gives you the chance to second-guess
All Inventors:
Oh yes!
Grandpa:
When up from the ashes
All:
Up from the ashes
Grow the roses of success
Grow the roses, grow the roses
Grow the roses of success
Grow the roses
Those rosy roses
From the ashes of disaster
Grow the roses of success
Grandpa:
Disaster didn't stymie Louis Pasteur
Inventor 1:
No, sir!
Grandpa:
Edison took years to see the light
Inventor 1:
Right
Grandpa:
Alexander Graham knew failure well
He took a lot of knocks to ring that bell
All:
So when it gets distressing, it's a blessing
Onward and upward you must press
Yes, yes!
'Til up from the ashes
Up from the ashes
Grow the roses of success
Grow the ro-, grow the ro-, grow the roses
Grow the ro-, grow the ro-, grow the roses
Grow the roses of success
Grow the ro-, grow the ro-, grow the roses
Those rosy ro-, those rosy ro-, those rosy roses
From the ashes of disaster
Grow the roses of success
Grandpa, spoken:
Start the engine!
Inventors:
Success!
Grandpa, spoken:
Batten the 'atches!
Inventors:
Success!
Grandpa, spoken:
Man the shrouds!
Lift the anchor!
