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Sweet Bunch of Daisies
Song by Anita Owen, Old-Time Waltz USA; Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Missouri, Arizona.
ARTIST: by Agnes Amelia Ransom Burton, 1905 SONGS AS REMEMBERED AND SUNG By AGNES AMELIA RANSOM BURTON (1886-1969) Compiled & Edited by Lynn Ransom Burton
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: Anita Owen- 1894
RECORDING INFO: Albert E Brumley's Songs of the Pioneers, Brumley, Fol (1973), 17; Baker, Kenny. Dry and Dusty, County 744, LP (1973), trk# B.02; Baker, Kenny. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not.., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p192; Davis, Larry G.. Songs My Father Taught Me, Davis --, CD (2001), trk# 4; Erbsen, Wayne. Old Fashioned WindDing, Native Ground NG 114, CD (2000), trk# 2 Greer, Jim; and the Mac-O-Chee Valley Boys. Stars of the WWVA Jamboree, Rural Rhythm RRGreer 152, LP (197?), trk# B.04; Herren, Ruth Burton. Solomon, Jack & Olivia (eds.) / Sweet Bunch of Daisies, Colonial Press, Bk (1991), p 65 [1975ca]; Kessinger, Clark. Sweet Bunch of Daisies, County 747, LP (197?/1966), trk# 11; Macon, Uncle Dave. Dixie Dewdrop (Vol. 1), Vetco LP 101, LP (197?), trk# A.01a [1926/04/14] ; Macon, Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave Macon, RBF RF 51, LP (1963), trk# B.04a [1930s] (Sweet Golden Daisies); Manes, Almon. National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest & Folk Music Festival. 1964, NOTFC 64, CD (1964), trk# 26; Martin, Asa; and the Cumberland Rangers. Dr. Ginger Blue, Rounder 0034, LP (1974), trk# 8; Mason, Bob. White Eyes Music Club. Traditional Music in Southeastern Ohio, Western Kentucky Univ. WKU #1, LP (1977), trk# B.05; Simmons, Woody (West Va.). All Smiles Tonight, Elderberry ER 002, LP (1979), trk# 14; Sims, Leroy. Sims Family Presents Country Music, Spirit Arrow LP 203-101, LP (197?), trk# A.04; Tanner, Gid and Gordon. Skillet Licker Music, 1955-1991. The Tanner Legacy, Global Village C 310, Cas (1992), trk# A.02 [1955]; Trammell, Dean. National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest & Folk Music Festival. 1971, NOTFC, CD (1971), trk# 7; Wanzer, Loyd. Folk Fiddling Left Handed Style, American Heritage AH-LP 19B, LP (196?), trk# A.02; Whittington, Oscar. Old Time Waltzes, Rural Rhythm RR 174, LP (196?), trk# 9b; Wise, Chubby (Robert R.). Chubby Wise and his Fiddle, Stoneway STY 104, LP (197?), trk# B.05; Wise, Chubby (Robert R.). Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), p271
RELATED TO: “Daisies Won't Tell” OTHER NAMES: Sweet Golden Daisies
SOURCES: Kuntz, A Fiddler’s Companion; Folk Index; Meade; Mudcat DT;
NOTES: According to Kuntz, there are two versions of Sweet Bunch of Daisies in the fiddle tradition. Andrew Kuntz lists the first version as a breakdown, played by Kenny Baker, Curly Ray Cline, and Clark Kessinger. The second version is listed as a waltz. The waltz was actually a parlor piece from the late 1800’s by Anita Owen in 1894. The song was popular enough that Owen followed with the similar, “Daisies Won't Tell.” Here are the listings by Kuntz:
SWEET BUNCH OF DAISIES [1]. Old-Time, Bluegrass; Breakdown. USA; West Virginia, Texas. C Major (Brody): B Flat Major (Phillips). Standard. AA. Source for notated version: Kenny Baker [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 271. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 139. County 744, Kenny Baker- "Dry and Dusty." County 2705, Kenny Baker - "Master Fiddler." Rebel 1545, Curly Ray Cline- "Why Me Ralph?" County 747, Clark Kessinger- "Sweet Bunch of Daisies." CMH 9006, Benny Martin- "The Fiddle Collection." Stoneway 104, Chubby Wise- "Chubby Wise and His Fiddle."
SWEET BUNCH OF DAISIES [2]. Old-Time, Waltz. USA; Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Missouri, Arizona. G Major. Standard. AB. The earliest citation for this tune is from Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner who learned it as one of his first, in 1898 (Shumway). It was remembered by north Georgia fiddler Lowe Stokes (1898-1982) as having been fiddled by his father. "Sweet Bunch of Daisies" was recorded in 1924 for Gennett and in 1929 for Columbia by fiddler Jess Young (Chattanooga, Tenn.), and apparently popularized by him among fiddlers (C. Wolfe, The Devil's Box, Dec. 1981, Vol. 15, #4). It appears in the repertoires of both the Stripling Brothers (Ala.) {who recorded it in 1934 for Decca although it was not issued}, and Freeny's Barn Dance Band (twin fiddle band from Leake County, Mississippi), 1930. Tommy Magness (1911-1972), born in north Georgia near the southeastern Tennessee border, knew the tune and recorded it for Roy Acuff on a home recorder in 1948. Source for notated version: Hillis Taylor and Vivian Williams [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 316. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 131, pg. 46. Heritage 048, Gordon Tanner - "Georgia Fiddle Bands" (Brandywine 1982).
FINAL NOTES: The song was recorded by Uncle Dave Macon and also the Kentucky Girls as “Sweet Golden Daisies.” Since Meade and others don’t separate the songs, it would seem that they both originate from the waltz by Anita Owen. Kenny Baker's version, for example, is the same melody in 4/4 time. Sometimes the song is played as a one-part song; the melody of the verse is left off and the chorus is repeated with variations. Here are the lyrics:
SWEET BUNCH OF DAISIES by Agnes Amelia Ransom Burton, 1905
SONGS AS REMEMBERED AND SUNG By AGNES AMELIA RANSOM BURTON (1886-1969)
Compiled & Edited by Lynn Ransom Burton
These are the songs sung by *Agnes Amelia Ransom Burton.
They play an important part in her life and in
the lives of her friends and neighbors, her eleven
children, thirty-two grandchildren, and twelve
great-grandchildren, not to mention the lives of
numerous neighbor children throughout southern Idaho and
northern Utah.
Agnes Amelia Ransom Burton was born October 15, 1886, in
Trenton, Utah, daughter of James Rowley Ransom and Agnes
Elizabeth Austin Ransom. After her marriage to Caleb
Johnson Burton, they lived in various towns in southern
Idaho (Downey, Cleveland, Dayton, Preston) until 1932,
when they moved to Utah.
In Utah they lived in Thatcher and Brigham City, and
after her husband's death she lived in Brigham City,
Logan, and presently in Salt Lake City.
It has been a pleasure to collect these songs. My mother
was very cooperative and patient with me as I
attempted to draw from her memory these remarkable lyrics
--some complete, others quite fragmentary. Church hymns
and Primary songs are, with few exceptions, not included
here. I am very grateful for her help and, of course,
this collection, hers in the first place, is
dedicated to her.
Sweet bunch of daisies
Oh, how dear to me,
Ever I hear them
Whispering love to me.
Murmuring so gently
In the silent theme,
Of one bright morning
Now one sad, sweet dream.
Chorus: Sweet bunch of daisies
Brought from the dell,
Kiss me once, sweetheart,
Daisies won't tell.
Give me your promise
Oh, sweetheart, do
Darling, I love you,
Won't you be true?
Sweet bunch of daisies
Treasured more than gold,
Brings back to memory
Those sweet days of old.
When we, together,
Strolled through forest green,
Gathering the daisies
Growing by the stream.
*Learned from a home magazine, about 1905.
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