A different song with the same title/theme:

From the sheet music at National Library of Australia:


ONLY THE LEAF OF A ROSEBUD
Words and music by Tom Armstrong
Melbourne : Dinsdale's Music Pub. House, [191-?]

1. Why don't I smile once in a while? Why am I always sad?
Well, I suppose it's just this rose and a sweetheart once I had.
She was my life; I made her my wife; now I am all bereft.
It's ten years today since she went away and this rosebud was all that she left.

CHORUS: Only the leaf of a rosebud,
Once fragrant, now faded and dead;
Only the leaf of a rosebud
She wore on the day we were wed;
Only a fond recollection,
A mem'ry of past happy days;
Only the leaf of a rosebud,
An emblem of parted ways.

2. Tho' we're apart, deep in my heart, I love her just the same.
Ofttimes I yearn for her return and to hear her speak my name.
What would I give could I but live rapt in her love's repose!
A voice seems to say, she'll come back someday, and that's why I cherish this rose.