Wildwood Flower

Welcome to For the Love of Bluegrass, a place dedicated to the people, history, and living practice of traditional, mountain, old-timey, or bluegrass music. I hope you'll stop by often, share a story or song of your own, spread a little excitement about the music, or just come sit a spell.

While the formatting and presentation all have a long way to go, I don't want that to hold us all up. So to get the ball rolling, here's a version of Wildwood Flower, one of my favorite tunes. Come back with other verses you know, your favorite version, where you first heard this (for me 'twas Robin and Linda Williams and their Fine Band), or any other story or trad trivia tidbit.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Wildwood Flower
Traditional

I will twine and will mingle my waving black hair
With the roses so red and the lilies so fair
The myrtle so green of an emerald hue
The pale emanita and violets of blue

Oh he promised to love me, he promised to love
To cherish me always all others above
I woke from my dream and my idol was clay
My passion for loving had vanished away

Oh he taught me to love him, he called me his flower
A blossom to cheer him through life's weary hour
But now he has gone and left him alone
The wild flowers to weep and the wild birds to moan

I'll dance and I'll sing and my life shall be gay
I'll charm every heart in the crowd I survey
Though my heart now is breaking, he shall never know
How his name makes me tremble, my pale cheeks to glow

I'll dance and I'll sing and my life shall be gay
I'll banish this weeping, drive troubles away
I'll live yet to see him, regret this dark hour
When he won and neglected his frail wildwood flower

Alternate verses:
I'll twine with my ringlets and waving black hair
With the roses so red and the lilies so fair
And the myrtles so bright with emerald dew
The pale and the leader and eyes look like blue

I'll think of him never, I'll be wild and gay
I'll cease this wild weeping, drive sorrow away
But I wake from my dreaming, my idol was clay
My visions of love have all vanished away