Black-Eyed Susans
Black-Eyed Susan
by: John Gay
All in the downs, the fleet was moored,
Banners waving in the wind.
When Black-Eyed Susan came aboard,
and eyed the burly men.
“Tell me ye sailors, tell me true
Does my Sweet William sail with you?
Though battle call me from thy arms,
Let not my pretty Susan mourn;
Though cannons roar, yet safe from harms
William shall to his Dear return.
Love turns aside the balls that round me fly
Lest precious tears should drop from Susan’s eye.
This charming poem tells one of the great “Legends of Love” in our wildflowers, and every summer even today, it plays out just as the poem describes. Here’s how it works:
Even though it’s not a native, if you seed wild Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) with common Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), they’ll bloom beautifully for you at exactly the same time. Because both are biennials, and her gold plus his bright reds and purples blooming together is a sight to gladden any gardener’s heart.
Since Susan is a North American native, this tale tells us English colonists must have given the golden beauty her name when they arrived in the New World. However, since most all the Black-Eyed Susan species are native to the Great Plains, plant experts have wondered for years how our colonists on the east coast could have given this wildflower the name it’s had for centuries. But some recent research in Maryland (where “Susan” serves as the State Flower) shows that the plant was growing there during the colonial period. So like today, Black-Eyed Susans were probably across the continent from the beginning. Today, they are common in all 50 states and across Canada.
* I borrowed the poem and the the Black-Eyed Susan legend from AmericanMeadows.com*
For the photo enthusiast in all of us! You don’t have to be a photographer to appreciate the art of this hobby, right? That being said, you might want to check out The Largest Photo Ever Taken of Tokyo. It’s really cool!
Angela from Mommy Time Out and I would like to thank you for joining us for another edition of Wayback Wednesdays.
The album Private Dancer released on May 29, 1984 becoming a mega success. In the U.S.A. Turner’s single has been certified 5x Platinum (5 million) selling 250,000 copies every week for two months. Worldwide more than an 20 million copies sold. Can you imagine the royalties from this album along?
From this one album along several of the cuts became prosperous singles, such as “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, “Let’s Stay Together”, “Help”, “Better Be Good to Me”, “I Can’t Stand the Rain”, “Show Some Respect”, and of course…“Private Dancer”! *stats pulled from Wikipedia
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It’s so nice of you to come by & I hope you’ll decide to make it a repeat visit each week to share in my musical memories (new or old) and my photo ops.
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