it ain't a rose when it's a thistle

▶ thistle song - YouTube

song by e.f. beckley

it ain't a rose when it's a thistle.
it ain't drinking wine when it's
grape juice in a thimble.
and it ain't a mountain
when it's flat and low as this soul.
it ain't a rose when it's a thistle.
gonna prick my finger,
gonna make me blush.
don't put the flower on my salad,
i don't eat it much.
hanging out all summer drying on the wall.
brittle in the winter time,
lonely in the fall.
lonely like a dollar when it's changing hands.
lonely like an honest hard working man.
lonely like a bucket never quite filled up.
lonely like a house plant.
lonely like a slut.
and a lonely night is waiting,
lonely nights await.
not every flower ends up in a vase.

it ain't a rose when it's a thistle.
it ain't a night life
when you're trying to wait a table.
and it ain't a valley
when it's cold and dry as this soul.
it ain't a rose when it's a thistle.
gonna sit beside me.
gonna make me flinch.
to drive your spines into my mind.
and i been drinking since.
hanging out all evening,
watching petals fall.
bitter in the morning light,
angry at last call.
angry like the gutter when it starts to rain.
angry like the prairie when the highway came.
angry like God's witness to a world of greed.
angry as a victim.
angry and aggrieved.
and an angry night is waiting,
angry nights await.
not every flower ends up in a vase.