[Verse 1]
I don't want the perfume
I don't want the cliché
I want the red that cuts
The perfect shape it makes
I love the stem's defense
The bite between the bloom
Beauty with a warning
That walks into the room
[Pre-Chorus]
Pretty can hurt
And I like that truth
Soft in my hand
But it drew first blood too
[Chorus]
Thorned rose, thorned rose
That's the one I chose
Beauty and pain
Growing in one pose
Thorned rose, thorned rose
Lay it where I go
On my name
On my grave below
[Verse 2]
I want the velvet petals
And the edge beneath
A face that looks like mercy
With a bite in its teeth
Don't wrap it in a ribbon
Don't call it sweet and tame
I want the thing that says
I lived with open flame
[Pre-Chorus]
Pretty can hurt
And I like that truth
Soft in my hand
But it drew first blood too
[Chorus]
Thorned rose, thorned rose
That's the one I chose
Beauty and pain
Growing in one pose
Thorned rose, thorned rose
Lay it where I go
On my name
On my grave below
[Bridge]
Let them bring lilies
Let them bring gold
I want a red that shivers
I want the story told
One bloom for the wound
One bloom for the grace
Put that rose on me
When they lay me in place
[Chorus]
Thorned rose, thorned rose
That's the one I chose
Beauty and pain
Growing in one pose
Thorned rose, thorned rose
Lay it where I go
On my name
On my grave below