To the Misses Lillie and Gussie D'Alve.
"I'll Plant a Rose Beside Thy Grave" (1878)
Decoration Song & Chorus
by Percy Guyer
(pseud. for Septimus Winner, 1827-1902)
from "Modern Ballads as sung by the D'Alve Sisters
throughout the United States."

[Source: 08895@LoC]

1.
I'll plant a rose upon thy grave,
  To bloom the sunny summer through,
A Pine or Ivy by its side,
  To live and thrive in winter too:
I'll call it thine for love's sweet sake,
  And watch it with a tender care,
And as the seasons come and go,
  My truant feet shall wander there.

CHORUS
I'll plant a rose beside thy grave,
  To beautify the scene,
The spot shall be me resting place,
  I'll see the sod kept fresh and green.

2.
I'll plant a rose upon thy grave,
  A sweet white rose of early bloom,
To cheer the spot and glad the eye,
  To shed its shade and sweet perfume,
I'll wear a bud upon my breast,
  For thou art buried in my heart,
Thy form is only resting there,
  My soul from thine can never part.

(CHORUS)

3.
I'll plant a Rose beside thy grave,
  To beautify the lonely scene;
The spot shall be my resting place,
  I'll see the sod kept fresh and green.
But ah! the Rose will never seem,
  The same sweet flower it was to me;
The grass will never look as green,
  Since I can wander not with thee.

(CHORUS)