Little Wild Rose

Lyricist. Arthur Wimperis

Publisher. Chappell & Co.

Date. 1906

Key/Range. F Major (c' -- f")

COMMENTARY

This song was introduced in the musical comedy The Dairymaids, which opened in 1906 at the Apollo Theatre in London and was imported the following year by Charles Frohman to Broadway with six additional songs by Jerome Kern. Tours shared the responsibility of composing the score for the show with Paul Rubens and lyricist Arthur Wimperis. “Little Wild Rose” appears in the Addenda of the English vocal score, suggesting that it was composed after the opening for Florence Smithson, who played Hélène in the original production. For some unknown reason, the song was not incorporated into the American production until it went on tour.