By 
I will get tangled in the middle of the curls
Of my jet black hair,
The lilies so pale
And the roses so beautiful.
Without argument, one of the most charming, intriguing, and captivating of all early American folk songs and poems is The Wildwood Flower. Its haunting story has captivated the fascination and loyalty of countless thousands. An important feature of its fascination and holding power lies in the fact that it is an enigma that has never been solved. Clearly, as the poem unfolds, the Wildwood Flower is a waif, but what is the meaning of the other metaphors and symbols embedded in this classic?
As the heartbroken lover sits alone in the wooded valley that was once her testing ground, she winds the strands of her jet-black hair determinedly around her fingers. That image is clear enough, but then the lyrics get vague. Are the lilies flowers of the glen or are they a metaphor for something else? And what are the meanings of roses, myrtle and pale amanita with bright blue eyes? To the discerning reader or listener it is evident that something more than the literal is intended here. The amanita is a deadly poisonous mushroom known as the Death Hood. He doesn’t have bright blue eyes. And what can be said about the rest of the lyrics? Is it just a lament and a fantasy to try to console herself in her heartbreak and loneliness; Or is it the revelation of a clever plot to get revenge on this opportunistic crush who betrothed her and then lost interest in her?
I am going to offer some reflections on what this fascinating story tells me, but before doing so I want to present some realities about the times in which this happened and these types of situations. In the lonely woods of early America, opportunities for romance and a future did not present themselves so often. Furthermore, at the time this poem was written, a girl who had lost her virtue had greatly reduced her chances of finding marriage and happiness with a respectable man. Lying to a young woman, telling her he loved her, seducing her, and then walking away from her and leaving her was virtually a death sentence. The hatred and revenge that ultimately arose from these paralyzing anxieties often resulted in the death of the offender. There are many such stories that have become legends of the rural settings of the early United States. There’s Frankie and Johnny, Ohio Banks, Barbara Allen, and many others where abandoned love and betrayal resulted in the perpetrator’s death. Having said that, I wish to give you my version of the meaning of this elusive tale.
It is obvious that I do not have special perceptions and what I am going to say is only my own opinion. It is not offered to contradict anyone else’s conclusions, to intrude on the sanctuary that may have been built in someone’s mind over this disturbing story, or to offend anyone in any way. It’s just my offering of what’s going on here.
I will get tangled in the middle of the curls
Of my jet black hair,
The lilies so pale
and the roses so beautiful,
The myrtle so bright
With an emerald hue,
and the pale amanita
With bright blue eyes.
A girl is sitting, probably all together, in a wooded glen where she used to meet her lover, where she succumbed to his lies of love and marriage, and where she lost her virtue. The last line of verse 3 reveals that she is a fragile girl and not of great physical beauty, but she does have some charms. She has raven-black hair, which she twists absently but aggressively between her fingers. The Song of Songs and other historical literature provide the basis for inferring that the lilies are her breast. The roses are her glowing red cheeks, now not glowing with love and emotion as in verse 2, but in this case burning with anger and pain. The myrtle is the dark green lashes over its eyes and the pale amanita is the ghostly white face, colorless with anger and hate (the hood of death), whose bright blue eyes shine as if to make appear before she now in the glen. the scene that she is imagining in her mind.
two.
I will sing and dance
My laugh will be joyful;
I will stop this wild crying –
drive away the pain,
Though my heart is breaking now
he will never know
that his name made me tremble
And my pale cheeks to shine.
The girl has struggled with anguish and pain until her tears have dried up. Now the desperate but futile hope that he will return to her has been dashed. In her place, a revenge plan has begun to form. First, she needs to stop acting like she cares. She must come to the party, throw herself into the game with abandon, charm as many men as she can, and make herself the subject of discussion and the object of ambition. This will all be part of her plot to get back at him for what she’s done to him, but he must never know. He had to make her believe that she didn’t care more about him than he did about her and that he was just another one of her adventures.
3.
I will never think of him
I’ll be wildly gay
I will charm every heart,
And the crowd will sway,
I’ll still live to see it
I’m sorry for the dark hour
When he won, then he got careless,
The fragile wild flower.
Until the trap is ready to spring, you must put it out of your mind and apply yourself to your plan. She’ll let her hair down and be the life of the party. She will play the lover of all the men she can charm. Why not? What is there for her to lose now? But this will be an act, not the true desires of her heart. The purpose is to make him jealous. Young people like him are selfish and possessive. The time will come when he begins to wonder why he has walked away from her and he will finally take the bait and return to her. When he does, his meeting place will not be the ballroom, but again the wild forest where he broke her heart and ruined his life. Her plan will succeed and he will return, but he will never leave her again. Once she has him in the power of his charms, the hood of death will envelop him and take his life.
Four.
He told me that he loved me
And promised to love
Through sickness and misfortune,
Everyone else up
Another has won it;
Ah, misery to count;
left me in silence
no parting word.
As the girl sits in the wild forest and contemplates his drastic plan, she begins to rationalize. It’s her fault; not hers. He told her he loved her and she believed him or she would never have given herself to him. She spoke of love and commitment for life and she was very convincing. She cruelly took her life and her future to satisfy her lust and greed. He shattered her dreams and high hopes for husband, home, and family, and then walked away from her without so much as a “goodbye.”
5.
He taught me to love him
he called me his flower
that blossomed for him
All the brighter every hour;
But I woke up from my dream
My idol was clay;
my visions of love
They have all vanished.
An intimate marital relationship is clearly indicated here. No girl needs to be “taught” how to have loving and caring feelings. The sweet intimacy that should have belonged only to his soul mate was given to this deceiver. He told her the things she wanted to hear. “She was what he had always wanted and what he lived for. She was the glorious wildflower of hers that kept opening the biggest and brightest flower of hers every hour.”
But then the dream faded in the harsh light of reality. It was all a lie. His wondrous idol was nothing more than a pile of dirt. He was gone, and with him her hopes for a happy future. He had killed her, and now she had a plot to get back at her. He was justified; what he had done to her, she would do to him.
Could this frail country girl really carry out her plan for revenge? Did her wild plan have any chance of success? Was it another Frankie with a gun strapped to her back? Who knows? And for the narrative, it doesn’t matter. She is a crushed, abandoned, heartbroken country maid who has been used and discarded; and she is desperately trying to survive. She seeks to find some satisfaction for the wrong done to her. She will make him pay; he has to pay. If not otherwise, all of him has unfolded before her in the meadow this day as she sits as she did when she last saw him, twisting her jet-black hair tightly around her long white fingers and searching comfort in feelings of revenge.