John Wesley Harding - The Red Rose And The Briar lyrics

Midweek and we reached Scarlet Town

I was almost dying of thirst

We parked the car in some old schoolyard

The windscreen caked in dirt

There was no water in the engine left

No tread upon the tyres

The electrics were broke cos you went mad

You ripped out all the wires

Across the road, a small cafe

In this state of disrepair

You went for papers and a shave

So I saved you a chair

I knew it wasn't the journey's end

And that your dream was incomplete

But I just could not stand anymore

I was dead upon my feet

I was dead upon my feet

There's nothing there in the market square

But the ghost of the Scarlet Town Crier

I was dead upon my feet

I sing the red rose and the briar

I sing the red rose and the briar

The waitress told me her life story

She'd always meant to up and go

She wiped a cup on her red pinafore

As we waited for you to show

And I told her just a little of you

But left the picture incomplete

You still weren't there to paint it in person

So I skipped out on the street

I skipped out on the street

The newsagent grinned, he said yes you'd been in

You bought a local paper and some shades

The washroom attendant said that you'd freshened up

That you'd left but you hadn't paid

And I couldn't figure out where you were

So I went back just to look near the car

There was nothing there where it should have been

Just oil on dirt and tar

Just oil on dirt and tar

There's nothing there in the market square

But the ghost of the Scarlet Town Crier

And there was nothing there where it should have been

I sing the red rose and the briar

I sing the red rose and the briar

I saw it parked way down the street

In a garage off on the right

And a man said 'get your hands off son'

I just traded that wreck for a motorbike

There was nothing left of mine inside

Not even the broken radio

And I couldn't figure out where that left me

So I went back to look for Rose

The Cafe Rouge was a lunchtime rush

Of regulars yelling for food

The service in there left a lot to be desired

And all the regulars were getting rude

I saw an apron thrown over a chair

A note said 'hey John we're gone, we're gone'

And I just smiled cos I loved you both

So I put the apron on

I put the apron on

There's nothing there in the market square

But the ghost of the Scarlet Town Crier

And I just put the apron on

I sing the red rose and the briar

I sing the red rose and the briar