The Whistlin' Donkeys - Red Is The Rose

 Come over the hills, my bonny Irish lass

Come over the hills to your darling

You choose the road, love, and I'll make the vow

And I'll be your true love forever.

   Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows

   Fair is the lily of the valley

   Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne

   But my love is fairer than any.

'Twas down by Killarney's green woods that we strayed

When the moon and the stars they were shining

The moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair

And she swore she'd be my love forever.

It's not for the parting that my sister pains

It's not for the grief of my mother

Tis all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass

That my heart is breaking forever.

      "Red is the Rose" is an Irish song, 'though the melody comes from the well-known Scottish song called "The Bonnie Banks o'Loch Lomond", which dates back to well before the 19th Century. Like many traditional folk songs, it tells the story of a blossoming love that ends in sadness as the two lovers are separated.