Osborne Brothers was a bluegrass band known for their musical innovation an… Read Full Bio ↴Osborne Brothers was a bluegrass band known for their musical innovation and close harmony singing. Led by Sonny Osborne (October 29, 1937 – October 24, 2021) and his brother Bobby Osborne (born December 7, 1931), the band is remembered for their 1967 US #33 country hit song, "Rocky Top", written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and named after a Tennessee location.

One of the most innovative and popular bluegrass groups of the 1960s and 1970s, the band took their music into new directions and gained a large audience. Among their most notable achievements were their pioneering, inventive use of amplification, twin harmony banjos, double-tracked vocals, steel guitars, and drums. They were the first bluegrass group to expand the genre's sonic palette in such a fashion.

In 2005 Sonny Osborne retired, owing to a shoulder injury, and Bobby continued to tour as Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top X-press.

In addition to "Rocky Top," the brothers' hit records include "Making Plans," "Up This Hill and Down," "Midnight Flyer," "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Muddy Bottom," "Tennessee Houndog," "Georgia Pineywoods," "Roll Muddy River," "The Kind of Woman I Got," and "Ruby (Are You Mad At Your Man)."

Down In The Willow Garden
Osborne Brothers Lyrics

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Down in the willow garden
Where me and my love did meet
There we sat a courting
My love dropped off to sleep.

I had a bottle of burgundy wine
My true love she did not know
It was there I poisoned that dear little girl

Down on the banks below.

I drew a saber through her
Which was a bloody knife
I threw her in the river
Which was an aweful sight.

My father often told me
That money would set me free
If I would murder that dear little girl
Who's name was Rose Connely.

Now he sits in his cabin door
A wiping his tear dimmed eye
A'lookin at his own dear son
Upon the scaffold high.

My race is run beneath the sun
The devil is waiting for me

For I did murder that dear little girl
Who's name was Rose Connely...

Overall Meaning

The Osborne Brothers' song "Down in the Willow Garden" is a haunting ballad about a murder committed by the singer. The lyrics evoke a sense of foreboding with the opening line, "Down in the willow garden," which carries connotations of death and burial. The next line, "Where me and my love did meet," hints at the intimacy between the singer and his victim, as well as a sense of nostalgia for a time before the murder took place. The following lines describe the courtship between the two and the moment when the singer poisons his beloved, revealing his true intentions.

The chorus of the song is particularly chilling, as the singer describes in detail how he kills his lover and disposes of her body. The lines, "I drew a saber through her / Which was a bloody knife / I threw her in the river / Which was an awful sight," demonstrate the brutality of the act and the emotionless way in which the singer carries it out. The final verse reveals that the singer's own father was complicit in the murder, having encouraged him to do it for financial gain.

Overall, the song paints a vivid picture of a crime committed in the name of greed and desperation. The stark imagery and simple melody contribute to its powerful impact and enduring popularity.

Line by Line Meaning

Down in the willow garden
In a secluded and serene space with willow trees

Where me and my love did meet
Where I met with my beloved

There we sat a courting
We spent time together in a romantic courtship

My love dropped off to sleep.
My lover fell asleep

I had a bottle of burgundy wine
I possessed a bottle of red wine

My true love she did not know
My lover was unaware

It was there I poisoned that dear little girl
I secretly poisoned my beloved

Down on the banks below.
Near the riverside

I drew a saber through her
I used a sword to cut her

Which was a bloody knife
The sword was covered in blood

I threw her in the river
I disposed of her body in the water