G
One of my fondest memories
C
Was sittin' on my daddy's knee
G
Listenin' to the stories that he told
G
He'd pull out that old photograph
C
Like a treasured memory from the past
G
And say child
D G
This here's the Van Lear Rose
G
Oh how it would bring a smile
C
When he talked about her big blue eyes
G
And how her beauty ran down to her soul
G
She'd walk across the coal miners' yard
C
Them miners would yell loud and hard
G D
and they'd dream of who would hold
G
The Van Lear Rose
C
She was the belle of Johnson County
G
Ohio river to Big Sandy
D G
A beauty to behold like a diamond in the coal
C
All the miners they would gather 'round
G
Talk about the man that came to town
D
Right under their nose
G
Stole the heart of the Van Lear Rose
G
Now the Van Lear Rose could've had her pick
C
And all the fellers figured rich
G
Until this poor boy caught her eye
G
His buddies would all laugh and say
C
You're dreamin' boy she'll never look your way
G D G
You'll never ever hold the Van Lear Rose
C
She was the belle of Johnson County
G
Ohio river to Big Sandy
D G
A beauty to behold like a diamond in the coal
C
All the miners they would gather 'round
G
Talk about the man that came to town
D
Right under their nose
G
Stole the heart of the Van Lear Rose
G
Then one night in mid July
C
Underneath that ol' blue Kentucky sky
G
Well, that poor boy won that beauty's heart
G
Then my daddy would look at my mommy and smile
C
As he brushed the hair back from my eyes and he'd say
G
Your mama
D G
She's the Van Lear Rose
C
She was the belle of Johnson County
G
Ohio river to Big Sandy
D G
A beauty to behold like a diamond in the coal
C
All the miners they would gather 'round
G
Talk about the man that came to town
D
Right under their nose
G
Stole the heart of the Van Lear Rose
D
Right under their nose
G
Stole the heart of the Van Lear Rose
