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Seeds of Love

This version from Southern England.
See below for "floral key" to decode this song.


    I sowed the seeds of love
    And I sowed them in the spring
    In April, May and June likewise
    When the small birds do sweetly sing

         When the small birds do sweetly sing.

    My garden was planted well
    With flowers everywhere
    But I had not the liberty to choose for myself
    The flower I loved so dear

         The flower I loved so dear

    The gardener he stood by
    And I asked him to choose for me
    He chose me the violet, the lily and the pink
    But I refused all three

         But I refused all three

    The violet I forsook
    Because it fades so soon
    The pink and the lily I did overlook
    And I vowed I'd stop till June

         And I vowed I'd stop till June

    For in June there's a red rosebud
    And that's the flower for me
    And often I plucked at the red rose bush
    Till I gained the willow tree

         Till I gained the willow tree

    The gardener he stood by
    And told me to take great care
    For into the middle of the red rose bush
    There grows a sharp thorn there

         There grows a sharp thorn there

    I told him I'd take no care
    Till I had felt the smart
    And I oftentimes plucked at the red rose bush
    Till it pierced me to the heart

         Till it pierced me to the heart

    A posy of hyssop I'll make
    No other flower I'll touch
    That all the world may plainly see
    I loved one flower too much

         I loved one flower too much




          Key to flowers and their meaning:
          violet                           modesty
          lily                              purity
          pink                            courtesy
          red rose                         passion
          willow                      unhappy love
          hyssop                          humility

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