A MILLION RED RED ROSES RED song lyrics
by Joel Sattler

[ based on a translation of "Миллион алых роз" written by Andrei Voznesensky, who drew inspiration for the Russian lyrics from the life of the Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani who allegedly once filled with flowers the square of a hotel where a French actress was staying for whom he had an overwhelming affection ]

there was a man who painted once
who only owned his shack and art
there was an actress he adored
who loved flowers all her heart

so he sold his little house
sold his paintings on a word
spent every ruble that he had
on a sea of flowers for her

a million red red roses red
two lives that are so far apart
a million red red roses red
a thousand thousand scarlet hearts

a million red red roses rose
and from her window she supposed
that one could spin the world around
and turn a soul into a rose

from her room outward gaze
dizzy in the sunny day
her deepest dream at last was there
flowers covered all the square

overcome she felt the cold
did some rich man expect her heat?
but the poor painter stood alone
in the middle of the street

they spoke brief then she was past
on a nightbound train and gone
remembering a town that filled
with roses in a mad mad song

the painter lived out all the rest
in a dark and lonely room
remembering a moment best
full of roses in full bloom

a million red red roses red
two lives that lived so far apart
a million red red roses red
a thousand thousand scarlet hearts

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