About The Song
“Roses Are Red (My Love)” originated as a popular song written by Paul Evans and Al Byron. Bobby Vinton recorded the definitive hit version in early 1962, releasing it that April. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and topped charts in several other countries, becoming Vinton’s breakthrough success and one of the biggest records of the year.
Jim Reeves recorded his own version of the song for the 1963 album *Gentleman Jim*, released by RCA Victor. The collection was among the last albums issued during his lifetime. Reeves approached the material in his familiar smooth, restrained style, fitting the polished Nashville Sound production associated with his later work under Chet Atkins.
The lyric follows a simple narrative built around the familiar childhood verse. It moves from a high-school yearbook inscription through the years of dating and separation, then returns to the same refrain years later when the singer encounters the woman’s young daughter. The structure allows the repeated lines—“Roses are red, my love / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet, my love / But not as sweet as you”—to carry both youthful sentiment and later reflection.
Reeves’ interpretation stays close to the gentle, conversational tone that marked many of his recordings from this period. The arrangement remains understated, placing the voice at the center without the more dramatic orchestration heard on Vinton’s pop hit. The track sits comfortably alongside other material on *Gentleman Jim*, an album that continued the softer, crossover-oriented direction Reeves had pursued since the late 1950s.
Although the song was never issued as a commercial single by Reeves and did not chart under his name, it became part of the broader catalogue of covers that followed Vinton’s success. The album itself performed well in the United Kingdom after Reeves’ death, reaching number three on the UK Albums Chart in 1964 and remaining on the list for twenty-three weeks.
Within Reeves’ body of work the recording stands as a quiet example of his ability to take a contemporary pop success and render it in the calm, measured style that defined his later career. It remains one of the lesser-known tracks from the final phase of his recording life, yet consistent with the approach that had already made him a major international artist.
Video
Lyric
A long long time ago on graduation day you handed me your book I signed this way
Roses are red my love violets are blue sugar is sweet my love but not as sweet as you
We dated through school and when the big day came
I wrote into your book next to my name
Roses are red my love violets are blue sugar is sweet my love but not as sweet as you
Is that your little girl she looks so much like you
Some day some boy will write in her book too
Roses are red my love violets are blue sugar is sweet my love but not as sweet as you
Then I went far away and you found someone new
I read your letter dear and I wrote back to you
Roses are red my love violets are blue
Sugar is sweet my love good luck may God bless you