6/24/10 "THERE'S A YELLOW ROSE IN TEXAS..."

HARRISON'S YELLOW ROSE
AKA "THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS"

Thursday, 7:00 AM. 61 degrees, wind W, moderate. The sky is clear but hazy and the barometer predicts sunshine.
There is a large rose bush on the corner of 6th and Wilson that I am quite certain is the old fashioned “Harrison’s Yellow Rose,” which has been grown for almost two centuries and is still available. It is only a spring bloomer but when in bloom is covered with semi-double, fragrant flowers. It is thorny and spreads, so must be used with caution, but is a worthwhile plant in the right spot. This is the rose that was carried across the country by settlers moving west, and has thus become also known as “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”
The song, “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” is thus associated with this rose. The “Yellow Rose” of the song, however, was a young mulatto (hence the "yellow") woman. Named either Molly Morgan or Emily Wade, she is credited in folklore as a heroine of the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, in which the Texas militia under Sam Houston destroyed the Mexican army of the tyrant Santa Anna with virtually no Texas casualties, thus attaining Texas independence from Mexico.
Molly (or Emily) supposedly seduced the Mexican general on the afternoon of the battle, facilitating the Texan surprise attack. Soon after the battle, the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (composer unknown) became popular and has remained so as a Texas folk song. In 1955 it was arranged and played by Mitch Miller and his orchestra and became a national hit song, even eclipsing Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock.”
Texas became an independent republic in 1836, and voluntarily joined the Union in 1845. I think the legend and the song say a lot about Texas and Texans. By the way, The Battle of San Jacinto was considered payback for the massacre at the Alamo, a visit to which cannot fail to stir the American soul.