| "The Yellow Rose Of Texas" | |
Cover of 1858 sheet music. |
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| Written by | J.K. |
|---|---|
| Published | 1858 |
| Language | English |
| Form | Minstrel |
"The Yellow Rose of Texas" is a traditional folk song. The original love song has become associated with the legend of how an indentured servant named Emily D. West "helped win the battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle in the Texas Revolution."[1]
Contents |
The Center for American History at the University of Texas has an unpublished early handwritten version of the song, perhaps dating from the time of the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.[1][2] The author is unknown; the earliest published version, by Firth, Pond and Company of New York and dated September 2, 1858, identifies the composer and arranger as "J.K."; its lyrics are "almost identical" to those in the handwritten manuscript, though it states it had been arranged and composed for the vaudeville performer Charles H. Brown.[1]
The soundtrack to the TV miniseries James A. Michener's Texas dates a version of the song to June 2, 1933 and co-credits both the authorship and performance thereof to Gene Autry and Jimmy Long. However, Don George reworked the original version of the song, which Mitch Miller made into a popular recording in 1955 that knocked Bill Haley's "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" from the top of the Best Sellers chart in the U.S.[3] Miller's version was featured in the motion picture Giant.
The song is based on a Texas legend from the days of the Texas War of Independence. According to the legend, a woman named Emily D. West (also known as "Emily Morgan") — a mulatto, and hence, the song's reference to her being "yellow" — who was seized by Mexican forces during the looting of Galveston seduced General Antonio López de Santa Anna, 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.
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 in the 1950s of a version based on William Bollaert's account. Bollaert, a British subject, spent two years in Texas—1842 to 1844—and was a prolific writer, publishing more than eighty articles on various subjects.[4]
The basic facts[5] 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.[4]
Santa Anna 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 Anna 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.
| Original version, from the MS in the University of Texas archives | |
Chorus:
More than 25 years later, the lyrics were changed to eliminate the more racially charged lyrics. "Soldier" replaced "darky." And the first line of the chorus was also changed to read, "She's the sweetest little flower...."[6] |
The song became popular with Confederate Army troops, especially those from Texas, though the last verse and the chorus are slightly different. It was sung after the defeat of Gen. John Bell Hood's Army at the Battle of Nashville in December 1864.
(Last verse)
This refers to famous Confederate generals Joseph Johnston, P. G. T. Beauregard, Robert E. Lee, and John Bell Hood.
The chorus substitutes the word "darky" with "soldier". The same substitution is made throughout the song.
In 1984, country music artists Johnny Lee and Lane Brody recorded a song called "The Yellow Rose". This song, which retained the original melody of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" but wrote new lyrics for it, was used as the title theme to a TV series also entitled The Yellow Rose and was a Number One country hit that year.[7]