In 1950, he scored a huge success with his first recording for Capitol Records, John and Marsha, a soap-opera parody that consisted of the title characters (both played by Freberg) repeating each other's names. In a follow-up he used pedal steel guitarist Speedy West to parody the 1953 country hit A Dear John Letter as A Dear John and Marsha Letter.
Throughout the 1950s he made a name for himself writing and performing both original songs (Tele-Vee-Shun) and parodies of popular tunes (The Yellow Rose of Texas, Day-O, Heartbreak Hotel). With fellow voice actors Daws Butler and June Foray he produced a medieval parody of Dragnet called St. George and the Dragon-Net. The latter recording was a #1 hit for four weeks in late 1953.
Freberg's brilliant, authentic-sounding musical parodies were a byproduct of his collaborations with Billy May and his Capitol Records producer Ken Nelson. His brilliant 1957 spoof of TV "champagne music" master Lawrence Welk, Wun'erful, Wun'erful was a true collaboration with May, a veteran big band musician and jazz arranger (known for his work with Frank Sinatra among others) who loathed Welk's corny style. To replicate that sound, May and some of Hollywood's finest studio musicians and vocalists worked to virtually clone Welk's sound. Billy Liebert, a first-rate accordionist copied Welk's own accordion playing. The humor was lost on Welk; Freberg later recalled the bandleader denying he ever used the term "Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" (later the title of Welk's autobiography).
Another hit song to get the Freberg treatment was the weepy Cry, which Freberg rendered as Try ("You too can be unhappy... if you try!") Ray was furious, until he realized the success of Freberg's parody was helping sales and airplay of his own record; Ray and Freberg actually became close friends.
Freberg continued to skewer the advertising industry after the demise of his radio show, producing Green Chri$tma$ in 1958 (again with Butler), a scathing indictment of the overcommercialization of the holiday. Freberg, the son of a church minister and very religious himself, made sure to point out on that novelty record "Whose birthday we're celebrating." Despite his Jewish-sounding last name, Freberg is actually a Baptist of Swedish heritage.
"Green Chri$tma$" also foreshadowed his musical review on LP Stan Freberg Presents: The United States Of America, Volume 1: The Early Years (1961) in that both combined dialog and song in a musical-like style. Stan Freberg Presents: The United States of America, Volume 2: The Middle Years was planned for a release during America's Bicentennial in 1976 but did not emerge until 1996.
The Yellow Rose of Texas
Stan Freberg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not half as much as me
She cried so when I - pardon me
That's just a shade loud on the snare drum
She's the sweetest little rosebud
That Texas ever knew
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
See now you covered up sparkle like the dew
One of the lovliest parts in the whole
Texas is the only girl for me
He covered up the picallos there
Where the Rio Grand is
Where the Rio
Where
Wh-
See my feeling is while I love a good snare drum,
I feel that volume wise it's just a little too much what you're doing there.
See? See, see what I mean? Now you try and hold it there.
I appreciate it.
Where the Rio Grand (I appreciate it)
Where the Rio Grand is flowing
And starry skies (that's better)
She walks along the river
On the quiet (oh that's so much better)
I know that she remembers
When we parted long ago
(You know that there's just a world of difference, oh mercy)
She's the sweetest little rosebud
That Texas ever knew
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
They sparkle like the dew
See you're slipping back into your old habits again.
Why do you do that. Why do you
Texas is the only girl for me!
I love a good snare drum but - hold it hold it hold it.
People people let's go back there the snare drummer covered up the tra-la-las.
We just do it again, smart Alec.
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
You see how lovely that turned out? Now that's a darling part.
OK banjo...yug-dugga-dugga. That's purty. That's purty.
Oh now I'm gonna (that's purty)
For my heart is full of woe
We'll do the things together
We did so long ago
We'll play the banjo gaily
She'll love me like (banjo drowns out)
Excuse me, you ain't any kin to the snare drummer, are you?
She's the sweetest little rosebud
That Texas ever knew
Why do you do that? Why do you burst out like that? It irritates me.
That irritates me. That irritates me, that's all.
But the yellow rose of Texas
HOLD ON! HOLD ON! Hold on you smart Alec Yankee drummer you!
You can cover up rose, you can cover up yellow, buddy,
But don't you cover up TEXAS!
Or I'll stick your head through that cotton-pickin snare drum
And secede from the band so help me Mitch Miller I will!
And the yellow rose of Texas will be mine forever more
Cut it off there. The record's over, you idiot.
Stop it, stop it I say. Just stop it, stop it.
I'm getting out of here
He ruined the ending, one of the lovliest parts in the whole...
Piece!
The Yellow Rose of Texas by Stan Freberg is a comedic interpretation of the song with surrealist dialogue interruptions by the singer's bandmates. The song is about a man who is missing the sweetest little rosebud that Texas ever knew, claiming that nobody else could miss her half as much as he does. He describes her bright diamond-like eyes and her walk along the river. He also adds that he and Texas have a history together, and that they will do things together as they did long ago. The lyrics end with the man declaring that the yellow rose of Texas will be his forever.
Line by Line Meaning
Nobody else could miss her
The singer is infatuated with the Yellow Rose of Texas and feels that no one else could be as heartbroken over her as he is.
Not half as much as me
The singer is confident that his feelings for the Yellow Rose of Texas are much stronger than anyone else's who might also miss her.
She cried so when I - pardon me
The singer is interrupting himself because he thinks that the snare drum sound is a bit too loud and overshadows his vocals. He doesn't want to miss singing about the Yellow Rose of Texas.
That's just a shade loud on the snare drum
The singer thinks that the volume of the snare drum is just a bit too loud and interfering with his vocals.
She's the sweetest little rosebud that Texas ever knew
The singer thinks the Yellow Rose of Texas is the most beautiful and lovely girl that Texas has ever seen.
Her eyes are bright as diamonds, they sparkle like the dew
The singer extols the beauty of the Yellow Rose of Texas's eyes and compares them to shining diamonds that sparkle in the morning dew.
Where the Rio Grand is flowing
The singer is trying to focus on the music and the location he dreams about - where the Rio Grande river flows.
See my feeling is while I love a good snare drum, I feel that volume wise it's just a little too much what you're doing there.
The singer is expressing his dissatisfaction with the loudness of the snare drum while trying to stay polite and generally avoid a conflict with the musicians.
Where the Rio Grand is flowing...on the quiet...I know that she remembers when we parted long ago
The singer imagines the Yellow Rose of Texas walking along the quiet riverbank remembering the time when they parted.
People people let's go back there the snare drummer covered up the tra-la-las.
The singer asks the musicians to repeat the song from that point because the snare drum covered up the tra-la-las before.
For my heart is full of woe
The singer's heart is full of sadness and woe now that he's separated from the Yellow Rose of Texas.
Oh now I'm gonna (that's purty)
The singer compliments the banjo, which adds to the beauty of the song.
She'll love me like (banjo drowns out)
The singer sings that the Yellow Rose of Texas will love him, but unfortunately, the banjo drowns out his voice, making the sentence incomplete.
But don't you cover up TEXAS!
The singer reminds the musicians that Texas should not be covered up, threatening to leave the band and Mitch Miller altogether.
And the yellow rose of Texas will be mine forever more
The singer imagines that he will always be with Yellow Rose of Texas and that they will be together forever more.
He ruined the ending, one of the lovliest parts in the whole...Piece!
The singer exclaims that the ending of the song was ruined by the loud drummer, thus ruining one of the loveliest parts of the song, and finishes his performance with that statement.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: PAT JR PATRICK, TRADITIONAL, PD TRADITIONAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ronnie Parker Scott
The best record ever made. I have loved this since 1066.
tony albertoni
Wow 1066. I didn't know the record was that old! I'm only joking.
Bruce Hanson
Battle of Hastings fan are you?
White Sapphire
@Bruce Hanson Just as long as his name isn't Norman!
Stormwatcher
I’m reading a book about lost and/or obscure songs and this is one of them. This is so funny. I loved Stan Freberg’s Heartbreak Hotel too.
Mal_Havok
I know it’s 2 months later, but what is the book?
Michael Eshom
"You can cover up 'Yella', you can cover up 'rose', buddy buddy, but don't you cover up 'TEXAS' or I'll stick your head through that cotton-pickin' snare drum and secede from the band, so help me Mitch Miller, I will!"
Eugene Langston
Should give a listen to Stan's "Old Payola Roll blues". Also very funny.
Michael J. Hinton
❤❤❤❤❤
bender1958
Is it me or does the singer sound like Huckleberry Hound?