Meaning of "Love and a Yellow Rose" by The Guess Who

The lyrics of "Love and a Yellow Rose" evoke a sense of fleeting beauty and impermanence. The yellow rose symbolizes love, but its inevitable decay serves as a reminder of the ephemeral nature of happiness and relationships. The cyclical nature of the woman's visits, bringing love and the rose only for it to die by the end of the day, reflects the transient nature of joy and the inevitability of loss. The singer's plea for the woman to come back without the rose suggests a desire for a connection that transcends the fleeting material symbol of love, seeking a deeper, lasting bond beyond the impermanence of life and love itself.