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 conversation
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
and 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