Roses are Red, Violets are Blue
"Many versions of this rhyme exist. Here's the one I grew up reciting in New York. I remember reciting it as a kid on Valentine's Day." -Mama Lisa
Roses are Red, Violets are Blue
Valentine's Day Rhyme
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet
And so are you!
Notes
Here's another version from A History of Nursery Rhymes (1899) by Percy B. Green:
The rose is red,
The violet's blue,
Pinks are sweet,
And so are you.
Here's a slightly different version from The Sleeping Beauty Picture Book, illustrated by Walter Crane:
The rose is red; the Violet's blue
The pink is sweet; & so are you.
Here's a version that's not so nice:
The rose is red,
The violet's blue,
The grass is green,
And so are you.
Here's a version from Denslow's Mother Goose (1901):
The rose is red,
The violet's blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you.
Here's one from "Favorite Nursery Rhymes" (1906), illustrated by Ethel Franklin Betts:
The rose is red, the violet blue;
Sugar is sweet""and so are you.
These are the words you bade me say
For a pair of new gloves on Easter day.
Here's one from Songs for the Nursery (circa 1806):
The rose is red, the violet blue,
The gilly-flower sweet, and so are you.
These are the words you bade me say
For a pair of new gloves on Easter-day.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
This nursery rhyme can be found in A History of Nursery Rhymes (1899) by Percy B. Green. The illustration can be found in The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes (circa 1920) edited by Walter Jerrold (1865 - 1929) and illustrated by Charles Robinson (Lisa Yannucci did some graphical editing on it).
The 2nd illustration is from The Sleeping Beauty Picture Book, illustrated by Walter Crane.