The Convict and the Rose

Within my prison cell so dreary
Alone I sit with weary heart
Thinkin' of my lonely darlin'
From her forever, I must part

A rose she sent me as a token
She sent it just to light'n my gloom
To tell me that her heart was broken
To cheer me before I meet my doom

She wrote I took it from the garden
Where once we wandered side by side
But now you hold no hope of pardon
And I can never be your bride

The judge would not believe my story
The jury said I had to pay
But to the rose in all its glory
"Not guilty" is all that I can say

Goodbye, sweetheart, for in the morning
I'll meet my Maker and repose
And when I die at daylight's dawnin'
Against my heart they'll find your rose