I Threw Away the Rose

I Threw Away the Rose - Merle Haggard

Once I lived a life of wine and roses and

I drank a lot back then for one concern

Success for me lay just around the corner

I thought my social friends would help me make me turn

But now I'm paying for the days of wine and roses

A victim of the drunken life I chose

Now all my social friends look down their noses

Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose

I stood by and watched the bottle take control of me

The turn I made was not the one I'd planned

And I watched my social standings slip away from me

While I watched the bottle slowly take command

Now I'm paying for the days of wine and roses

A victim of the drunken life I chose

Now all my social friends look down their noses

Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose

Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose