Some variations are pulled off better than others.

Roses are red,
 Violets are blue,
 Sugar is sweet;
 And so are you.

This is the stereotypical poem. Its origins are unknown, but may, according to Wikipedia, be traced to these lines from Sir Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene:

It was upon a Sommers shynie day,
When Titan faire his beames did display,
In a fresh fountaine, farre from all mens vew,
She bath'd her brest, the boyling heat t'allay;
She bath'd with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew.

"Blew" is an old spelling of "blue". Both roses and violets exist in varieties of many colours. Viola sororia and Viola odorata are the bluest violets; red roses are hybrid teas of the genus Rosa.

It has often been parodied. For a selection of such parodies and variants mostly written by tropers, see the Quotes page.

Examples of Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue in media:

Comic Books

Roses are red
Lemons do pucker
Prisoners escape

When the guard is a sucker!
—The Adventures of Captain Jack

Fan Works

roses r red
violas r blu
iv got a hug fuking dik

nd hey u natsy slut i fucin luv u

Film

Roses are red,
violets are blue ...
I'm about to fuck up.

So what else is new?
—Colin, Greenfingers

Cirrhosis are red,
So violets are blue,
So sugar is sweet,

So so are you.

Roses are red,
violets are blue

Fuck you, whore
—Tom, 500 Days of Summer

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
They'll need dental records

To identify you.

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
I'm schizophrenic,

and so am I.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
One is dead,

And so are you!

Literature

Roses are red
And ready for plucking;
You are sixteen

And ready for high school.

Raseuse arrête, valet de Tsar bat loups

Joues gare et suite, un sot voyou.
—Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames[1]

Roses are red,
Corpses are blue,
On Valentine's day

You'll die too!
—R. L. Stine, "Broken Hearts"

Roses are red, violets are blue,

Angels in heaven know I love you

Magazines

Roses are red
The hoisery's nude
This dress is heinous

Your stylist should be sued
—Bullseye, Entertainment Weekly, Issue #1197

Roses are red
Violets are blue
We make our bread

On clods like you!
—Mad Magazine, "A Valentine to all our readers", #133

Music

Roses are red, yes, and violets are blue.
I looked for both, but they never grew.
Roses are red, yes, and that stands for lust --

The other's for innocence; for that, I'm not fussed.
—Zoe's Adventures Under Ground, "River Rise Over"

Roses are red,
Violets are purple,
Sugar is sweet,

And so's maple surple.
—Roger Miller, "Dang Me"

Roses are red, violets are blue
And time is beginning to crawl
I just might have to come see you

Where teardrops fall
—Bob Dylan (no, really), "Where Teardrops Fall"

Roses are red, my love.
Violets are blue.
Sugar is sweet, my love.
But not as sweet as you.
Then I went far away and you found someone new.
I read your letter dear, and I wrote back to you:
"Roses are red, my love.
Violets are blue.
Sugar is sweet, my love.

Good luck, may God bless you."
—Bobby Vinton, "Roses Are Red (My Love)"

Roses are red
And violets are blue
Honey is sweet

But not as sweet as you
—Aqua, "Roses Are Red" (Different song, same title.)

Violets are blue
Roses are red
Daisies are yellow

The flowers are dead.
—Lil Wayne, "I Feel Like Dying"

The rose is red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar's sweet;

Sweetie, so are you!
—George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin & Gus Kahn, "So Are You"

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Until I met Psalty

I was blue, too.
—Psaltina, Kids Praise 3: Funtastic Family!

Roses are red
Violets are blue
If I'm schizophrenic

Then I am too
—Voltaire, "The Chosen"

For Jean, Jean, roses are red.

And all of the leaves have gone green.
—Oliver, "Jean (Theme from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie)"

Newspaper Comics

Roses are red,
A deep crimson hue,
When you got in trouble,
You sure were too! Ha ha! [2]

And:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Tulips are what we'll be kissing,

Woo-woo!

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
I know where you live

And your family too.

Blue is the violet,
Red is the rose;
You're still a big jerk,

And your poetry blows!
—Zits

Roses are red
Violets are blue
If something smells bad
it's gotta be you.

Roses are red
Emeralds are green
You must weigh more
Than a washing machine.

Roses are red,
tomatoes are too
If I had one now
I'd throw it at you.

Roses are red
Like a big fiery comet
Your face would make even
Quasimodo vomit.

Roses are red
Daffodils gold
You might look better
If you scraped off that mold.

Roses are red
Looming huge to the ant;
I wish you would drown

In a waste treatment plant

Roses are red
And violets are blue
Take care of that sciata

Down by your (wazoo) [4]

Television

Roses are red
Violets are bluish
If it weren't for Christmas

We'd all be Jewish

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet

I'm gonna break your face
—The Champ, Police Squad!!

Violets are blue
Roses are red
My sons were right

Go soak your head

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Fudge is sweet

Here's some fudge.
—Bob Pinciotti, That '70s Show

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Have sex in the Corps

And I'll break your neck
—Deacon Jones, G Vs E

Roses are red
Violets are fickle
When I'm done with you

All you'll have left is this nickel
—Maris Crane, Frasier

Video Games

Roses are gray
Violets are gray

I'm dead and color-blind.
—Forsaken male /silly emote, World of Warcraft

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I'm gonna kill you

Doodley-doo
—Gargarensis, Age of Mythology

Violets are blue
Roses are red
We're coming aboard

Prepare to eat lead
—A book of pirate poems, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge

Roses are red
Zombies are blue
But my face is white[5]

So you know I'm true
—Eriko, Revelations Persona

Roses are red
Violets are blue

You suck
—Graffiti written below an over-the-top poem in Left 4 Dead

Web Comics

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
You're really hot,
Let's fuck.

—Sven Bianchi, Questionable Content #1189

Roses be red,
Violence be bloody,
Littleton kid went
Killing with his buddy.
Una-bomber! Oklahoma!
Fire down ho!
Sharks in da gene pool,
North of Kosovo!
Everyone's packing,
So I'll pack my nickel bag,
Gonna get my peace on and offer yas a drag.

—Monique, Sinfest February 2, 2000: Beat Poet 2

Roses are red
Daisies are yellow
(gets briefly interrupted)
I am in love with
A nerdy young fellow.

Roses are red,
Violets are violet.
Here's the Zorgon spies,
Yo momma's a harlot.

—Lodoze (parody of Lobo), Sluggy Freelance (22 June 2001)

Roses are red
I give them to mom
She makes me cookies
Nommy nom noms

—Cinna the Poet, Hark! A Vagrant (#307)

You need a poem? Fine!
Roses are red
Green is the grass
I'm sorry I hurt you
I'm a horse's ass.
If you need a haiku, just remember "peace-shattering moron" is six syllables.

—Fred Macintire (advising Lisa), Something*Positive

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Shut your face,
It's an ugly face.

—Ode to Shutting Up by Katie, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal 2003-02-26

Web Original

Roses are red
Violets are blue
One day we'll cruise
Down Blood Gulch Avenue

—First verse of the Red vs. Blue theme

Roses are red
Violets are blue

I'll fuck you with a rake

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Badger badger badger

Badger badger mushroom

Roses are red,
Violets; they're blue,
Jimmy Stewart is awesome;

Doo dee doo dee doo.
—Jimmy Stewart (supposedly), How It Should Have Ended: Its a Wonderful Life

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Your house is covered
In piles of excrement

—Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, reviewing Saint's Row 2

 Roses are <span style=" color:

  1. ff0000;">#FF0000

Violets are <span style=" color:

  1. 0000ff;">#0000FF

All my base
Are belong to you

Roses are red
The Crisseagrim's blue
You're a miserable pile of secrets
But enough talk, have at you!

—Anonymous

 Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I must eat yoghurt
Off of you.

 Roses are scarlet,
Violets are purple,
My love for you is...
is...
Goddammit.

 Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I am Paini's Cupcake,
I will eat you.

—YouTube comments

 Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Omae wa mou,
Shindeiru.

—YouTube comments

 Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
People are idiots,
The end.

Western Animation

"Roses are red, violets are blue."
That's what they say, but it just isn't true.
Roses are red, and apples are too,
But violets are violet. Violets aren't blue.
An orange is orange, but Greenland's not green
And a pinky's not pink. So what does it mean?
To call something blue when it's not, we defile it.
But ah, what the heck: it's hard to rhyme "violet".

—Dot Warner, Animaniacs

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
If I had your face,
I'd be in a zoo.

—Roy Rooster, Garfield and Friends

Roses are blue
Violets are red
I have to go to the bathroom

—Patrick Star, SpongeBob SquarePants

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
[belches] THIS BELCH IS FOR YOUUUU!!!

—Heffer Wolfe, Rocko's Modern Life

The movies are gray
The TV is black
The horses are running
Please bring me some food

—Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Phineas and Ferb

Roses R Red
Roses R Blue
It's time for Poet's Corner!

—Intro to the poetry segment of Cartoon Planet

Roses are red,
Violets are blue
If skunks had a college,
They'd call it P.U.

—Looney Tunes, "Hollywood Canine Canteen"(1946)

Roses are red,
Violets are pink,
Flowers smell good,
But you sure sCENSORED!

—Telegram delivered by Bugs Bunny, "Buckaroo Bugs" (Bugs then finished the line by shouting it in the recipient's face. The final word is of course, STINK!)

Roses are red,
Posies are green,
Sorry about Denmark,
I was too mean.

Roses are red,
But Morton is blue.
Boo hoo hoo hoo
(face into typewriter)

—Mr. Morton, Schoolhouse Rock

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
turtles are geeks,
and so are you

—The Populars, KaBlam!

Robotnik is rotten,
Alfalfa is sneezy;
The minute I met her,
I loved my Breezie.

—Sonic the Hedgehog, in his love letter/poem parody to Breezie, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Roses are red,
violets are blue...
Once these[6] fry, I'm guessing
this lame poem is... [destroys the keyboard, only to find that the poem spell is still working] through?!
[cue Big No]


  1. ↑ The editor, Luis d'Antin van Rooten, explains this as "a description of an incident at the Russian Imperial court", but the French text is better pronounced than translated.
  2. ↑ Calvin sends Susie this note to taunt her after she gets in trouble for talking in class, provoking her into writing another note and getting in trouble again
  3. ↑ Jason's Valentines to Paige accidentally get switched with Roger's to Andy. Hilarity Ensues
  4. ↑ The author is looking for a word that rhymes but is less "trite"
  5. ↑ Or, in the Updated Rerelease, "But I don't want brains"
  6. ↑ referring to the Ghost Writer's Quantum Keyboard
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