THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER  - 4m04s

‘Tis the last rose of summer, left blooming alone
All her lovely companions are all  faded and gone
No flow’r of her kindred, no rosebud 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
This kindly I’ll scatter, thy leaves o’er thy bed
Where thy mates of the garden, lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow, when friendships decay
And from loves shining circle, the gems drop away
When true hearts lie withered and when fond ones are flown
Oh who would inhabit, this bleak world alone.

       Thomas Moore

Hoping to create an echo across the generations, my version of this song contains some of the same instrumentation and uses the same, rather unusual, phrasing my Grandfather used. (He inserts an extra half bar in each verse) By doing this and using a technical trick on the vocals for the first two verses I hope  this version does indeed echo his original version but also stands as an interesting example of this classic old Irish song in its own right. I’ve also reinstated the missing two lines !