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