It’s a musical #ThrowbackThursday!
Dated 1922, “Cornhusker Rose” is a love song written by Howard Adamson, a long-time resident of Lincoln, Nebraska. He dedicated it to his sweetheart Miss Vivian Hanson, whose picture is on the cover of the sheet music. Below is a transcript of the lyrics; you can also listen to a performance of the ballad on the Nebraska Memories archive, performed by Carolyn Dow, mezzo-soprano, and Linda Marsh Helfman, piano.
Verse 1:
I found a rose, sweet in repose,
Blooming in love’s garden fair.
Beauty so rare, none can compare,
Fairest of all anywhere.
And even though we’re apart dear,
Still you are near to my heart.
Cornhusker rose of Nebraska,
Prettiest flow’r that I know.
Cornhusker rose of Nebraksa,
The sweetest rose that grows.
Those golden hours together,
Hours that I spent dear with you.
For there in love’s bower is blooming one flow’r.
‘Tis the cornhusker rose of my heart.
Verse 2:
Cornhusker girl, my heart’s a whirl,
I’m thinking only of you.
Cornhusker girl, Oh! What a pearl,
Promise you will be true.
For’neath the blue skies above dear,
You taught the meaning of love.
Cornhusker rose of Nebraska,
Prettiest flow’r that I know.
Cornhusker rose of Nebraksa,
The sweetest rose that grows.
Those golden hours together,
Hours that I spent dear with you.
For there in love’s bower is blooming one flow’r.
‘Tis the cornhusker rose of my heart.
This image and musical performance is published and owned by the Polley Music Library (Lincoln City Libraries, Lincoln, Nebraska), which contains just over two hundred fifty pieces of Nebraska sheet music, as well as concert programs, manuscripts, theatre programs, photographs, and other Nebraska memorabilia which features an element of music. You can also listen to a dozen performances of selections from this music collection performed by local musicians.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.
