The Canadian Soldiers' Song Book/The Last Rose of Summer

by Thomas Moore

For other versions of this work, see The Last Rose of Summer (Moore).

98—THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER

'Tis the last rose of summer, Left blooming alone,
All her lovely companions, Are faded and gone
No flow'r 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 wither'd, And fond ones are flown,
Oh, who would inhabit This bleak world alone.