Tomb of the Unknown Love

Tomb of the Unknown Love is a country song by Kenny Rogers, released in February 1986 as the second and final single from his album The Heart of the Matter. It would become his 13th #1 country song, spending one week there.

The lyrics pay homage, in part, to the classic song "Green, Green Grass of Home", and (depending on how one interprets the lyrics) could serve as an explanation for the events of that song.

Sung in first person, after receiving a letter from a woman, the singer travels cross-country to meet with her. Stopping at a diner "in a tiny mining town" outside of Taos, New Mexico, he hears a haunting sound. The waitresses and patrons at the diner, familiar with similar claims, say it's "the tomb of the unknown love", and point to a gravestone "all by itself, beneath a tree, beside a hill", whereupon the singer reads that the deceased was executed by hanging (from the tree) for murdering his former lover.

The second verse mentions the singer's intent for traveling: the letter was a "Dear John" letter (American slang for a breakup letter) and he murdered her in response. He doesn't fight law enforcement taking him into custody and knows on the next day he will be executed for the crime. Thus, it is ambiguous as to whether the gravestone involved a similar incident, or a premonition of his own end.