Green Grow the Lilacs is a folk song of Irish origin that was popular in the United States during the mid-19th century.
The song title is the source of a folk etymology for the word gringo that states that the Mexicans misheard U.S. troops singing "green grow" during the Mexican–American War. [1]
The song appears in the 1931 stage play of the same name by Lynn Riggs, which is the basis of the 1943 musical Oklahoma!
There are many different versions of the lyrics. However, one version of the lyrics opens:
- Green grow the lilacs, all sparkling with dew
- I'm lonely, my darling, since parting with you;
- But by our next meeting I'll hope to prove true
- And change the green lilacs to the Red, White and Blue.
- I once had a sweetheart, but now I have none
- She's gone and she's left me, I care not for one
- Since she's gone and left me, contented I'll be,
- For she loves another one better than me. [2] [3]
