I have gone to visit the grave of a friend of mine
and as I walked thru the grave yard
I noticed this man kneeling down by
the grave of a child
And in his hand he held a big red rose
and tears were streaming down his cheeks
I walked over and laid a hand on
his shoulder and started to talk to him
And during the course of our con
versation and in his broken English
This is the story just as
he told it to me
He said to me Mister I've walked
down the street today
And I passed about the big flower shop
I walked in and I asked the man in the shop I said boss
how much is for one red rose
Then he looked at me with one big frown
and he says it's one dollar please
But in a buyin' buyer was well
dressed blonde lady walked in
And she says how much
is for one red rose
And he looked at her with one big smile
and he says ten cents
Now I said boss how come to you to charge
me a dollar for the rose
And you charged the
young lady only ten cents
Then he said look Mister you tell
me why you want the rose
And maybe I give it to you for not
I said boss I'm a hard working man working a
railroad an d gonna make too much money
And I got a little girl and her name was
Rosa o Rosa's just about this high boss
Every day when
I'd come home from the work
A little Rosa come running to meet her papa
And she'd throw her little arms around
my neck and say papa and I'd say Rosa
But one day boss I've come
home from the work I don't see Rosa
I looked down by the railroad track and I
see one big crowd
I'd go down and I pushed the crowd this
a way and pushed the crowd that a way
There was at my feet lay my little Rosa
and that's why I want the rose boss
I wanna put it on little
Rosa's grave
Then man he didn't say not but he picked the
biggest and the reddest rose
And he gave it to me
And I said thank you boss thank
you very much