INTRO: 
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VERSE 1: 
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One of my fondest memories 
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Was sittin' on my daddy's knee 
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Listenin' to the stories that he told 
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He'd pull out that old photograph 
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Like a treasured memory from the past, and say 
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"Child, this here's the Van Lear Rose" 
 

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VERSE 2: 
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Oh, how it would bring a smile 
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When he talked about her big, blue eyes 
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And how her beauty ran down to her soul 
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She'd walk across the coal miner's yard 
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Them miners would yell loud and hard 
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And they'd dream of who would hold the Van Lear Rose 
      

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She was the belle of Johnson county 
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Ohio river to Big Sandy 
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A beauty to behold like a diamond in the coal 
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All the miners they would gather 'round 
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And talk about the man that came to town 
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Right under their nose, stole the heart of the Van Lear Rose  
 
VERSE 3: 
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Now, the Van Lear Rose could of had her pick 
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And all the fellers figured rich 
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Until this poor boy caught her eye 
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His buddies would all laugh and say, 
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"You're dreamin' boy,she'll never look your way 
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You'll never, ever hold the Van Lear Rose" 
 
CHORUS 
 
BRIDGE: 
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Then one night in mid-July 
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Underneath that old blue Kentucky sky 
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Well, that poor boy won that beauty's heart 
 
Then my daddy would look at my mommy and smile 
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As he brushed the hair back from my eyes and he'd say, 
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"Your mama, she's the Van Lear Rose" 
 
CHORUS 
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Right under their nose, stole the heart of the Van Lear Rose