Furthermore, the stories about Emily West (Morgan) and General Santa Anna simpy don't make sense in a historical context, although they do make sense in an allegorical context where West = Judith and Santa Anna = Holofernes and Texas = Israel. [reference to anecdote by Retrogrouch over at the DeLong site that the "Yellow Rose" is a historical figure whose had an afair with Santa Anna]
I've not heard of any solid evidence to back up that anecdote. Since the original lyrics refer to "Dearest Mae" (http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/display.pl?record=020.140.000&pages=5) (1847) and "Rosalie" (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=sm1820&fileName=sm2/sm1847/430000/430470/mussm430470.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?mussm:7:./temp/~ammem_M0OQ::&linkText=0) (1847), two other heroines in songs made by blackface minstrels during the antebellum period, my gut feeling is that the lyricist was praising a fictitious character: "You think Tennessee girls are cute? The girls of Texas are far better!"
A site that has the original sheet music to "Yellow Rose of Texas": http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/display.pl?record=016.147.000&pages=5
"Yellow" girls are exotic objects of male desire in antebellum minstrelsy, whereas black women were primarily reserved for comedy. Female roles were primarily played by men in this period of minstrelsy, although women occasionally appeared as members in some troupes. Even more rare are all-female troupes during this period. For example, I've seen ads for the Female Serenaders in an Alexandria, VA, newspaper during the ACW. The implication in those ads was that the women were sex objects first, musicians/comedians/dancers second.
Blackface minstrelsy confronted issues of race, gender, and class and provides some fascinating insights into antebellum American society--both repellent and intriguing.
And for the record, when I was little I thought the "Yellow Rose" referred to a blond Texas girl. It was not until I began to study pop culture in 19th-century America that I learned otherwise.
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Date: 2005-01-28 04:48 pm (UTC)I've not heard of any solid evidence to back up that anecdote. Since the original lyrics refer to "Dearest Mae" (http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/display.pl?record=020.140.000&pages=5) (1847) and "Rosalie" (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=sm1820&fileName=sm2/sm1847/430000/430470/mussm430470.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?mussm:7:./temp/~ammem_M0OQ::&linkText=0) (1847), two other heroines in songs made by blackface minstrels during the antebellum period, my gut feeling is that the lyricist was praising a fictitious character: "You think Tennessee girls are cute? The girls of Texas are far better!"
A site that has the original sheet music to "Yellow Rose of Texas": http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/display.pl?record=016.147.000&pages=5
"Yellow" girls are exotic objects of male desire in antebellum minstrelsy, whereas black women were primarily reserved for comedy. Female roles were primarily played by men in this period of minstrelsy, although women occasionally appeared as members in some troupes. Even more rare are all-female troupes during this period. For example, I've seen ads for the Female Serenaders in an Alexandria, VA, newspaper during the ACW. The implication in those ads was that the women were sex objects first, musicians/comedians/dancers second.
Blackface minstrelsy confronted issues of race, gender, and class and provides some fascinating insights into antebellum American society--both repellent and intriguing.
And for the record, when I was little I thought the "Yellow Rose" referred to a blond Texas girl. It was not until I began to study pop culture in 19th-century America that I learned otherwise.