The Yellow Rose of Texas

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For the flower, see Rosa foetida.
"The Yellow Rose Of Texas"

Cover of 1858 sheet music.
Written by J.K.
Published 1858
Language English
Form Minstrel

"The Yellow Rose of Texas" is a traditional folk song which has long been popular in the United States. The actual author is unknown; the publisher (Firth, Pond & Co.) only states that is was composed and arranged expressly for Charles H. Brown by J.K. The A. Henry Moss Papers in the Center for American History has an unpublished early handwritten version of what may be a similar song, perhaps dating from the time of the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.[1]

The soundtrack to the TV minseries James A. Michener's Texas dates the song to 1927 and co-credits its authorship to Gene Autry.

Mitch Miller made a popular recording of the song in 1955.

Contents

[edit] Legend

A twentieth century myth has turned the Yellow Rose into one Emily D. West, a housekeeper in a hotel in New Washington, Texas, during the Texas Revolution.[2]

[edit] Legendary account

Briefly stated, the song is based on a Texas legend from the days of the Texas War of Independence. According to the legend, a free African American woman named Emily D. West, seized by Mexican forces during the looting of Galveston, seduced General Antonio López de Santa Ana, President of Mexico and commander of the Mexican forces. The legend credits her supposed seduction with lowering the guard of the Mexican army and facilitating the Texan victory in the battle of San Jacinto waged in 1836 near present-day Houston. Santa Anna's opponent was General Sam Houston, who won the battle literally in minutes, and with almost no casualties.

This legend is comparable to the Biblical war story of Jael and Sisera, found in Judges 4:14–22 and repeated in poetry in Judges 5:23–27. Jael's story was popular with Protestant Christians of the time and would have been familiar to slaves and freedmen as well as the white population.

[edit] Historical account

Historians assert that if West was with Santa Anna, it was not by her choice, nor did she play any part in deciding the battle. The seduction legend was largely unknown until the publication of English tourist William Bollaert's diary in the 1950s, when amateur historians propagated an embellished version.

The basic facts[3] appear to be that Emily West migrated to Texas from New York City in late 1835. Sources describe her as a teen or as a woman of twenty. According to one version of the legend, she became an indentured servant on the plantation of James Morgan near what was then called New Washington and is now Morgan's Point. Because of her indenture to Morgan, some historians say, she became known by his surname, as was the custom for indentured servants as well as slaves.[citation needed]

Santa Ana reportedly saw West in April 1836 when he invaded New Washington prior to the Battle of San Jacinto. Legend states that she was forcibly placed in his camp. Allegedly, Santa Ana was with her when Texan General Sam Houston's troops arrived, forcing him to flee without weapons or armor and enabling his capture the next day.

In 2005, African-American journalist Denise McVea wrote a book arguing that Emily West was not a servant but was in fact Emily West de Zavala, the wife of Lorenzo de Zavala, the vice-president of the Republic of Texas. In her book, McVea cites a marriage certificate found in family records at the University of Texas at Austin that confirms West married Zavala in a New York Catholic church on November 12, 1831, however she fails to give any real evidence for her theory.

[edit] Lyrics

Modern Version (1955) Minstrel version (1858)
There's a yellow rose in Texas, that I am going down to see,
No other fellow loves her, as half as much as me.
She cried so when I left her, it nearly broke my heart
And if I ever find her, we never more will part.
(Chorus)
She's the sweetest little rosebud that Texas 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.
When the Rio Grande is flowing, the starry skies are bright,
She walks along the river in the quiet summer night:
I know that she remembers, when we parted long ago,
I promised to return again, and not to leave her so.
(Chorus)
Oh now I'm going to find her, for my heart is full of woe,
And we'll sing the songs together, that we sang so long ago
We'll play the banjo gaily, and we'll sing the songs of yore,
And the yellow rose of Texas shall be mine forevermore.
(Chorus)
There's a yellow rose in Texas that I am going to see,
No other darkey knows her, no darkey 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.
(Chorus)
She's the sweetest rose of color this darkey ever knew,
Her eyes are bright as diamonds, they sparkle like the dew,
You may talk about your Dearest May, and sing of Rosa Lee,
But the yellow rose of Texas beats the belles of Tennessee.
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 promis'd to come back again, and not to leave her so.
(Chorus)
Oh! now I'm going to find her, for my heart is full of woe,
And we'll sing the song together, that we sung so long ago;
We'll play the banjo gaily, and we'll sing the songs of yore,
And the yellow rose of Texas shall be mine for evermore.
(Chorus)

[edit] Racial references in lyrics

The expressions "high yellow" or simply "yellow" were used during this time period to refer to a light-skinned African-American with significant Caucasian ancestry, and the original lyrics may have refered to a biracial woman as the "yellow rose".

[edit] Civil War song

The song became popular with Confederate Army troops, especially those from Texas, though the last verse and the chorus are slightly different.

(Last verse)

Oh my feet are torn and bloody, and my heart is full of woe,
I'm going back to Georgia, to find my Uncle Joe,
You may talk about your Beauregard, sing of General Lee,
But the gallant Hood of Texas, played hell in Tennessee.

This refers to famous Confederate generals Joseph Johnston, Robert E. Lee, P. G. T. Beauregard, and John Bell Hood.

The chorus substitutes the word "darky" with "soldier". The same substitution is made througout the song.

[edit] Trivia

Owing to the use of ballad meter, the lyrics are interchangeable with those of many other songs and poems. Popular examples are many of the poems of Emily Dickinson, the hymn Amazing Grace and The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle.

The song is prominently featured in the film Giant, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. The film examines the changes and growth of Texas in the 20th Century and changing attitudes toward multiculturalism. In one climactic scene taking place in a diner, Hudson's character defends the honor of his family, especially his Hispanic daughter-in-law and his grandson. The Yellow Rose of Texas plays on the jukebox after it is jostled during the fight. The song underscores the scene and its context.

The SRM firmware of DEC Alpha computers plays this song on the internal speaker when typing the undocumented sound command.

Satirical songwriter Allan Sherman produced a parody called "Melvin Rose of Texas" as part of one of his "Schticks and Stones" medleys.

The First Lady of Texas is popularly given the nickname the "Yellow Rose of Texas" by the Texan people. The title is unofficial and is widely, although not universally, accepted.

The music was used without lyrics in an Japanese loan company advertisement in December 2007.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rodriguez, "The Yellow Rose Of Texas.
  2. ^ Henson, "Emily D. West": "Emily D. West, erroneously called Emily Morgan by those who presumed her a slave of James Morgan and the "Yellow Rose of Texas" by twentieth-century myth-makers, was born a free black in New Haven, Connecticut."
  3. ^ Harris, Trudier, (1997). "The Yellow Rose of Texas: A Different Cultural View." Callaloo 20.1 pp. 8–19 at 12.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] See also


[edit] Further reading

  • Bunkley, Anita (1989; reprint 1999). Emily, The Yellow Rose. Houston: Rinard Publishing. ISBN
  • McVea, Denise (2006). Making Myth of Emily: Emily West de Zavala and the Yellow Rose of Texas Legend. San Antonio, Texas: Auris Books. ISBN 0-9773465-0-1.
  • Turner, Martha Anne (1971) "The Yellow Rose of Texas: The Story of a Song," Southwestern Studies, Monograph No. 31. University of Texas at El Paso: Texas Western Press, pp. 3-19.
  • Turner, Martha Anne (1976) "The Yellow Rose of Texas": Her Saga and Her Song. Austin: Shoal Creek Publishers.

[edit] External links