Roses are red and violets are blue

"Roses are red and violets are blue"

The Original Version
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"It was upon a Summers shynie day,
When Titan faire his beams did display,
In a fresh fountaine, farre from all mens view,
She bath'd her brest, the boiling heat t'alley,
She bath'd with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowers, that in the forrest grew. "
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By Sir Edmond Spencer (1552-1599)
This poem is traced back to year 1590, when Sir Edmond Spencer, an important English poet and Poet Laureate wrote this. He is famous for writing the epic poem 'The Faerie Queene', that celebrates Queen Elizabeth 1st and the House of Tudor, an English royal dynasty that lasted 118 years and began in 1485. The lines that are found in this epic poem are believed to be the origins of the 'Roses are Red' poem.

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A Later Love Poem
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"We will buy very pretty things
A-walking through the faubourghs
violets are blue, roses are red,
Violets are blue, I love my loves."
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By Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
A French poet and playwright Victor Hugo (1802-1885) published a novel in 1862 named 'Les Misarables'. There are a lot of texts with songs within this famous novel. One is from this 1862 English translation.