Oh the rose of England is a single rose
and damasked red and white!
But roses, if they’re fed too much,
change from being single and become gradually double,
and that’s what’s happened to the English
rose.
The wild rose in a sheltered garden
when it need struggle no more
softly blows out its thin little male stamens
into broad sweet petals,
and through the centuries goes on and on
puffing its little male stamens out into sterile petal
flames
till at last it’s a full, full rose, and has no male dust any
more,
it propagates no more.
So it is with Englishmen.
They are all double roses
and their true maleness is gone.
Oh the rose of England is a single rose
and needs to be raised from seed.