[Verse 1]
I tore all the pictures from all of their frames
And all of your T-shirts, I gave them away
I gave up those friends we both hung around
And I gave up that bar on the east side of town
I quit driving by to see if you're home
And I took your dead number right out of my phone
I came to my senses and I gave up drinking alone

[Chorus]
But I kept the roses, right by my bed
And they sure make me lonely, but I'm smiling instead
'Cause you weren't the one, babe, but you were the closest
I let the rest of us go, but I kept the roses

[Verse 2]
I guess they remind me of how love can feel
Sometimes it don't work, doesn't mean it ain't real
We had something different, we had something great
Oh, but some things, they just wilt away

[Chorus]
So I kept the roses, right by my bed
And they sure make me lonely, but I'm smiling instead
'Cause you weren't the one, babe, but you were the closest
I let the rest of us go, but I kept the roses
[Post-Chorus]
La-la-la-la (Ooh-ooh)
La-la-la-la (Ooh-ooh)
La-la-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la

[Chorus]
Oh, I kept the roses, right by my bed
And they sure make me lonely, but I'm smiling instead
Oh, 'cause you weren't the one, babe, but you were the closest
I let the rest of us go, but I kept the roses
I let the rest of us go, but I kept the roses