The Yellow Rose of Texas

I grew up in Kentucky and am well aware Stephen Foster did not write “… the people are gay” in his masterpiece, My Old Kentucky Home. He wrote “… the darkies are gay” which was changed some years back. However, until this morning when I was jumping around in Wiki, I did not know the fascinating story behind The Yellow Rose of Texas.

Here it is in brief:

Interestingly, the Yellow Rose alluded to in the song was most likely a mulatto woman named Emily D. West who was born a free woman in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1835 Emily indentured as a housekeeper for a year and was taken to Texas where, not long after, she was kidnapped by Mexican cavalry and forced to travel with Santa Anna’s army. 

In 1842 an Englishman, William Bollaert, wrote in his journal that Santa Anna was in bed with Emily when his forces were routed by Sam Houston's army at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.

Bollaert's story grew and after his journals were published in 1956 Emily's legend became more widely known. Apparently, the original lyrics of the Yellow Rose were a tribute to her skin tone and great beauty. Like My Old Kentucky Home the lyrics have been changed over the years and no reference to Emily’s color remains.

Here are the original, handwritten lyrics of the Yellow Rose dated 1836 and archived at the University of Texas. No authorship is claimed. 

A Spock would say, "Fascinating."

 ... There's a yellow rose in Texas, that I am going to see/No other darky knows her, no darky only me/ She cryed so when I left her it like to broke my heart/And if I ever find her, we nevermore will part.

Chorus: She's the sweetest rose of color this darky 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 is the only girl for me.

When the Rio Grande is flowing, the starry skies are bright/She walks along the river in the quite summer night/She thinks if I remember, when we parted long ago/I promised to come back again, and not to leave her so.

[Repeat 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 sung so long ago/We'll play the bango gaily, and we'll sing the songs of yore/And the Yellow Rose of Texas shall be mine forevermore.

[Repeat Chorus] ...

This is not the original but it is very early .... 1858