Enga mellom fjella

1955 Yellow Rose of Texas

Yellow Rose of Texas
Mitch Miller (1955)
Association: my father

I was raised with this song. My father was an Okie and who knows when I first heard it. Very catchy melody.

I always thought my father's favorite color was yellow and associated the yellow hypericum blooming in front of our house with him.

But roses? Yellow is my favorite color of rose. In the language-of-flowers it can mean drop dead, but I told my Turkish friends that that wasn't what it meant for me. In the early 90s I had a wild yellow rose bush. My friend Esfan made rose jelly from it.

The golden color fading as the pectin sets
cooked petals in a jar, more precious than when fresh

         (24 syllable couplet: 12/12)

Years later when I was living in Kansas I wrote this for Rose Lynn at the KU bookstore:

"Yellow Rose of Kansas" 

Yellow Rose of Kansas

The yellow rose of Kansas
blooms a verdant velveteen.
Elegant, she shimmers,
through aisles of books and dreams.

With eloquence she speaks of folk
that dwell in other lands,
where velvet was a well-known coin,
and washing done by hand.

(It kept them humble.)

The yellow rose blooms bright this Spring,
a thornless smile in velveteen.

© Kåre Enga [162.32] (5.april.2005)

Mith Miller's version that came out in 1955:



This is a more listenable version without lyrics but using traditional instruments by Craig Duncan:



Lyrics:

There's a yellow rose of Texas
That I am going to see
No other fellow knows her
No other, only me
She cried so when I left her
It like to broke my heart
And if I ever find her
We never more will part
She's the greatest little rosebud
This soldier ever knew
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
They sparkle like the dew
You may talk about your Clementine
And sing of Rosa Lee
But the Yellow Rose of Texas
Is the only girl for me
Where the Rio Grande is flowing
And the starry skies are bright
She walks along the river
In the quiet summer night
She thinks if I remember
When we parted long ago
I promised to come back again
And never leave her so
Oh now I'm going to find her
For my heart is full of woe
And we'll sing the song together
That we sang so long ago
We'll play the banjo gaily
And we'll sing the song of yore
And the Yellow Rose of Texas
Shall be mine for ever more
She's the sweetest rose of color
This soldier ever knew
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
They sparkle like the dew
You may talk about your Clementine
And sing of Rosa Lee
But the Yellow Rose of Texas
Is the only girl for me
*Some versions have these 2 lines as
the last lines of chorus*
But the Yellow Rose of Texas
Beats the girls of Tennessee

In:

FOLDER

Monkeying around in September  (13+) Music! Jeff provides the prompts. I just respond. (1946-1955) #2231240 by Kåre เลียม Enga

For:

FORUM

Barrel of Monkeys  (E) An annual interlinked musical blogging challenge! Runs every September. #1987725 by Jeff