I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again

DESCRIPTION: The soldier must leave his sweetheart; as she pins a rose on his breast, he promises, "I'll be with you when the roses bloom again." He is killed in battle; and can only ask that the captain inform his sweetheart
AUTHOR: Will D. Cobb & Gus Edwards (sometimes listed as "Will Whitmore & Harry Hilliard")
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1901 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: soldier separation death flowers
FOUND IN: US(Ap,So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Fuson-BalladsOfTheKentuckyHighlands, p. 123, "When the Roses Bloom Again" (1 text)
Cambiaire-EastTennesseeWestVirginiaMountainBallads, p. 96, "When the Wild Roses Bloom Again Beside the River " (1 text)
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, pp. 138-139, "When the Roses Bloom Again beside the River" (1 text)
Rainey/Pinkston-SongsOfTheOzarkFolk, p. 66, "When the Roses Bloom Again" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brumley-LamplitinTimeInTheValley 39, "When the Roses Bloom Again" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST RcIBWYWt (Partial)
Roud #2871
RECORDINGS:
Elton Britt, "When the Roses Bloom Again" (Bluebird B-9000, 1942; ViDisc 44, 1943)
[Richard] Burnett & [Leonard] Rutherford, "I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again" (Columbia 15122-D, 1927; rec. 1926; on BurnRuth01, KMM)
Carver Boys, "I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again" (Paramount 3233/Broadway 8180 [as Cramer Boys], n.d.; rec. 1929)
Cross & McCartt, "When the Roses Bloom Again" (Columbia 15143-D, 1927)
Vernon Dalhart, "I'm Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again" (Columbia 15054-D, 1926; rec. 1925)
Delmore Brothers, "Till the Roses Bloom Again" (Bluebird B-7262/Montgomery Ward M-7321, 1937)
Paul Joines & Cliff Evans, "Budded Roses" (on Persis1)
Harry Macdonough, "I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again" (CYL: Edison 8276, 1903)
Blind Jack Mathis, "When the Roses Come Again" (Columbia 15344-D, 1929)
Lester McFarland & Robert A. Gardner, "When the Roses Bloom Again" (Brunswick 111/Vocalion 5027, 1927; Supertone S-2028, 1930)
Walter Scanlan "I'll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again" (Edison 52063, 1927)
Kilby Snow, "Budded Roses" (on KSnow1)
Ernest V. Stoneman, "When the Roses Bloom Again" (matrix # GEX 496-A recorded 1927 and issued 1927-1928 as: Herwin 17741, Gennett 6044 [as by Ernest V. Stoneman and his Graysen County Boys, Champion 1522 [as by Uncle Jim Seany], Challenge 244/Supertone 9255/Silvertone 5001/Silvertone 8155/Silvertone 25001 [as by Uncle Ben Hawkins]) (matrix #7224-1 recorded 1927 and issued as Banner 1993/Domino 3964/Regal 8324/Oriole 946 [as by Sim Harris], 1927; Homestead 16498 [as by Harris])
[Wilmer] Watts & [Frank] Wilson, "When the Roses Bloom Again" (Paramount 3006, 1927)
Weaver & Wiggins [pseud. for Wilmer Watts & Frank Wilson], "When the Roses Bloom Again" (Broadway 8112, c. 1931)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Soldier (Erin Far Away I)" [Laws J6] (plot) and references there
cf. "Little Sweetheart in the Spring" (theme)
cf. "Down Among the Budded Roses" (some lyrics)
cf. "When the Roses Bloom Again for the Bootlegger" (lyrics, tune)
SAME TUNE:
When the Roses Bloom Again for the Bootlegger (File: Morr045)
NOTES [149 words]: According to Spaeth, A History of Popular Music in America (p. 315), Cobb & Edwards were also the authors of "Mamie," listed as "an outstanding hit of 1901."
This sounds like a Civil War song, but given the era when Cobb and Edwards worked together, one must assume it was inspired by the Spanish-American War.
Edward Foote Gardner, Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century: Volume I -- Chart Detail & Encyclopedia 1900-1949, Paragon House, 2000, p. 254, estimates that this was the sixth-most popular song in America in 1901, peaking at #1 in December 1901 (#1 for the year being "Dolly Grey"). - RBW
I place Joines & Evans's recording "Budded Roses" here, but with misgivings; for one thing, it makes no mention of the man being a soldier. But the story fits well enough that, for want of an alternative, I place it here. Ditto Snow, who probably learned his version from Charlie Poole. - PJS
Last updated in version 6.6
File: RcIBWYWt

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography