Verse 1. Am. F. C. Em (E)
There’s a garden at the edge of town
Where the cold wind shakes the trees
And I walk the same old gravel path
With your laughter on the breeze
You were wrapped up like the winter frost
Little hands beneath your chin
And every time I held you close
The whole world let me in
⸻
Pre-Chorus. F. C. E. Am.
And all these hours feel borrowed
Like sunlight through the rain
I hold you like a fragile bloom
Before they pull away again
⸻
Chorus. C. B7. Em. G
Oh my English Rose
Growing where the wild wind blows
You lean toward the light
Even when the dark clouds close
And I know someday
You’ll ask why the seasons changed
Why the gardener stood outside
While strangers shaped the rain
But I’ll still be there
With muddy shoes and open arms
Waiting by the garden wall
Protecting all your charms
My English Rose
⸻
Verse 2
There were cafés, parks, and little shoes
Tiny footprints in the spring
You would stumble, laugh, then run to me
Like I was your favourite thing
And the old men watched like weather vanes
Turning every time winds changed
While I bit my tongue through bitter storms
Trying hard to look unchanged
You don’t know the miles behind these eyes
Or the roads beneath these hands
How many nights I drove through rain
Just to hold you while I can
⸻
Pre-Chorus
And every short goodbye
Cuts deeper than before
Like pruning back a living branch
That still reaches for the door
⸻
Chorus
Oh my English Rose
Soft enough to heal the cold
You were never meant to grow
Inside a glasshouse all alone
And I know someday
You’ll see through the careful lines
How love was measured out in hours
While mine ran overtime
Still I’ll be there
Like summer after endless snow
Waiting with the sunlight
For my English Rose
⸻
Bridge
And maybe one day
When you’re older and the truth feels safe
You’ll notice how the flowers bend
Toward the ones who gave them rain
And maybe one day
You’ll hear this old guitar
And know there was a man out there
Who loved you exactly as you are
Not perfect
Not polished
Just weathered, bruised, and true
Still carrying every little petal
That reminds me now of you
⸻
Final Chorus
Oh my English Rose
Blooming stronger every year
No locked gate or winter frost
Could make your colours disappear
And if the world
Ever makes your heart unsure
Just follow all the crooked paths
That always led to your door
Cause I’ll be there
With these worn-out hands I know
Still singing through the seasons
For my English Rose
