Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Oh my! The Yellow Rose of Texas

I was recalling a song from my early childhood and decided to look up the lyrics.  These are from the Gene Autry version:

There's a yellow rose in Texas
That I am gonna back to see
Nobody else could miss her
Not half as much as 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 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

Where the Rio Grande is flowin'
And 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
And not to leave her so

Oh, now I'm gonna find her
For my heart is full of woe
We'll do the things together
We did so long ago
We'll play the banjo gaily
She'll love me like before
And the Yellow Rose of Texas
Shall be mine forevermore  


Now imagine my surprise to find this 1853 earliest known version:


Well!

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