Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming all alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flower of her kindred,
No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them;
'Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow
When friendships decay,
And from love's shining circle
The gems drop away!
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
by Sir John Stevenson
Melody by Thomas Moore
(Image: "The Soul of a Rose" by John William Waterhouse)
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2 comments:
When I was in school we had singing class every morning. This is one of the songs we would sing, oh so sad and romantic. The school had 2 rose gardens, one was a large circle filled with a variety of roses. and the other was a long arbor of white roses only. They lasted late into the fall. We would watch for the last one to survive and sing the song over it like silly girls.
Renee Fleming and Kiri d'Kanawa both have wonderful recordings of this song.
How I miss the change of seasons down here in Florida!
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