The Yellow Rose of Texas

As performed by Bobby Horton

Homespun Songs of the C.S.A., Volume 1

Website: http:/BobbyHorton.com/

"The Yellow Rose of Texas" is a traditional folk song.  Its original version became associated with the legend of how an indentured servant named Emily D. West (aka Emily Morgan) unwittingly aided Texans in winning the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle in their War of Independence from Mexico.  During the Civil War the song was popular with Confederate soldiers, especially Texans.  The last verse was altered after the defeat of General John Bell Hood's Confederate army at the Battle of Nashville in December 1864.  “I'm going back to Georgia, to find my Uncle Joe” refers to the Confederate soldier’s preference for the leadership of General Joseph E. Johnston, who had commanded the army during the earlier portions of the Atlanta Campaign before being replaced by Hood.

There's a yellow rose in Texas, that I am going to see,

No other soldier knows her, no soldier 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.

She's the sweetest rose of color this soldier 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 beats the belles of Tennessee.

Where the Rio Grande is flowing, and the starry skies are bright,

She walks along the river in the quiet summer night:

She thinks if I remember, when we parted long ago,

I promised to come back again, and not to leave her so.

She's the sweetest rose of color this soldier 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 beats the belles of Tennessee.

Oh my feet are torn and bloody, and my heart is full of woe,

I'm going back to Georgia, to find my Uncle Joe,

You may talk about your Beauregard, and sing of Bobby Lee,

But the gallant Hood of Texas, he played hell in Tennessee.

She's the sweetest rose of color this soldier 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 beats the belles of Tennessee.

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