Not every song has a bright and shiny past – in fact, many don’t. Why Learn The Yellow Rose of Texas?įor a few reasons.
You may talk about your Beauregard, and sing of Bobby Lee,īut the gallant Hood of Texas played hell in Tennessee. I’m going back to Georgia, to find my Uncle Joe, The Civil War VersionĪn alternative ending verse was written during the Civil War by Texan soldiers:Īnd now I’m going southward, for my heart is full of woe, You may talk about your Clementine, And sing of Rosalee,īut the yellow rose of Texas Is the only girl for me. Her eyes are bright as diamonds, They sparkle like the dew She’s the sweetest little rosebud That Texas ever knew, She cried so when I left her It like to broke my heart,Īnd if I ever find her, We nevermore will part. Nobody else could miss her, Not half as much as me. There’s a yellow rose in Texas, That I am going to see, They also swapped out the questionable lyric of “she’s the sweetest rose of color” with “she’s the sweetest little flower”. Happily, 25 years later the lyrics swapped out “Darkey” with “Soldier”, so that’s a step in the right direction. Here is an excerpt of the lyrics from the original version:īeats the belles of Tennessee. Not just any girl, but a “yellow girl”, apparently a girl of mixed race – who our protagonist was in love with. It wasn’t.Īlso the source of the Soldier’s affection, the “Yellow Rose” of Texas, refers to a girl.
Note that I didn’t say it was written by an African American man. The protagonist of the story was an African American man, who in the song referred to himself as Darkey. A peaceful and happy place for all races.īut I’ll spare you the political commentary. The Yellow Rose of Texas was famous in, you guessed it, Texas. However, the backstory is a little sordid, so prepare yourself.
I always like to start every song tutorial with a backstory, and this one is no exception.
Yellow Rose of Texas Sheet Music Backstory We’ll talk about the song’s dark past, its use in the military, and its modern re-makes a la Mitch Miller and Elvis Presley.Īnd, of course, you’ll learn how to play it on piano!Īs always, the free sheet music that I arranged is linked to below. Today we’re going to look at a traditional American folk song called “The Yellow Rose of Texas”.
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