Sweet Violets

AKA
First Published 1882
Writer/composer JK Emmet Roud RN10232

Music Hall Performers J. Fuller; Jenny Hill
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Shaw, Art / Acret, Jim ; USA : California ; 1951
Gilbert Family ; USA : Arkansas ; 1959
Jarrett, Mr. / Jarrett, Mrs ; England : Sussex ; 1960
Scammon, Clark ; USA : California ; 1960
Jones, Frederick E. / Dr. Daniel P. Wilbanks ; USA : Alabama; 1958-1962
Smith, Jasper ; England : Surrey ; 1974
Edworthy, George ; England : Devon ; 1982
Copper, Bob ; England : East Sussex : 1992
Aldous, Manny ; England : Suffolk : nd
King, Arthur (Cocky) ; England : Suffolk ; nd		 

Sweet violets
As written and performed by in the USA by JK Emmet, in the UK by J. Fuller of The Mohawk Minstrels and in the UK Halls by Jenny Hill

Sweet violets, sweeter than all the roses;
Ladened with fragrance, sparkling with the dew, 
Sweet Violets, from mossy dell and rivulet, 
Zillah, darling one, I plucked them and brought them to you

Oh, Zilah, stay, go not away, 
Violets are blooming, love for you alone;
Oh! Sweet Violets, sweeter than all the roses, 
Zillah, darling one, I picked them and brought them to you
La la la etc
[Yodel]

Sweet violets, resting in beauty's bower;
Crouched all unnoticed,I did pluck that flower
Sweet Violets, still looking up to heaven, 
Zillah, darling one,I plucked them, my darling, for you

A sentimental ballad written by the American actor and songwriter Joseph K Emmett. In the UK it was a big hit for blackface minstrel group The Mohawk Minstrels but was perhaps most associated with the singing of Jenny Hill, who made a feature of the song throughout her career in the Halls.

There are a huge number of bawdy “teasing” songs in which the rhyming scheme leads you to expect something rude, only to have those expectations replaced with a chorus of Sweet Violets… A number of variants were recorded in the 1930s including one by US Western singing group, The Sons of the Pioneers, which started:

I sat with my girl in the moonlight,
Her eyes were so big and so black,
I still feel the kick that she gave me,
‘Cos I put my hand on her …

A Sweet Violets, sweeter than all the roses,
Covered all over from head to toe,
Covered all over with …

The Sons of the Pioneers, 1936

There were a number of much bawdier versions, many of which were probably never recorded. Another mild version was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic for Dinah Shore in 1951.

It’s likely that the traditional performers listed above learned the song from recordings available between 1930 and late 1960s.

The Sons of the Pioneers sing the “teasing song” in 1936:

Dinah Shore sings a version (credited to Cy Coben and Charles Grean) in 1951:

Sources: