# Emily Dickinson/Yellow Rose of Texas/Somebody slap me, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2007, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622 "2007-04-11T11:01:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/1 "2007-04-11T11:01:18Z")
We’ve all heard that almost all of Dickinson’s poems can be sung to the tune of “Yellow Rose of Texas.” It’s almost 6 in the morning and it’s been a loooooong night with nothing going on so I wander over to [www.online-literature.com](http://www.online-literature.com) to while away these last couple of hours of my shift but whenever I try to read one of La Emily’s poems my brain insists on _singing_ it to me. To the tune of “Yellow Rose of Texas”. It’s disconcerting. Have any other poets been so inextricably linked with cheesy songs? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/2 "2007-04-11T12:26:32Z")
> [@](#): > > We’ve all heard that almost all of Dickinson’s poems can be sung to the tune of “Yellow Rose of Texas.” No we haven’t. The part of “we” that’s Me hasn’t, at least, and I’ll bet there are others, as well. If the Dpe Board teaches us anything, it should be that there are otherwise well-educated and well-read people who have somehow missed out on something that “everyone knows”. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/3 "2007-04-11T12:42:05Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] No we haven’t. The part of “we” that’s Me hasn’t, at least, and I’ll bet there are others, as well. If the Dpe Board teaches us anything, it should be that there are otherwise well-educated and well-read people who have somehow missed out on something that “everyone knows”. [/QUOTE] How could you not know that? Did you not watch Babylon 5? ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/4 "2007-04-11T13:06:59Z")
“The Yellow Rose of Texas” is more or less straight iambic heptameter – it’s going to correspond with poems of the same meter, and there are a whole lot of them. Had Shakespeare’s foolscap been slightly wider, you might be doing the same thing to a lot of his sonnets: “Shall _I_ com_pare_ thee _to_ a _sum_mer’s _day_ thou _art_ more _and_/More _tem_per_ate_…” and so on. You can also find a lot of poems in anapestic tetrameter: sing them to “I feel pretty,” from _West Side Story_. But don’t worry. Scansion of Emily Dickenson’s work yields lots of other patterns as well, including the one presented on the front page of Dickenson’s section in your link, “Wild Nights.” You’re right, though. Having any meter reinforced so rigorously in your mind is going to spoil most poetry, because most poets choose their language to do more than just scan. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/5 "2007-04-11T13:25:09Z")
To change it up, you could try singing them to the tune of the Gilligan’s Island theme. Or maybe “America the Beautiful.” Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/6 "2007-04-11T14:43:33Z")
You can also sing Dickinson’s poetry to any number of hymns. IIRC, hymns were her model for poetic meter. What a few friends and I did back in school was sing the names of organic compound to “The Irish Washerwoman.” It works very well. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/7 "2007-04-11T15:05:55Z")
[QUOTE=kelly5078] You can also sing Dickinson’s poetry to any number of hymns. IIRC, hymns were her model for poetic meter. What a few friends and I did back in school was sing the names of organic compound to “The Irish Washerwoman.” It works very well. [/QUOTE] Isaac Asimov found it so as well. He used to tell a story of doing it (I forget which compound’s name he was uttering) and having a (presumably Irish-American) woman tell him, “Oh! You know it in the _original Gaelic!_” And maybe that’s what it sounded like. Scansion helps memory – it just _works_, and that’s why people use it, and remember it, and pass it on when it does. One quibble – American hymns are all over the place, meter-wise, and always have been. It’s no more likely that Emily Dickenson drew her patterns from them than from the poetry she read throughout her life. There aren’t an infinite number of either, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Ex\_Scientia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f1d935/32.png) [@Ex\_Scientia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Scientia)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/8 "2007-04-11T19:01:20Z")
I wrote a poem for my English teacher last week about my hatred for Emily Dickinson. She loved it, said I should get it published. I thought it was pretty stupid but kind of fun to mess with punctuation and capitalization. I’ll post it if someone wants. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/9 "2007-04-11T19:39:39Z")
> [@](#): > > (I forget which compound’s name he was uttering) ahem paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde I used to sing it to the kids. They thought it was Irish. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/10 "2007-04-11T19:46:35Z")
When I was in seventh grade, our class was studying Longfellow’s poem The Song of Hiawatha. I noticed that its meter was such that (given a few liberties) it could be sung to the tune of The Marines’ Hymn. To this day, I cannot hear “From the halls of Montezuma…” without thinking “By the shores of Gitchee Gumee…” ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/11 "2007-04-11T22:46:21Z")
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” scans perfectly to the “Gilligan’s Island” theme music. I often wish I didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/12 "2007-04-11T23:01:27Z")
[QUOTE=ryobserver] “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” scans perfectly to the “Gilligan’s Island” theme music. I often wish I didn’t know that. [/QUOTE] Oh, my gosh, you’re right! That’s hilarious! Thanks for pointing it out. Now another classic poem will always have a soundtrack in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/13 "2007-04-11T23:56:45Z")
Since I don’t know “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” I always used “Oh Suzannah” in its place. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/14 "2007-04-12T01:38:43Z")
[QUOTE=ryobserver] “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” scans perfectly to the “Gilligan’s Island” theme music. I often wish I didn’t know that. [/QUOTE] Dammit. Ok, who wants to ruin “The Lady of Shalott” for me? :mad: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/15 "2007-04-12T03:10:16Z")
My fave in this category is singing Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” to the tune of “Hernando’s Hideaway.” (The Doxology can also be sung to this tune.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/16 "2007-04-12T13:20:28Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] ahem paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde I used to sing it to the kids. They thought it was Irish. [/QUOTE] By gum, that’s it all right: I recognize it now that you’ve given it to me. If it’s not an imposition, can you tell me, in which of Asimov’s books did I read the story? I thought it was _Fact and Fancy_, but apparently not, and I don’t think it’s in his joke book (forgot the title, lost it long ago) either, and I’m not finding it in his _Intelligent Man’s Guide to…_ books. Used to be, if I could remember something I could also remember where I got it. Not a good sign, at all, at all. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/17 "2007-04-12T14:04:12Z")
[QUOTE=The King of Soup] By gum, that’s it all right: I recognize it now that you’ve given it to me. If it’s not an imposition, can you tell me, in which of Asimov’s books did I read the story? I thought it was _Fact and Fancy_, but apparently not, and I don’t think it’s in his joke book (forgot the title, lost it long ago) either, and I’m not finding it in his _Intelligent Man’s Guide to…_ books. Used to be, if I could remember something I could also remember where I got it. Not a good sign, at all, at all. [/QUOTE] It was one of his “explain science” books, not a joke book, sci-fi book, … 1960’s vintage, let’s see… _View from a Height_ by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/18 "2007-04-12T17:33:16Z")
Some years ago, I heard (probably on this board) much the same thing about _Greensleeves_. Since then, I’ve yet to find a song or poem which can’t be sung to that tune (with some occasional stretching). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/19 "2007-04-12T20:37:46Z")
Everytime I read _The Unquiet Grave_ I hear it to the tune of _God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen._ It’s not a big deal, unless it’s really bugging you. Furthermore, _Yellow Rose of Texas_ is actually a very nice tune. I mean, it wouldn’t be nice to have it stuck in your head for very long, but as a song it’s delightful. I swear, when people bring out this chestnut they talk like they’re ashamed to admit they even know the tune. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622/20 "2007-04-12T21:02:41Z")
As I read Tennyson’s [_Locksley Hall_](http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/tenny02.html) for a college class, I realized it could be sung to the tune of [this favorite.](http://www.greatdreams.com/clem.htm) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emily-dickinson-yellow-rose-of-texas-somebody-slap-me-please/399622.md?page=2)