"65 Roses" is a 2001 song about cystic fibrosis written and performed by Australian singer Lee J Collier.
The song is about a young girl who cannot pronounce "cystic fibrosis", instead calling it "sixty-five roses", only to learn the correct pronunciation when she grows older.
When she gets older, she finally begins to understand her sister has "cystic fibrosis", not "sixty-five roses", and why her parents were teary-eyed when they told her about the condition.
[1] Shortly after Collier released "65 Roses", John Clinton, vocalist and drummer of Australian country rock band Wolverines, decided to record a cover of the song due to his sister (and most of his family) suffering from cystic fibrosis.
The song received support from LJ Hooker, an Australian real estate group that sponsors Cystic Fibrosis Australia.
[4] As a result of these neglected sales, "65 Roses" stalled at number 23 on the ARIA Singles Chart and spent three weeks in the top 50.