The last rose of summer....

Well, this is not exactly that. But it must be getting close.

Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 - 25 February 1852) was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. The latter has been widely adapted and referenced in musical terms. For example, Ludwig Van Beethoven composed Theme and Three variations for flute and piano, Op 105, based on the song late in his life.

My sister-in-law had it played at her funeral, in the midst of late summer in the Remarkable Mountains in Central Otago.


'TIS the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
To 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 Loves shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?