o C11. “What does the title of Green Grow the Rushes refer to?
It may refer to the poem, “Green Grow The Rashes,” by the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), whose opening verse reads, Green grow the rashes, O; Green grow the rashes, O; The sweetest hours that e’er I spend, Are spent among the lasses, O! It has been noted that Burns’ was but one of many variations of a then-popular lyric by this name, many of them bawdy, and most sung by workers or soldiers to while away the hours. A historically- unconfirmed story says that immigrants to the New World from the British Isles were especially fond of the song (their “finest worksong”?), and to the Spanish born population the Anglo- Americans who sang this work song became known as “greengrows” (later shortened to “gringos”). Since Stipe has been quoted as saying the song concerns American exploitation of migrant (Mexican) workers by U.S. corporations, one might speculate he had some or all of these possibilities in mind. Rec.music.rem reader
