The Yellow Rose Of Texas

Album

Single

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Traditional Pop

Media Type

78

Duration

3:00

Composer(s)

Don George;Randy Starr;Traditional;Fred Wise

Entered Chart

Aug 6, 1955

Peak Date

Sep 3, 1955

Released

July 11, 1955

Recorded

une 10, 1955

Catalog #

Columbia 4-40540

B-Side

Blackberry Winter

Original Artist

Gene Autry

Written by an anonymous songwriter known as J.K., the earliest known version of this American folk song was found in Edwin Pearce Christy's 1853 songbook Christy's Plantation Melodies, "The Yellow Rose of Texas" is a traditional American song dating back to at least the 1850s. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. Many versions of the song have been recorded, the most popular of which was by Mitch Miller, whose version reached No. 1 in the United States in 1955. Its popularity made it an unofficial state song of Texas (the actual state song is "Texas, Our Texas"). In 1955, Don George reworked the song, gave the song a marching beat, and this version appeared in an album of Civil War songs. Mitch Miller came across this version, and recorded the song with an arrangement that includes snare drums. Miller's lyrics have further changes, for example using "little rosebud" for "rose of color". Miller was convinced of the potential of the song, and ordered a pressing of 100,000 copies of the single, with the promise that he would buy back all copies at cost if they did not sell. This recording was released by Columbia in July 1955 in the U.S. The song reached number one hit on the Billboard retail chart on September 5, 1955, knocking Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" from the top of Billboard's Best Sellers chart. It stayed top of the chart for six weeks, interrupted by Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing for a week on October 8. Miller's was No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart the same week Giant star James Dean died, and 13 months later, Miller's hit version was used for a key scene in the 1956 Texas-based film Giant that starred James Dean. The song peaked at the No. 1 position in Australia, and in the UK it reached No. 2. Billboard ranked Miller's version as the No. 3 song of 1955. The song became a gold record in the US, with a million copies sold

There's a yellow rose in Texas that I am gonna 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

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

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

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

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la
Lyrics from a song in Public Domain