This week’s music prompt for Song Lyric Sunday is Bubblegum Pop which is very similar to last week’s Sunshine Pop. Both genres go back to the late 60s so I have come up with Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes by Edison Lighthouse. An English pop band, formed in London in 1969. The band was best known for this 1970 hit recorded in late 1969. It’s definitely Bubblegum!
The Song
The British producers Tony Macaulay and Barry Mason wrote this song with Sylvan Mason, who was Barry’s wife at the time. (Sylvan is often uncredited, but her divorce agreement provides hard evidence that she co-wrote this song and the Tom Jones hit “Delilah.”) The song is about a free spirit named Rosemary who leaves the singer besotted.
Many have claimed to be the actual Rosemary the song is about, but Sylvan Mason says that like Delilah, no such person exists. She told Songfacts: “Tony [Macaulay] came over with a melody and rough idea for a song, which title originally was ‘It’s My Heart You’ll Be Breaking Apart,’ but he said he wanted to put a girl’s name in the title because that’s what sold records in those days. The girl’s name Rosemary fitted with the title so we started the song from scratch merely using the name Rosemary”
Macaulay and Barry Mason recorded the song using session musicians. When it became a hit, they put together a band from members of the group Greefield Hammer in order to perform it live. McCaulay eventually put together another group using the Edison Lighthouse name.
A session singer named Tony Burrows sang lead. He was the voice of several studio groups, including White Plains, The Pipkins, and Brotherhood Of Man, First Class (“Beach Baby”) and the Flowerpot Men (“Let’s Go To San Francisco”). He famously appeared on one UK TV show three times in one night when three different groups (all fronted by him) were due to perform their current chart hits. He said, “I just kept changing hats.”
Why is the love growing? That’s a play on the name Rosemary, which is an herb.
Courtesy of Songfacts
The Lyrics
She ain't got no money Her clothes are kinda funny Her hair is kinda wild and free Oh, but Love grows where my Rosemary goes And nobody knows like me She talks kinda lazy And people say she she's crazy And her life's a mystery Oh, but Love grows where my Rosemary goes And nobody knows like me There's something about her hand holding mine It's a feeling that's fine And I just gotta say She's really got a magical spell And it's working so well That I can't get away I'm a lucky fella And I've just got to tell her That I love her endlessly Because Love grows where my Rosemary goes And nobody knows like me There's something about her hand holding mine It's a feeling that's fine And I just gotta say She's really got a magical spell And it's working so well That I can't get away I'm a lucky fella And I've just got to tell her That I love her endlessly Because Love grows where my Rosemary goes And nobody knows like me Fadeout: It keeps growing every place she's been And nobody knows like me If you've met her, you'll never forget her And nobody knows like me La la la- believe it when you've seen it Nobody knows like me Writer/s: Roger Frederick Cook, Roger John Reginald Greenaway Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
One of my guilty pleasure songs 🤣
Oh no way! 🤣 I never would’ve guessed it! Lol.
Fantastic choice!
An oldie but memorable. Thanks John
I hope I can get through all of this music today without going into a diabetic coma from the sugar rush. Thanks for joining in again Christine.
I know Jim. It gave me a toothache including the song I chose. 🫤
Snap…………. I also picked this today. Good song.
Oh yes snap! To me, it really fit the category. Well done Di ☺️💕
🙂 yay!!
Great song , great memories from my early teens.. some not so good memories too. And as with all the songs from that area I remember the lyrics and tunes 💜💜
Thanks Willow. Yes, me too.! The lyrics were so simple that you understood every word. They really described the feeling of that era. ☺️💕
Yes they did great times 🤣🤣