Mighty Lak' a Rose

Sheet music cover

"Mighty Lak' a Rose" is a 1901 song with lyrics by Frank Lebby Stanton and music by Ethelbert Nevin; performances and recordings have since persisted.

The lyrics are written in an approximation of an African-American accent; such "dialect songs" were common in the era. The title thus means "Mighty (very much) like a rose"; this assessment is addressed by a black woman,"Mammy," to a newborn blue-eyed Caucasian boy in her care. It was common at the time for white families to hire trusted black women to care for their children. The dialect has been modified by some singers, such as Frank Sinatra. Audiences of various cultures and backgrounds have been able to identify with the narrator, the mother, and the child.

The tune became a Tin Pan Alley hit with versions by George Alexander (1903), Marguerite Dunlap (1911) and Geraldine Farrar (1916) being particular popular.[1] It was a perennial of traditional pop music for generations.[2]

Deanna Durbin sang it as a lullaby in the 1943 feature film The Amazing Mrs. Holliday.[3] Other notable recordings include those by Bing Crosby (recorded December 4, 1945),[4] Jane Powell, Lillian Nordica, Geraldine Farrar, Vincent Lopez, Paul Robeson, Art Tatum, Wilbur DeParis, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Petula Clark, John McCormack, Henry Burr, and Roger Whittaker.[5] An orchestra arrangement was directed by Frank Chacksfield. Bob Becker's xylophone rendition is available performed by McGill University's Amie Watson.[6] In an episode of the British sitcom Are You Being Served? Mrs Slocombe, Miss Brahms and Mr Humphries sang it as a lullaby to two babies. In the play and movie Night Must Fall, the murderer, as played by Robert Montgomery, whistled, hummed, and sang portions of "Mighty Lak' a Rose," a habit that made him identifiable.

The song was Nevin's final composition. He died on 17 February 1901, shortly after composing it, never living to realize the song's success. Stanton died in 1927.[7]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 549. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  2. ↑ Go to the Dixieland rendition of "Mighty Like a Rose" on YouTube as performed by the Left Bank Bearcats.
  3. ↑ Deanna Durbin sings "Mighty like a Rose" on YouTube in the role of Ruth Kirke Holliday.
  4. ↑ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  5. ↑ Like Durbin's, Whittaker's rendition of "Mighty like a Rose" on YouTube has been associated with Christmas. Petula Clark, prior to her rendition on YouTube, explicitly mentioned the song's sentimentality.
  6. ↑ Amie Watson's xylophone rendition on YouTube.
  7. ↑ See the articles on Nevin and Stanton.
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