Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I LIVE (Carter)
From: CarterNut
Date: 13 Aug 98 - 12:10 PM

Tiger,
Here's another. Over the wall and into the roses.

GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I LIVE
A.P. Carter

Wonderful things of folks are said,
When they have passed away;
Roses adorn their narrow bed,
Over the sleeping face.

CHORUS. Give me the roses while I live,
Trying to cheer me on;
Useless are flowers that you give,
After the soul is gone.

Let us not wait to do good deeds,
Till they have passed away;
Now is the time to sow good seed,
While here on earth we stay.

Kind words are useless when folks lie,
Cold in a narrow bed;
Don't wait till death to speak kind words,
Now should the words be said.

Give me the roses while I live,
Don't wait until I die;
To spread the roses o'er my grave,
To see as you pass it by.

Enjoy everyone,

John J.

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE ME THE ROSES NOW (Cornelius/Rowe)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Aug 98 - 01:37 PM

I have a couple of verses that aren't above or in the database, but I don't know where I found the 1925 publication date. The version I have is credited to R.H. Cornelius & James Rowe, so I don't know if the A.P. Carter attribution is correct.
It's a wonderful song, but I have a friend who wanted it sung for her husband's funeral last year. We gently convinced her that it was a bit too morbid for a funeral. One might wonder how anything could be too morbid for a funeral, but I think we were correct.

GIVE ME THE ROSES NOW
(R.H. Cornelius and James Rowe, 1925)

Wonderful things of folks are said,
When they have passed away;
Roses adorn the narrow bed,
Over the sleeping clay.

CHORUS:
Give me the roses while I live,
Try to cheer me on;
Useless the flowers that you give,
After the soul is gone.

Praises are heard not by the dead,
Roses they cannot see;
Let us not wait till souls have fled,
Generous friends to be.
CHORUS

Faults are forgiven when folks lie
Cold in the narrow bed.
Let us forgive them ere they die,
Now should the words be said.
CHORUS

Source: Mel Bay's Old-Time Gospel Songbook (by Wayne Erbsen, 1993), page 25

-Joe Offer-

Subject: Chords Add: GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I LIVE
From: Pete Peterson
Date: 24 Aug 99 - 10:43 PM

I sing it in D--

 D
  Wonderful things of folks are said
  A                       D
  When they have passed away
  D
  Roses adorn their narrow bed
  A                  D
  Over the sleeping clay
  G                    D
  Give me the roses while I live
  D                  A
  Trying to cheer me on
  D
  Useless are flowers that you give
  A                  D
  After the soul is gone

(NOTE: I tried to get it to work but we'll see how badly the message system scrambles it! good luck, campfire PETE

HTML line-breaks and preformat commands added. --JoeClone, 18-Jun-07.

Subject: RE: One more Carter Family request
From: campfire
Date: 25 Aug 99 - 01:52 PM

Pete - It did get scrambled, but its good enough. I can figure it out from that. Thanks a bunch. I'll still want to order the album, though - I just have to wait until next paycheck.

campfire

Subject: Chords Add: GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I LIVE (Carter
From: open mike
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 03:59 PM

additional verses and source info to included in the D.T.

GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I LIVE
HEARD ON PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
AS SUNG BY GREG BROWN AND KATE MACKENZIE
A CARTER FAMILY SONG WRITTEN BY R.H. CORNELIUS

        D                                        A
WONDERFUL THINGS OF FOLKS ARE SAID WHEN THEY HAVE PASSED AWAY


    D                                                     A   
FLOWERS ADORN THE NARROW BED, AND OVER THE SLEEPING LAY


                   G                         D                E         A A7                 
GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I LIVE, TRYING TO CHEER ME ON

         D                                    A                D                                                                       
        USELESS THE FLOWERS THAT YOU GIVE, AFTER THE SOUL IS GONE

---

Folks are forgiven when they lie, cold in the narrow bed
Let us forgive them ere they die, now must the words be said
CHORUS

Praises are heard not by the dead, roses they cannot see
Let us not wait til sould have fled, tenderest friends to be
CHORUS

ADDITIONAL VERSES:
Let us not wait to do good deeds til they have passed away
Now is the time to sow good seeds, while here on earth we stay
CHORUS

Kind words are useless when folks lie cold in the narrow bed
Don't wait until death to speak kind words, now should the words be said.
CHORUS

Give me the roses while I live, don't wait until I die
To spread the roses o'er my grave to see as you pass it by
CHORUS

---

What good do the roses do daddy in heaven,
why won't you give them today?
While Daddy's livin' and lovin' his children,
for daddy it's better that way!

Subject: RE: LYR ADD: Give Me The Roses (A.P. Carter)
From: open mike
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 04:24 PM

I believe the song originated with R.H. Cornelius
He had (I believe) a publishing house in texas in the 20's
and may have prior to that been an immigrant from Wales
or Cornwall, and a miner. The Carter family was well known
for singing traditional songs or ones that originated
by other song writers, but copy righting them as if
they were theri own.

Subject: RE: LYR ADD: Give Me The Roses (A.P. Carter)
From: open mike
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 04:39 PM

Cornelius's publishing concern was called Heart Melodies
{Hymnals}
[Title] Heart Melodies
[Compiler] R. H. Cornelius
[Publisher] R. H. Cornelius
[Pub Location] Fort Worth, TX
[Date] 1926

Subject: RE: LYR ADD: Give Me The Roses (A.P. Carter)
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 08:04 PM

I don't have any information on this, but there is an amazing list of gospel songbooks- the ephemeral kind from small printers in the southwest and south- on this website. Some may occasionally show up in bookstores or church basements: hymnal inventory

---

New link: International Pentecostal Holiness Church Archive (click)
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: LYR ADD: Give Me The Roses (A.P. Carter)
From: masato sakurai
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 08:08 PM

"Give Me Roses While I Live" : Carter Family [Real Audio] (from Honkingduck).

The original was written by James Rowe (words) and R.H. Cornelius (music) in 1925 (info from Meade et al.'s Country Music Sources, p. 703).

~Masato

Subject: RE: LYR ADD: Give Me The Roses (A.P. Carter)
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 08:16 PM

R. H. Cornelius is credited on this Rounder collection of Carter songs (1932-1933): Give Me the Roses While I Live

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE ME THE ROSES WHILE I...(Rowe/Denson)
From: Burke
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 08:41 PM

Here are some alternate words for v.1 & an additional verse from the Denson/1991 ed, of the Sacred Harp. I see the words are dated a bit earlier than the other sources as well.

Odem p.340
Tune: T. J. Denson, 1935
Lyrics: James Rowe, 1915

Wonderful things of men are said,
When they have passed away;
Flowers adorn the narrow bed
Over the lifeless clay.

Chorus:
Give me the roses while I live,
Something to cheer me on,
Useless the flowers you may give,
After the soul is gone.

Life is the time for words of praise,
Hands clasp with friendly smile,
Blessings to cheer a pilgrim's days,
Are always well worthwhile.

(Chorus)

Subject: RE: LYR ADD: Give Me The Roses (A.P. Carter)
From: Burke
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 12:27 PM

In my 1971 Denson Sacred Harp, there's a note with "Odem" indicating that it's named for Denson's friend Lonnie Odem and that Odem is the one that modified the words. I'd like to see Rowe's original for comparing the 1st verse, but my guess is that Odem wrote this 2nd verse.

The Denson tune is completely different from the Cornelius tune. It can be heard Here (Odem is one from the top). Go directly to the MP3 Here.

Cornelius compiled or published over a dozen gospel song books between 1900 & 1930. I've got a list from WorldCat. Open mike, PM me with your e-mail & I'll send it to you.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me The Roses While I Live
From: open mike
Date: 04 Jun 08 - 04:16 AM

I would like to find out more about R. H. Cornelius.
Was he Welsh? Cornish? Was he a miner? I have heard
all of these...which are true? This is a beautiful
waltz. Does anyone have any information about James
Rowe? (any other songs he wrote or co-wrote?)

There was a recent thread about Welsh songs and hymns
and I was reminded that R. H. Cornelius was possibly
Welsh. (or Cornish...are Cornwall and Wales in close
proximity to each other?)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me The Roses While I Live
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Jun 08 - 01:41 PM

I searched at WorldCat for R. H. Cornelius: Click for results

It lists these books by him, but I think he was more likely the editor or publisher rather than songwriter/composer, but it's hard to tell--

Calvary Hymns, 1925
Celestial Chimes, 1921
Cornelius' Gospel Songs, 1927
Cornelius' Gospel Songs No. 2, 1928
Cornelius' Rudiments and Music Reader, 1937
Diamonds, 1916
Glory Gleams, 1923
Gospel Rays, 1922.
Heart Melodies, 1926
Helpful Hymns, 1914
Helpful Songs, 1909
Messenger of Song, 1912.
Praises, 1924
Redemption Hymns, 1915
Revival and Prohibition Songs, 19--?
Search-Light Songs, 19--?
Star of the Morning 1909
Triumphant Joy, 1913.

It looks like his books were always published in Texas. (I suppose that doesn't preclude other editions being published in other countries.)

You might want to search the British Library catalogue.

Subject: Lyr Add: KINDNESS DURING LIFE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 12:32 PM

There seem to be many versions of this poem—or many poems expressing the same idea.

From Journal of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, Volume 34, 1925, page 56:


KINDNESS DURING LIFE
Anonymous

I would rather have one little rose
From the garden of a friend
Than to have the choicest flowers
When my stay on earth must end.

I would rather have the kindest words
[That can be said to me]*
Than flattered when my heart is still
And this life has ceased to be.

I would rather have a loving smile
From friends I know are true
Than tears shed 'round my casket
When this world I've bid adieu.

Bring me all the flowers today
Whether pink, or white, or red;
I'd rather have one blossom now
Than a truckload when I'm dead.


[*There seems to be a line missing here in the original. I have inserted a line from a different version.]

Subject: Lyr Add: I WOULD RATHER HAVE A ROSEBUD....
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 12:44 PM

This is quoted without a title and without attribution in Our Nation's Peril by Jacob Marvin Rudy (Chicago: The L. W. Walter Company, 1918), page 41:

I would rather have a rosebud
From the friends whose hearts are true
Than flowers around my lifeless form
When earth I've bid adieu.

I would rather have the kindest words
That can be said to me
Than flattery when I'm cold in death
And life has ceased to be.

Then bring me a rosebud sweet—
A rosebud pink and red
I'd rather have just one tonight
Than a million when I'm dead.

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE FLOWERS TO THE LIVING (W L Thompson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 01:15 PM

From Mother's Favorite Verses: Good Old Days Remembers by Ken Tate (Berne, Ind.: House of White Birches, 2001), page 55:


GIVE FLOWERS TO THE LIVING
Will L. Thompson

Give the flowers to the living.
Let sweet fragrance fill the air.
Blessings follow with giving,
Pure and sweet as lily fair.

Give the toilers oft a token
Of the love you would bestow.
Shower blessings on the living.
If you love them, tell them so.

Give the flowers to the living.
Give them honor, love and cheer.
Let them see appreciation
Of their labors while they're here.

Give encouragement and praises
To the worthy ones you meet.
Sweetest blossoms for the living
Strew the path for weary feet.

Give the flowers to the living.
Scatter blossoms on life's way.
You will see the glad thanksgiving
Beaming heav'nward day by day.

Like the loving Magdalena,
Giving all she could bestow,
Shower blessings on the living.
If you love them, tell them so.

Give me all the flowers today,
Whether pink or white or red.
I'd rather have one blossom now
Than a truckload when I'm dead.

Subject: Lyr Add: SAY IT NOW (Gary W. Smith)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 01:48 PM

From Life Changing Thoughts by Gary W. Smith (Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, 2009), page 360:


SAY IT NOW

I'd rather have one little rose now from the garden of a friend
Than to have the choicest flowers when my stay on earth must end.

I'd rather have a pleasant word now, in kindness said to me,
Than flattery when my heart is still and my life has ceased to be.

I'd rather have a loving smile now from friends I know are true
Than tears shed round my casket when this world bids me adieu.

Bring me all your flowers today, whether pink, white, or red.
I'd rather have one blossom now than a truckload when I'm dead.

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE ME THE FLOWERS (Terry Allen)
From: open mike
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 09:39 PM

This is similar to a song sung by Terry Allen on his "album" Salivation

unknown if it was written by Terry

In this world today
Where we're living
Some folks say
The worst of us they can
But when we are dead
And in our caskets
They always slip some lilies
In our hands
Will you give me my flowers
While I'm livin
And let me enjoy them
While I can
Don't wait til I'm ready
To be buried
And then slip some lilies
In my hand
In this world is
Where we need our flowers
And a kind word to help us
Get along
So if you can't give me flowers
While I'm livin
Then please don't throw them
When I'm gone

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 10:44 PM

arrrgghhh! MORE hard-to-remember verses for that 'simple' little song which says almost the same thing in every verse! I have never been able to sing it without a cheat-sheet...so I never try much. (but it's so easy to play on the autoharp!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: Stewie
Date: 15 Aug 09 - 07:30 AM

Open Mike, according to the booklet for 'Salivation', 'Give Me the Flowers' is credited to Elvin Bigger, Louise Certain, Gladys Stacey Flatt (Cedarwood Publishing BMI, 1957.

--Stewie.

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE ME THE FLOWERS (from Flatt & Scruggs
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 12:48 AM

The following song has been recorded under several titles:
GIVE ME FLOWERS WHILE I'M LIVING
GIVE ME MY FLOWERS WHILE I'M LIVING
GIVE ME THE FLOWERS
GIVE ME THE FLOWERS WHILE I'M LIVING


GIVE ME THE FLOWERS (correct title according to BMI)
Elvin Biggers, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs (according to BMI)
Gladys Stacey Flatt, Elvin Bigger, Louise Certain (according to some other sources)

In this world today where we're living,
Some folks say the worst of us they can,
But when we are dead and in our caskets,
They always slip some lilies in our hands.

CHORUS: [Won't you] Give me my flowers while I'm living
And let me enjoy them while I can.
[Please] Don't wait till I'm ready to be buried
And then slip some lilies in my hand.

In this world is where we need our flowers,
A kind word to help us get along.
If you can't give me flowers while I'm living,
Then please, don't send them when I'm gone.

[Recorded by Flatt & Scruggs "Foggy Mountain Gospel", The Amazing Rhythm Aces "How the Hell Do You Spell Rhythum?", Terry Allen "Salivation", The Lost & Found "Hymn Time", The Knitters "Modern Sounds of the Knitters"]

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE ME FLOWERS WHILE I'M LIVIN' (Dupree)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 01:00 AM

If the above versions are too sickly sweet for you, you might like this blues song.


GIVE ME FLOWERS WHILE I'M LIVIN'
As recorded by Champion Jack Dupree on “One Last Time” (1993) and on “A Portrait of Champion Jack Dupree” (2000)

Bring my flowers while I'm livin'. Bring my flowers so I can smell. (2x)
‘Cause if I don't go to heaven, you know I can't use no flowers down in hell.

When I’m dyin’, gi’ me a cool drink o’ water. A drink o’ water will keep me cool. (2x)
‘Cause when I’m dead an’ gone, you people will say: “I tried to help that fool.”

When the hearse go rollin’ by my door for the very last time, (2x)
You people will say: “There go a blues singer of the world that don't mind dyin’.”

When my woman walk aroun’ my casket, an’ she look down in my face,
When she walkin’ roun’ my casket an’ she look down in my face,
And then she start to wond’rin’ what man gonna take my place.

[I don’t remember where I got the following fragment; it wasn’t on the above recording.]

When I'm dyin', take the pillow from underneath my head. (2x)
...I don't need it when I'm dead.

Subject: Lyr Add GIVE ME MY FLOWERS WHILE I LIVE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 01:03 AM

Two more related songs:

GIVE ME MY FLOWERS
Sullivan Pugh
[Gospel song recorded by The Consolers]

*

This singer also plays excellent blues harmonica. (Obviously, he can’t do both at the same time. He sings for a while, plays for a while, alternately. There are no other instruments. Would you say he accompanies himself? Or would you call it a cappella singing?)

GIVE ME MY FLOWERS WHILE I LIVE
As recorded by Elder Roma Wilson on “This Train” (1995)

Give me my flowers while I live.
Just give me my flowers while I live.
Well, if you love me, just give me my roses.
Give me my flowers while I live.

Please give me my roses while I live,
While I can see just what you give.
Don’t wait till I’m dead and gone, then bring ‘em to my graveside.

Well, I can’t see my flowers when I’m dead and gone,
When they lay me in the graveyard where they’ll leave me alone.
Well, if you love me, just give them to me now, Lord.

Please give me my roses while I live,
While I can see just what you give.
Don’t wait till I’m dead and gone, bring ‘em to my graveside.

I can’t see my flowers when I’m dead and gone,
When they lay me in the graveyard and leave me alone.
Well, if you love me, please give them to me now.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: open mike
Date: 15 Mar 11 - 05:25 PM

The the A.P. Carter attribution is almost never correct..he "borrowed" (stole) music from a lot of folks including that infamous songwriter
"Trad." and put his name on them.

R.H. Cornelius and Rowe collaborated on Hymns of the Old Camp Ground

http://books.google.com/books?id=2aKIGrGlnwsC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=give+me+the++roses+cornelius&source=bl&ots=uyAs6Rozlw&sig=6gBoJFWqxyTWj-vaQOldHurfSk0&hl=en&ei=ZdR_Tey8HYX0tgOEhvSSBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q&f=false

and Cornelius, known as a shape note song writer, also compiled a
song book "Heart Songs" (which i had a copy of before the fire)
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=50553

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Sep 12 - 05:19 PM

I found "Give Me Roses While I Live" in a 1925 Songbook "Calvary Hymns" published by RH Cornelius, Fort Worth, TX. Copyright 1925 by RH Cornelius, words by James Rowe. He consistently gives his birthplace as Alabama in 1900 -1930 census.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: GUEST,Linda Griggs
Date: 20 Jan 13 - 08:41 PM

I looked at this hymn and those last four stanzas aren't there.

When you look it at the sheet music, it doesn't seem that close to the Rowe lyrics.

http://www.hymnary.org/text/give_the_flowers_to_the_living

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: GUEST,Linda Griggs
Date: 20 Jan 13 - 08:46 PM

I found much of this on youtube in the 'read more'
I wish I'd saved the links. silly me.

R. H. Cornelius compiled or published over a dozen gospel song books between 1900 & 1930.

James Rowe
Born: Jan­u­a­ry 1, 1865, Hor­ra­bridge, De­von­shire, Eng­land.
Died: No­vem­ber 10, 1933, Wells, Ver­mont.
Son of John Rowe, a cop­per min­er, James worked for the Ir­ish gov­ern­ment for four years, then em­i­grat­ed to Amer­i­ca at age 24. He set­tled in Al­ba­ny, New York, and worked in rail­roads in New York for 10 years. He then be­came an in­spect­or for the Hud­son Riv­er Hu­mane So­ci­e­ty. He then worked for mu­sic pub­lish­ers in Tex­as and Ten­nes­see, and in his lat­er years, moved to Vermont and worked with his daugh­ter, an artist, writ­ing vers­es for greet­ing cards.
Famous song writer James Rowe didn't have an easy life. As a matter of fact, just performing the art of writing was a real struggle. Born January 1, 1865, James was the fifth of 9 children, but the first born boy. He and his family lived in Wales.
In 1889 James, as a 24-year-old man, immigrated to the United States, where he settled in Albany New York. During the course of his life, James worked as a teacher, government worker, railroad worker, and an inspector for the Hudson River Humane Society.
While he enjoyed his work, his true passion lay in creating. It is said that James Rowe wrote some 20,000 hymns and poems. Among them were such cherished songs as God Holds the Future in His Hands, I Walk With the King, If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again, and many others. 
What makes this so amazing is what he overcame in order to pen these thousands of songs. According to his daughter, she witnessed her father, who suffered with a serious case of arthritis, spending day after day working on the words, melody, and music to many different songs. Despite the pain with which he lived, he pushed through and achieved his goals of putting his faith to the written word.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: open mike
Date: 08 Aug 13 - 12:48 AM

There is a version of this song from me on the Mudcat recordings "This is Us" #9 on the C.D. called "Wood"

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: Ron Davies
Date: 08 Aug 13 - 09:16 AM

So James Rowe also wrote "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again"?    That's another good one, also done by Flatt and Scruggs, as I recall.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: GUEST,Rebecca Stout flatfootandfancyfree.com
Date: 14 Sep 18 - 05:27 PM

He’s also credited with writing another Carter Family classic, “Anchored In Love”

Subject: Lyr Add: GIVE ME THE ROSES NOW (Rowe/Cornelius)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Sep 18 - 12:17 PM

Found at the Internet Archive, in Calvary Hymns (Fort Worth: R. H. Cornelius, 1925), hymn no. 296. I have boldfaced the words that are different from those posted by Joe Offer on 13-Aug-1998. Note there is an additional verse:


GIVE ME THE ROSES NOW
Words by James Rowe, music by R.H. Cornelius; ©1925.

1. Wonderful things of folks are said
When they have passed away.
Roses adorn the narrow bed
Over the sleeping clay.

CHORUS: Give me the roses while I live,
Trying to cheer me on.
Useless the flowers that you give
After the soul has gone.

2. Now is the time for words of praise,
Handshake and friendly smile.
Blessings that gladden pilgrim days
Always are well worth while. CHORUS

3. Praises are heard not by the dead.
Roses they cannot see.
Let us not wait till souls have fled
Generous friends to be. CHORUS

4. Faults are forgiven when folks lie
Cold in their narrow bed.
Let us forgive them ere they die.
Now should the words be said. CHORUS

The same song is also found in Cornelius’ Gospel Songs (Fort Worth: R. H. Cornelius, 1927), hymn no. 73.

For both of these books, Cornelius is the publisher and apparently the editor and compiler; he also composed music for some of the songs, but not all; typically (if not always), someone else wrote the words. There is no index of lyricists or composers.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: Haruo
Date: 16 Sep 18 - 05:15 PM

My paternal grandmother, Elsie Lister Ross, 1887-1972, wrote a poem in 1924 with the same general theme. I'm planning on setting it to a Sacred Harp tune, probably FAMILY BIBLE, in my under-construction shapenote tunebook, Sankta Harmonio.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: Haruo
Date: 16 Sep 18 - 05:16 PM

Oops, forgot to post the lyrics:

Too few are the garlands we weave for the living,
Too many the wreaths that are laid on the bier;
If someone has flowers or praise to be giving,
'Tis wrong to withhold while the loved one is here.
When once the dear soul from the cold clay doth vanish,
What use the sweet blossoms so lavishly spread?
One kind, loving word that the teardrops will banish,
Is better than loudest applause to the dead.

Subject: Lyr Add: BRING ME FLOWERS WHILE I'M LIVING (blues)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 15 Feb 20 - 09:13 AM

BRING ME FLOWERS WHILE I'M LIVING
As recorded by Peetie Wheatstraw, Decca 7886, 1941.

Bring me flowers while I'm livin'—please don't bring them when I am dead.
Bring me flowers whilst I am livin'—please don't bring them when I am dead.
And bring ice bag to my bedside—hoo, baby—to cool my achin' head.

When a man is sick in bed—please come to my rescue.
When I am sick in bed—please come to my rescue.
When a man is dead and gone—hoo, well, well, honey—what'll he know what you do?

Bring me water to my bed—a drink will keep me cool. (2x)
And just say after I am gone—hoo, well, well—"I sure tried to help that fool."

I'll stay here long as I can—leave when I can't help myself. (2x)
We's all got to die—hoo, well, well—and I ain't no better than no one else.

Don't bring me flowers after I'm dead—a dead man sure can't smell. (2x)
And if I don't go to heaven—hoo, well, well—I don't sure need no flowers in hell.

Subject: Lyr Add: BRING MY FLOWERS NOW (Tanya Tucker)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 11:52 AM

I just became aware of another song that fits this genre:


BRING MY FLOWERS NOW
Words and music by Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth, & Tanya Tucker
As recorded by Tanya Tucker on "While I'm Livin'" (2019)

CHORUS: Bring my flowers now while I'm livin'.
I won't need your love when I'm gone.
Don't spend time, tears, an' money on my ol' breathless body.
If your heart is in them flowers, bring 'em on.

All the miles cast a long shadow.
I'd take a couple back if I could.
I'd have learned to play guitar, tell my daddy more I loved him,
But I believe for the most part I done good.

There's always sunrise an' rainbows an' babies,
And the little things that I cherished on my way,
And even though I'm dead, they'll bury me an' Jesse Ray.
I just know we're gonna rise again someday. CHORUS

The days are long but the years are lightnin'.
They're bright and they will never strike again.
I wish I'd been a better friend, a better daughter to my mother,
But there's no going back when your back's against the wind.

So if you got love, then you're sittin' on a gold mine,
And you can't take it with you when you go;
So don't wait to help your sister, forgive your brother and your neighbor.
We all think we've got the time until we don't. CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Give Me the Roses While I Live
From: GeoffLawes
Date: 05 Aug 20 - 03:05 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0kHjaTq8zo Carter Family recording on YouTube