[Fujiwara:]
Tho' I need no magic pow'r
Save my love to hold me true,
May I keep this little flow'r,
Sweet with tender thoughts of you?
[Hana:]
Take and keep it if you will,
People say when lovers part,
These betoken faith unbroken,
Emblem of a loyal heart.
[Both:]
Little flow'r of Japan,
'Twixt a maid and a man,
You've a meaning all your own;
For a man, with your aid,
Will be true to a maid
When she's left to wait alone.
Tho' you fade in a day,
Yet your fragrance will stay,
All your beauty to recall;
So all beauty above
Is the fragrance of love,
Fairest flower, fairest flower of all.
[Fujiwara:]
Next my heart your flow'r shall stay,
Keeping love's fair blossom bright,
Whispering of you by day,
Weaving dreams of you by night.
[Hana:]
Sometimes, so I have been told,
Love that blooms the brightest hue
Soon grows jaded, faint, and faded;
Can it be that this is true?
[Both:]
Little flow'r of Japan,
'Twixt a maid and a man,
You've a meaning all your own;
For a man, with your aid,
Will be true to a maid
When she's left to wait alone.
Tho' you fade in a day,
Yet your fragrance will stay,
All your beauty to recall;
So all beauty above
Is the fragrance of love,
Fairest flower, fairest flower of all.
Fairest flow'r of all!