Where the Wild Roses Grow, Nick Cave
Rosa Altissimo - Francia 1967
They call me The Wild Rose
But my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me that I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day
From the first day
I saw her I knew she was the one
She stared in my eyes and smiled
For her lips were the colour of the roses
They grew down the river, all bloody and wild
When he knocked on my door and entered the room
My trembling subsided in his sure embrace
He would be my first man, and with a careful hand
He wiped the tears that ran down my face
They call me The Wild Rose
But my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me that I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day
On the second day I brought her a flower
She was more beautiful than any woman I'd seen
I said, “Do you know where the wild roses grow
So sweet and scarlet and free?”
On the second day he came with a single red rose
He said: “Will you give me your loss and your sorrow?”
I nodded my head, as I layed on the bed
He said, “If I show you the roses will you follow?”
They call me The Wild Rose
But my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me that I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day
On the third day he took me to the river
He showed me the roses and we kissed
And the last thing I heard was a muttered word
As he stood smiling above me with a rock in his fist
On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow
She lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief
And I kissed her goodbye, I said, “All beauty must die”
And lent down and planted a rose between her teeth
They call me The Wild Rose
But my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me that I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day
Rosa Altissimo - Francia 1967
Mi chiamavano la rosa selvatica
ma il mio nome era Elisa Day
perche' mi chiamassero cosi',
non so poiche' il mio nome era Elisa Day
guardo' i miei occhi e sorrise perche' le sue labbra erano del colore delle rose che crescono lungo il fiume, tutte sanguinose e selvatiche Quando busso' alla mia porta ed entro' nella stanza il mio brivido si quieto' nel suo abbaccio sicuro, sarebbe stato il mio primo uomo, e con mano gentile asciugo' le lacrime che mi rigavano il viso Mi chiamavano la rosa selvatica ma il mio nome era Elisa Day perche' mi chiamassero cosi', non so poiche' il mio nome era Elisa Day Il secondo giorno le portai un fiore era piu' bella di qualsiasi donna Le dissi: “Sai dove crescono le rose selvatiche cosi' dolci e scarlatte e libere?” Il secondo giorno venne con una sola rosa rossa e disse: “Mi darai la tua rovina e il tuo dolore?” annuii, mentre stavo distesa sul letto ed egli disse: “Se ti mostro le rose mi seguirai?” Mi chiamavano la rosa selvatica ma il mio nome era Elisa Day p erche' mi chiamassero cosi', non so poiche' il mio nome era Elisa Day Il terzo giorno mi porto' al fiume mi mostro' le rose e ci baciammo e l’ultima cosa che sentii fu una parola sussurrata mentre stava davanti a me con una pietra nel pugno L’ultimo giorno la portai dove crescono le rose selvatiche lei giacque sulla riva, il vento leggero come un ladro E la baciai per l’addio, e dissi “Ogni bellezza deve morire” e mi chinai e piantai una rosa tra i suoi denti Mi chiamavano la rosa selvatica ma il mio nome era Elisa Day perche' mi chiamassero cosi', non so poiche' il mio nome era Elisa Day Murder Ballads, [1995]