She was called a scarlet woman by the people
Who would go to church
But leave me in the street
With no parents of my own
I never had a home
And a fifteen year old girl has got to eat

She found me outside one Sunday morning
Begging money from a man I didn't know
She took me in and wiped away my childhood
That woman of the street
This lady Rose

This bed of roses that I lay on
Where I was taught to love a man
This bed of roses where I'm livin'
Is the only kind of life I'll understand

She was a handsome woman
Just thirty-five
Who was spoken to in town by very few
She managed a late evening business
Like most of the town wished they'd do

I learned all the things
A man should know from a woman
Not approved of I suppose
She died knowing someone really loved her
From life's bramble bush
I picked a rose
This bed of roses
This bed of roses