Words and music © 2025 by Tom Maynard Tom Maynard: Vocals, guitar, Celtic low whistle
Joe Clapp: Bass
Inspired by a photo posted by Christine Hatch on Facebook, with the caption: “November rose before the frost”. A song about the sometimes tragic but always beautiful persistence of life.
Lyrics:
November rose before the frost
A Summer’s day in her bloom
All secrets seem to hide inside
The universe in her womb
Must I dwell on her life cut short
And grieve the loss coming on?
Or can I find joy in this moment now
When life and beauty have won?
November rose, a fragile thing
Reaching out to be known
A yearning force, an aching call
Unrequited, alone
Can it be enough, perhaps,
That I’ve seen her petals unfold
That a bud has opened, perfect and pure
Here on Winter’s threshold
Bridge:
This flare of flame at the foot of the wall
The cold will most surely devour
But I’ll hear it echo in the cardinal’s call
As the snow sifts down, all around his bower
November rose before the frost
Shines in late afternoon sun
So small a thing, so large a thing
For life and beauty have won
Tag:
So small a thing, so large a thing
For life and beauty have won
Tom Maynard 