All around the castle the queen once sent men
To dig up the vines that choke and starve the garden
But the prickliest hedges yield the sweetest scent
So she decreed the roses were her protection

"I have every right to be here
And this place is mine alone
If you leave me the gods will keep and feed me:
I will stay on my thronе"

Cold and forgotten she remains with just onе
Pity or loyalty, or a twisted kind of love
Impassable hedges enclose mossy stone
And rise over towers and block out the sun

Now she declares all the roses were made just for this:
Pick them and strip them, adorn her for worship

Let the thorns grow for the promise of a rose
But roses grew thorns so we wouldn't disturb the flowers
Command all you want, your beasts men and gods
Green growing things obey only their own laws!

And the pretty ones get to keep their thorns
But the prickly ones have beauty all their own
"I have every right to be here
And this place is mine alone
If you leave me the gods will keep and feed me:
I will stay on my throne"

"Oh curse this broken ground
Bones and thorns and dust
Who will dig them out —
The histories of us?"