Blackberry Blossom
Blackberry Blossom: Love Lost in the Arkansas Clay
Lyrics
Can you tell me what happened to the blossom
Asking about the fate or condition of the blackberry blossom.
Blackberry blossom when the summertime came?
Reference to the disappearance or change in the blackberry blossom during summer.
The blackberry blossom, oh the last time I saw one
Recollection of the last sighting of the blackberry blossom.
Was down in the bramble where I rambled in the spring
The speaker recalls seeing the blossom in the bramble (thicket) during springtime.
The bramble was wild I was torn by the briars
Description of the wild and thorny nature of the bramble causing distress.
My love he wooed me as I lie there
While in the bramble, the speaker's lover courted them.
With a flower in my hair and my cheeks all flashy
The speaker adorned with a flower and flushed cheeks, likely from love or excitement.
Was the blackberry blossom from the blackberry bush
Connecting the imagery of the speaker's appearance to the blackberry blossom.
When I picked the berry I didn't miss the blossom
Noticing the absence of the blossom while picking the berries.
The blackberry blossom was white as the snow
Describing the white color of the blackberry blossom.
But the berry that it brings is sweeter than molasses
Contrasting the sweetness of the berry with the color and potential bitterness of the blossom.
And black as the wings of the Arkansas crow
Comparing the berry's color to the black wings of the Arkansas crow.
The Arkansas crow is a devil and a demon
Portraying the crow as malevolent or troublesome.
Known for his cackling and his screaming
Describing the crow's characteristic noises and behavior.
Driving away the swallow and the thrush
Illustrating how the crow scares off other birds from the blackberry bush and its blossom.
From the blackberry blossom and the blackberry bush
Continuation of the crow's disruptive impact on the blackberry environment.
I was picking berries when that crow flew above me
Recollection of the moment when the crow took the speaker's lover away.
Carrying my lover so far away
Expressing the speaker's loss and sorrow over the lover's disappearance.
Now each spring I lay a blackberry blossom
Symbolic gesture of honoring the memory of the lost lover by placing a blackberry blossom on their grave each spring.
By a cold gravestone on the Arkansas clay
Describing the grave's location, its condition, and the symbolic act performed there.
The Arkansas clay is rocky and hard
Characterizing the difficult and unyielding nature of the Arkansas clay.
With weeds growing over in the old graveyard
Depicting the unkempt state of the graveyard with weeds growing over it.
And the day settles down to an evening hush
Transition from daytime to evening, creating a tranquil atmosphere over the blackberry environment.
Over the blackberry blossom and the blackberry bush
Final reference to the blackberry blossom and bush within the tranquil evening setting.
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