Flower songs (1)

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DANDELION SONG (Linda Allen)^^
From: Croney
Date: 23 May 00 - 03:22 PM

Hi, folks -
Thanks for all the encouraging remarks and the wonderful responses on the Recipe songs and the Mother's Day songs. So now, it being Spring, how about flower songs? Maybe songs that have a flower in the title? White Coral Bells, etc. I wrote one called October Roses that is already in Digital Tradition. Here's another one that my daughters and I wrote about ten years ago. I'm still not exactly clear if the lyrics are coming through correctly--may still need some technical advice--but here it is. This one can be found on Washington Notebook, sung by my then-little girls, Jen and Kristin.
http://www.lindasongs.com
Thanks! Looking forward to what you all come up with.
What an amazing resource you all are!

THE DANDELION SONG
Written by Linda Allen, Kristin and Jennifer Allen-Zito
© Linda Allen 1989

Well, flowers come in green and pink and red
And they sleep all day in their little flower beds
But the little dandelion grows wild and free
With her uncles and her cousins and the whole family

Dandy, dandy, dandy, dandy dandelion
There's something pretty dandy 'bout you
Dandy, dandy, dandy dandy dandelion
I wish that there were more of you

First I make a wish, then I blow real hard
And the little dandelions blow all over the yard
And I wait and I hope for my wish to come true
Guess there's only so much a dandelion can do
CHORUS

Now in 1800 things were bleak and bare
Not a little dandelion anywhere
But Cathy Maynard knew that dandelions cure
So she brought them to Washington, and we thank her
CHORUS

Some people think that dandelions are a pest
But I think that dandelions are the best
Dandelions, don't you know, are really cool
And dandelion haters should go back to school
CHORUS

You can make them into necklaces and bracelets too
You can decorate your laces to tie your shoe
You can make them into salad greens or dandelion tea
That's why dandelions are for me
CHORUS 2X

Notes:
My daughters, Jennifer and Kristin (then ages 12 and 9), rode with me to a concert in Everett. On the way there, I told them about Catherine Maynard's alleged contribution to Washington's history. We created this song together over the next hour in the car, and sang it together at the concert.

[Many song titles in this thread have been converted to links by a Mudelf.]

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Allan C.
Date: 23 May 00 - 03:36 PM

One of my all-time favorites is "Seven Daffodils" which is in the DT. There is something very romantic about it. I finally got around to learning to play it this year and love to sing it.

"But I can show you morning upon a thousand hills,
And kiss you and give you seven daffodils..."

It has been my habit each spring for many years to give daffodils to the significant other in my life. I think this song has something to do with that tradition.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Peg
Date: 23 May 00 - 03:38 PM

Nice song! I love flowers and would love to hear of other traditional/folk songs about them.

My own thoughts, off the top of my head:

Red is the Rose
Lily of the West (not really about flowers!)
Blackberry Blossom
Green Grow the Lilacs
I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time
Texas Bluebonnets

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 23 May 00 - 03:46 PM

"In An English Country Garden" is a great song but you don't want the words I know to it... Aye. Dave

Subject: Lyr Add: I AM A LITTLE FLOWER GIRL
From: Bert
Date: 23 May 00 - 03:55 PM

When My Great Grandmother was six years old she appeared on stage with a huge basket of flowers and sang this song.

I am a little flower girl and here I take my stand
I'll sell you any kind of flowers I have within my hand.
I've violets and I've roses to make you pretty posies
lilies white and marigolds and orange blossom too
I've lilacs for the ladies, buttercups and daisies
and if you want to buy some flowers
I hope you'll buy from me.

I've violets and I've roses to make you pretty posies
lilies white and marigolds and orange blossom too
I've lilacs for the ladies, buttercups and daisies
and if you will not buy my flowers
I'll throw them all away.

She finished by throwing handfuls of flowers out into the audience.

Bert.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: SINSULL
Date: 23 May 00 - 04:12 PM

The Rose of No Man's Land
The Rose of Tralee
The Last Rose of Summer
I'm Sending You a Big Bouquet of Roses
Rosie the Riveter
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
The Yellow Rose of Texas
Roses are Red (My Love)
Green Grow the Lilacs
Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)
Red Roses for Blue Lady
The Biggest Aspidistra in the World
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
Wildwood Flower
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Orange Blossom Special
Edelweiss
Tiptoe through the Tulips
Sweet Violets

Note: daffodils are my favorite flowers. Seven Daffodils - I finally have a song to go with the poem - "A host of golden daffodils..."
Thanks.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Metchosin
Date: 23 May 00 - 04:27 PM

Well I guess if Rosie the Riveter qualifies so does the Lily of the West

Where Have All the Flowers Gone
Wildwood Flower

And probably 500 others in the DT under "flower".

Gee I'm beginning to sound like a crumudgeon, didn't intend to.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 23 May 00 - 04:59 PM

You can put the name of specific flowers in SuperSearch and come up with zillions of hits.

I like "The Blue Bells of Scotland" which I used to think referred to flowers, but a recent discussion here makes that assumption questionable.

My Wild Irish Rose
Paper Roses
The Rose
etc.
Wild Mountain Thyme
The Heather on the Hill (from Brigadoon)
The Flower Song (from Bizet's Carmen)
The Flower Duet (from Puccini's Madama Butterfly)

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: GUEST
Date: 24 May 00 - 12:03 AM

The Pink, the Lily, and the Blooming Rose ..from Newfoundland..

Sweet Forget Me Not...very popular in Newfoundland..not sure of its origins.

Flowers of the Forest.

In Flanders Fields..set to music..

isn't there one from texas?? called Bluebonnets over the Border?

Lavender's Blue

Rose of Mooncoin, Rose of Allendale, Bendemeer's Stream, Buttercup Joe, The Broom of the Cowdenknowes.

that's all for now...nice to see you here and will see you at folklife...mary g.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Callie
Date: 24 May 00 - 02:39 AM

Artificial Flowers (dunno who wrote it - Bobby Darin does it swing style and The Beautiful South sing it mournfully. Must be hundreds of other versions out there)

Flowers in the Dirt (Paul McCartney/Elvis Costello)

Honeysuckle Rose

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Big Mick
Date: 24 May 00 - 02:42 AM

There Were Roses

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Allan C.
Date: 24 May 00 - 08:14 AM

Bert modestly overlooked the opportunity to mention his own "Plastic Flower Seeds" which is also in the DT. I was pleased to record his playing and singing of it at the 1999 Getaway. Clever song!

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 24 May 00 - 08:18 AM

White Rose of Athens (Nana Mouskouri etc)
RtS

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: GUEST,Pete (at work)
Date: 24 May 00 - 08:58 AM

Try again! sorry. How about the Carter Family's "When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland" and Burnett and Rutherford's Flower from the Fields of Alabama; Harpgirl sings a wonderful song called Local Flowers but I forget its provenance.

Does Sweet Fern count?

PETE

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 24 May 00 - 09:08 AM

Now, maryg, was that tongue-in-cheek about the Texas Bluebonnets? As we say in Texas (once a Texan, always a Texan) Don't Mess With Texas!

For the history of Bluebonnets Over The Border, check Barry Taylor's midi here.

And for a look at the gorgeous bluebonnet flower and a little of its history, check here.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Peg
Date: 24 May 00 - 10:20 AM

I don't know the exact title but Laurie Lewis does a great song about Texas Bluebonnets:

"Those Texas bluebonnets, how sweetly they grow, out on the wild prairie they're scattered like snow, etc."

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Matticus
Date: 24 May 00 - 12:45 PM

Wildwood Flower,
Mother Maybelle Carter.

The Dransfield brothers recorded a lovely flower song [I Loved a Lad?]. Man loves woman, woman rejects man, man dies of grief, who would have imagined?
The last verse goes;
Dig me my grave, dig it long wide and deep
And let me lie down there and take a long sleep
And that's the best way to forget her.

There's a nice song by David Laing called My Flowers that is all about flowers, comparing flowers to beautiful women rather than the other way around. I could get the words off of the album...

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 24 May 00 - 12:51 PM

There's "A Good Year For the Roses". It's a real heartbreaker, covered by Elvis Costello on his country-influenced album "Almost Blue". Not sure who did it originally -- George Jones, maybe?

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Mooh
Date: 24 May 00 - 12:54 PM

Dead Flowers by the Rolling Stones.

Lover's Heart by Silly Wizard. "She threw me a rose that fell between us, it floated on the bay, and as our ship pulled from the shore, I heard her call and say..."

Mooh.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 24 May 00 - 01:00 PM

As long as we're into rock'n'roll territory, there's the Grateful Dead's "Sugar Magnolia" (yeah, it's a tree, but it flowers -- that counts, right?).

Subject: Lyr Add: SWEET ADELINE^^
From: Tiger
Date: 24 May 00 - 01:48 PM

This was originally titled "The Flower Song"

SWEET ADELINE
Words, Richard H. Gerard. Music, Harry Armstrong.
New York: M. Witmark & Sons, © 1903.

In the evening when I sit alone a-dreaming
Of days gone by, love, to me so dear,
There's a picture that in fancy oft' appearing,
Brings back the time, love, when you were near.

It is then I wonder where you are, my darling,
And if your heart to me is still the same.
For the sighing wind and nightingale a-singing
Are breathing only your own sweet name.

CHORUS
Sweet Adeline, (My Adeline,)
My Adeline, (My Adeline,)
At night, dear heart, (At night, dear heart,)
For you I pine. (For you I pine.)

In all my dreams, (In all my dreams,)
Your fair face beams. (Your fair face beams.)
You're the flower of my heart,
Sweet Adeline. (My Adeline.)

I can see your smiling face as when we wandered
Down by the brookside, just you and I,
And it seems so real at times 'til I awaken,
To find all vanished, a dream gone by.

If we must meet sometime in after years, my darling,
I trust that I will find your love still mine,
Tho' my heart is sad and clouds above are hov'ring
The sun again, love, for me would shine.

CHORUS

Lead (Harmony)

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 24 May 00 - 02:59 PM

While I'm on the Grateful Dead, I'll also offer "Scarlet Begonias".

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: GUEST,Pete peterson at work
Date: 25 May 00 - 09:07 AM

The Dransfield song (I have that record!) is called A Week Before Easter; they got it from the singing of the Copper Family (at the time Bob and Ron).
Matticus, I know that last verse slightly differently as

Go dig me a grave, dig it long wide and deep
Aye, and cover it over with flowers so sweet
That I may lie down there and take a long sleep
And that's the best way to forget her

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: harpgirl
Date: 25 May 00 - 09:12 AM

..."Ring of Clover"... I adore flower songs! Great list all!

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Bert
Date: 25 May 00 - 10:56 AM

....but you dont want the words I know to it...

Oh yes we do Dave!

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 May 00 - 11:06 AM

Paper Roses?

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Matticus
Date: 25 May 00 - 02:20 PM

Pete Peterson, I'm so jealous that you have that album. I borrowed a bad tape of it one time and have longed to find a good copy ever since. Curse they who have kept it out of circulation.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: GUEST,Pete Peterson
Date: 25 May 00 - 04:44 PM

Matticus, send me a private message (at home) if you want it; I THINK I now have a working record player (of vinyl) after some years when I didn't; it depends on whether there is a stylus or a chisel at the end of the tone arm. (not quite a joke) if the former, I can make a copy for you on cassette & send the same.

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 26 May 00 - 08:21 AM

A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)

Subject: Lyr Add: THE POSIE (Robert Burns)^^
From: Alice
Date: 26 May 00 - 09:48 AM

The Posie by Robert Burns.

THE POSIE
(Robert Burns)

O, luve will venture in where it daur na weel be seen!
O, luve will venture in, where wisdom ance hath been!
But I will doun yon river rove amang the wood sae green,
And a' to pu a posie to my ain dear May!

The primrose I will pu, the firstling o the year,
And I will pu the pink, the emblem o my dear,
For she's the pink o womankind, and blooms without a peer-
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May!

I'll pu the budding rose, when Phoebus peeps in view,
For it's like a baumy kiss o her sweet, bonie mou.
The hyacinth's for constancy wi its unchanging blue-
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May!

The lily it is pure, and the lily it is fair,
And in her lovely bosom I'll place the lily there.
The daisy's for simplicity an unaffected air-
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May!

The hawthorn I will pu, wi its locks o siller gray,
Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o day;
But the songster's nest within the bush I winna tak away-
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May!

The woodbine I will pu, when the e'ening star is near,
And the diamond draps o dew shall be her een sae clear!
The violet's for modesty, which weel she fa's to wear-
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May!

I'II tie the posie round wi' the silken band o luve,
And I'll place it in her breast, and I'll swear by a' above,
That to my latest breath o life the band shall ne'er remove
And this will be a posie to my ain dear May!

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: SINSULL
Date: 26 May 00 - 12:52 PM

A bit of useless information:

(PAN-zee)

A colorful flower with velvety blossoms

This flower's name derives from the French word "pensee" (with an accent over the first "e"), meaning "thought." It's so named for the way the blossoms of some varieties resemble a little face crinkled up in thought. (Thus "pansy" is a relative of such words as "pensive" and "ponder.")

(Interestingly, the German word for this flower is "Stiefmutterchen." While speakers of French see a thoughtful frown in this blossom, Germans see the unforgiving scowl of a "little stepmother.")

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: harpgirl
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 11:19 PM

lambent

Subject: Lyr Add: LA MARIANNA LA VA IN CAMPAGNA
From: CRANKY YANKEE
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 02:39 AM

My spelling is probably off.


LA MARIANNA LA VA IN CAMPAGNA


Oh Dio Di ciel qui fai crescere la rosa
Manda Marito a-tutti queste cosa.

(chorus)
E La Mariana la va in campagna quando il sole tremoneterra, tremonterra, tremonterra
qui sa quando, qui sa quando returnera

II
Oh bella e le rose, m'ancour le peu la viola
La sue Mogletina sara una campagnola
(repeat chorus)

III
Oh bei giovenotti qui fate al amore
Piglate la bionde, lesciate quel amore
(repeat chorus)

IV
Ma brune o bionde ? ? ? ? ? ?(forgot this line)
Una ragezzina ruberrano il cuore
(repeat chorus)

very accurate translation by me (whoopee)

Oh Lord up above, who makes the rose and daisy
Please find a husband for each of these young ladies.
(chorus)
And Mary ann goes to the country today when the swun goes down.
But who knows, who knows when she'll come back to town.

II
Oh pretty is the rose, but prettier the violet's hue
Be sure that when you marry it's a country girl for you

III
Come all you young fellows who love every girl you see
Take all the blondes, leave the dark haired ones for me.

Iv
But Brunette or blonde pay heed to what I say
Someday some young girl will steal your heart away

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: 53
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 11:42 PM

(If you're going to) San Francisco (be sure to wear some flowers in your hair), a song done during the 60's by Scott McKenzie

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 11:51 PM

Seeds Of Love

Jon

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Pooby
Date: 15 Feb 02 - 02:18 PM

Flower Lady, by Phil Ochs. Loved this song from the first time I heard it. Pooby

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Willa
Date: 15 Feb 02 - 03:49 PM

The Rose

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Willa
Date: 15 Feb 02 - 04:13 PM

If I Should Plant a Tiny Seed of Love , When the Poppies Bloom Again, Rose of Allandale, The Last Rose of Summer, Cornflower Blue, Bright Blue Rose, The Thorn Upon the Rose, The Broom o' the Cowdenknowes, The Flowers of the Forest, The Bramble and the Rose, Lavender's Blue

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 15 Feb 02 - 04:21 PM

Misalliance by Flanders and Swann
concerning the honeysuckle and the bindweed (Convulvus)
A song of true love, snobby parents, social unacceptance, suicide & finally political Freedom
What more could one want in a song ;>) Kenny B

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 Feb 02 - 04:23 PM

Essakibo River - oh wrong flower
bin doing too many crosswords..... I'll get my coat........

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: SharonA
Date: 15 Feb 02 - 04:32 PM

"Tiptoe Through the Tulips with Me"!

"Today" (Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine...)

"Delta Dawn" (...what's that flower you have on?...)

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Kaleea
Date: 16 Feb 02 - 02:06 AM

I believe what someone was referring to earlier was perhaps: Paper Roses. Also popular of the time: Red Roses for a Blue lady. My Granny's fav was The Rose of Tralee, and another fav of hers was The Last Rose of Summer. Nothin' like those Irish songs! And how bout: A Bunch of Thyme . . .

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 Feb 02 - 03:12 AM

Did anyone mention the (Here's to the) Morning Glory? I remember it as a song done by the revamped Wurzels (1 for the morning glory, 2 for the early dew, 3 for the something standing round (?) and 4 for the love of you, me dear, 4 for the love of you; was the chorus), but think it was based on a much older song....

LTS

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Genie
Date: 16 Feb 02 - 04:36 AM

Sweet Violets
Till the White Rose Blooms Again [The White Rose of Athens]
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme [Scarborough Fair]
Wild Mountain Thyme
Lavender's Blue
Jeannine, I Dream Of Lilac Time
My Wild Irish Rose
Roses Of Picardy
Red Roses For A Blue Lady
When You Wore A Tulip (And I Wore A Big Red Rose)
Violets Of the Dawn
Honeysuckle Rose
Amapola (My Pretty Little Poppy)
She's Your Mum (DUCKING FOR COVER)
I'm A Lonely Little Petunia In An Onion Patch

Genie

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Genie
Date: 16 Feb 02 - 04:50 AM

A Daisy a Day
The Flowers That Bloom In The Spring, Tra La
April Showers [...they bring the flowers that bloom in May...)
Erev Shel Shoshanim (Evening of Roses)
Carolina In The Morning (...where the morning glories twine around my door ...)
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
Sakura (Cherry Blooms)
A Blossom Fell

Is it "Fill Me Up, Buttercup" or "Build Me Up, Buttercup?"

Moonlight and Roses
You Don't Bring Me Flowers
Aloha Oe (not "about flowers" as such, but the first verse features the ahi hile hua, which, I understand, is a beautiful flower)

Song of the Islands has a line about Hawaii's "fragrant flowers"

Genie

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Genie
Date: 16 Feb 02 - 05:05 AM

Flowers in the Snow
Gulf Coast Highway ("This is the only place on earth bluebonnets grow. / Once a year they come and go at this old house here by the road.")
The Trumpet Vine
Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon

Songs with lines or verses about flowers:
My Darling Clementine
Barbara Allen
Loch Lomond
Stardust
In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree
California, Here I Come

Genie

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Feb 02 - 02:18 PM

Here's a link to a great flower song by the Carter family that I think hasn't been mentioned. I won't say what it is, to prod peopple into pushing the clicky and hearing it (Real Audio streaming).

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 16 Feb 02 - 05:23 PM

The Rose of York

Roses from the Wrong Man

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: GUEST,pixie
Date: 17 Feb 02 - 08:50 AM

How about 'Acony Bell" by Gillian Welch?

Subject: RE: Flower songs
From: DMcG
Date: 17 Feb 02 - 09:05 AM

From the Copper Family "When Spring comes in" (in the DT as Spring Glee)

The primrose blooms and the cowslip, too.
The violets in their sweet retire,
The roses shining through the briar,
And the daffa-down dillys which we admire
Will die and fade away.