"Cherokee Rose" lyrics

I was just out of the service, drifting through the countryside
I found a field a fireflies to bed down for the night
Before I fell asleep something caught my eye
There was another man in the field, a shadow in moonlight

Late in the springtime when the sun goes down
You can find him in the field across the street from his house
Picking him a bouquet underneath a May full moon
With aging eyes as misty as an early morning dew

I met him through the fireflies, he was a kind-hearted man
And I asked about the bouquet as I went to shake his hand
He told me about his late wife and the flowers that she grew
And how springtime was her favorite
'Cause that's when everything would bloom

He said at night I go pickin' a Cherokee rose
I'll lay 'em on her headstone
'Cause she loved them the most
No matter how many I have won't bring her back
I suppose
But it makes me feel close
To my Cherokee Rose

He took me to where she lay low
And he said my dearest Rose
I lost her givin' birth to a boy I'll never know
Then we sat there in the silence as he held hands with her ghost
Until we meet again the only peace I'll ever know

He said at night I go pickin' a Cherokee rose
I'll lay 'em on her headstone
'Cause she loved them the most
No matter how many I have won't bring her back
I suppose
But it makes me feel close
To my Cherokee Rose

Well, the days went on and the years went by
And on a rainy Autumn day, he joined her on the other side
But in his will, it was much to my surprise, he left me everything he had
For just a small price

Oh, it's been 35 years since this land became mine
And many things have changed, but one thing has stood the test of time
I spend every Spring pickin' flowers with my wife
Because he taught me love is one thing that will never die

So, now at night I go picking a Cherokee rose
I lay it on his headstone, 'cause he loved her the most
No matter how many I have won't bring her back I suppose
But I know that he's close
To his Cherokee Rose