Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cramer grew up in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas, teaching himself to play the piano. After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a pianist for the Louisiana Hayride radio show.
In 1952, he made his way to Nashville at a time when the use of piano accompanists in country music was growing in popularity. Before long, Cramer would become one of the busiest studio musicians in the industry, playing piano for stars such as Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, The Browns, Jim Reeves, Roy Orbison, Don Gibson and the Everly Brothers, and many others. It is Cramer's piano that is heard, for example, on Presley's first national hit, "Heartbreak Hotel."
However, Cramer remained a virtual unknown to anyone but music industry insiders until he recorded a 45 rpm single in 1960 called "Last Date." An instrumental, the music exhibited a relatively new concept for piano playing known as the "slip note" style. The record went to Number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart. By the mid-1960s, Cramer had become a respected performer, making numerous record albums and touring with guitar maestro Chet Atkins and saxophonist Boots Randolph.
Floyd Cramer died of lung cancer in 1997 at the age of 64 and was interred in the Spring Hill Cemetery in the Nashville suburb of Madison, Tennessee.
In 2003, he was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee offers the "Floyd Cramer Competitive Scholarship."
Bouquet Of Roses
Floyd Cramer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One for every time you've broke my heart,
And as the door of love between us closes,
Tears will fall like pedals when we part.
I begged you to be different but you've always been untrue,
I'm tired of forgiving and there is nothing left to do,
So I'm sending you a big bouquet of roses,
You've made our lovers lane a road of sorrow,
'Til at last we had to say goodbye,
You're leaving me to face each new tomorrow,
With a heart that you taught how to cry.
I know that I should hate you after all you've put me through,
But how can I be bitter when I'm still in love with you,
I'm sending you a big bouquet of roses,
One for every time you've broke my heart
The lyrics of "Bouquet of Roses" by Floyd Cramer describe a painful break-up between two lovers. The singer is sending their former partner a bouquet of roses, one for every time their heart has been broken. The love between them is ending, and the tears they shed are compared to the falling petals of the roses. The singer reflects on the time they spent together, stating that they begged their partner to be different but they were always untrue. They are tired of forgiving and have nothing left to do but send the bouquet to their former love.
The lyrics continue to describe the pain of the break-up, with the lovers' lane becoming a road of sorrow. The relationship has ended, and the singer is left to face each new day with a heart that has been taught to cry. The singer acknowledges that they should hate their partner after all the pain they have caused, but they can't help but still love them. In the end, the bouquet of roses serves as a final farewell to a love that was not meant to last.
Overall, the lyrics of "Bouquet of Roses" convey the intense emotions of heartbreak and loss. The repetition of the roses symbolizes the many times the singer's heart has been broken, while the comparison to falling petals creates a powerful image of sadness and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm sending you a big bouquet of roses,
I'm giving you a bunch of roses as a final farewell.
One for every time you've broke my heart,
I'm giving you one rose for every time you've hurt me.
And as the door of love between us closes,
As our relationship ends.
Tears will fall like pedals when we part.
I will cry like petals fall from a flower when we say goodbye.
I begged you to be different but you've always been untrue,
I asked you to change your ways, but you continued to be dishonest.
I'm tired of forgiving and there is nothing left to do,
I'm exhausted from constantly forgiving you, and I can't do it anymore.
So I'm sending you a big bouquet of roses,
I'm sending you roses as my way of saying goodbye.
One for every time you broke my heart.
Again, one rose for each instance of you hurting me.
You've made our lovers lane a road of sorrow,
Our relationship has been full of sadness and sorrow.
'Til at last we had to say goodbye,
We had to end things eventually.
You're leaving me to face each new tomorrow,
You're abandoning me to face the future on my own.
With a heart that you taught how to cry.
You've shown me how to experience sadness and heartbreak.
I know that I should hate you after all you've put me through,
I should hate you for all the pain you've caused me.
But how can I be bitter when I'm still in love with you,
I can't help but still love you despite everything that's happened between us.
I'm sending you a big bouquet of roses,
One last time, I'm giving you roses as a symbol of the end of our relationship.
One for every time you've broke my heart.
And one more rose for each time you've hurt me.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOB HILLIARD, STEVE NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
cadjunk
Oh wow!!! Always loved his style and his music. Wonderful!!! This is a great one too. Thanks so much for sharing. Love it. Going to my favorites. Gwen
Connie Mitchell
He was an amazing piano player!
Steve Sangeelee
Unique style of Floyd Cramer. BEAUTIFUL.
dvdman49
Wow! i hope someone said that to him when he was living, thank for the comments
sam rowe
he is the master
mr3walks
Hi, This track was originally on the album Special Songs Of Love. Do you have Love Me Tender & Remember Me (I'm The One Who Loves You) to upload from this album? Grateful if you can, many thanks.
dvdman49
Yes he was! ty for listening
dvdman49
Thank Gwen!