Her Mama cussed she was out of film
As her baby came down those stairs looking right at her boyfriend
His hands, they shook as he pinned on her corsage
And she almost cried 'cause she'd liked this guy from the very start

Should've been just another first and not the last
The beautiful moment in two lives
When they looked back but now they're

Flowers by the side of the road yeah, that's all that's left
Of the hopes and dreams of two seventeen year-olds
Some dreams live on and some, they don't
But all that's left to know, all that's left to show
Are flowers by the side of the road

Could've been me, could've been you
How many times have I said I've just had one or two
It's a sobering thought, it's a sobering sight
How like a bad, bad dream you can lose everything

On a careless night, be the one who lives
Be the one who's gone be the mother whose heart
Has to somehow go on she'll leave

Flowers by the side of the road yeah, that's all that's left
Of the hopes and dreams of two seventeen year-olds
Some dreams live on and some, they don't
All that's left to know, all that's left to show
Are flowers by the side of the road, flowers by the side of the road

It could've been me, it could've been you