Vanlear Rose

One of my fondest memories

Was sittin' on my daddy's knee

Listenin' to the stories that he told

He pulled out that old photograph

Like a treasured memory from the past, and said

"Child, this is the Vanlear Rose"

Now, the Vanlear Rose coulda had her pick

And all the fellas figured rich

Until this poor boy caught her eye

The fellas would all laugh and say

"You're dreaming boy, she'll never look you way

You'll never, every own the Vanlear Rose"

She was the belle of Johnson county

Ohio river to Big Sandy

A beauty to behold like a diamond in the coal

All the miners they would gather 'round

And talk about the man that came to town

Right under their nose stole the heart

of the Vanlear Rose

Then one night in mid-July

Underneath that old blue Kentucky sky

Well, that poor boy won that beauty's heart

Then my daddy would look at my mommy and smile

As he brushed the hair back from my eyes

and he'd say

"You're mama, she's the Vanlear Rose"

She was the belle of Johnson county

Ohio river to Big Sandy

A beauty to behold like diamond in the coal

All the miners they would gather 'round

And talk about the man that came to town

Right under their nose stole the heart

of the Vanlear Rose

Right under their nose stole the heart

of the Vanlear Rose