Where The Wild Roses Grow

Word and music by: nick cave


They call me the wild rose
But my name is elisa day
Why they call me it i do not know
For my name is elisa day

From the first day i saw her i knew she was the one
As she stared in my eyes and smiled
For her lips were the colour of the roses
That grew down the river, all bloody and wild

When he knocked on my door and entered the room
My trembling subsided in his sure embrace
He would be my first man, and with a careful hand
He wiped at the tears that ran down my face

Chorus

On the second day i brought her a flower
She was more beautiful than any woman i'd seen
I said, "do you know where the wild roses grow
So sweet and scarlet and free?"

On the second day he came with a single red rose
Said: "will you give me your loss and your sorrow?"
I nodded my head, as i lay on the bed
He said, "if i show you the roses will you follow?"

Chorus

On the third day he took me to the river
He showed me the roses and we kissed
And the last thing i heard was a muttered word
As he stood smiling above me with a rock in his fist

On the last day i took her where the wild roses grow
And she lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief
As i kissed her goodbye, i said, "all beauty must die"
And lent down and planted a rose between her teeth

Chorus