"Rose, Rose, I Love You" - by Frankie Laine

Frankie Laine (1913-2007)
"Rose, Rose, I Love You"
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Presented by Henock Gugsa
This song takes me back, way back. It is from the 50's, and it was quite popular in Ethiopia among those exposed to cultures from abroad.

This video is also available on YouTube at youtube.com/gugsah.

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Rose, Rose I love you with an aching heart.
What is your future, now we have to part?
Standing on the jetty as the steamer moves away,
Flower of Malaya, I cannot stay.
Make way, oh, make way for my Eastern Rose.
Men crowd in dozens everywhere she goes.
In her rickshaw on the street or in a cabaret,
"Please make way for Rose," you can hear them say.
All my life I shall remember,
Oriental music and you in my arms.
Perfumed flowers in your tresses,
Lotus-scented breezes and swaying palms.
Rose, Rose I love you with your almond eyes.
Fragrant and slender 'neath tropical skies.
I must cross the seas again and never see you more.
Way back to my home on a distant shore.
All my life I shall remember,
Oriental music and you in my arms.
Perfumed flowers in your tresses,
Lotus-scented breezes and swaying palms.
Rose, Rose I leave you, my ship is in the bay.
Kiss me farewell now, there's nothin' to say.
East is East and West is West, our worlds are far apart.
I must leave you now but I leave my heart.
Rose, Rose I love you with an aching heart.
What is your future, now we have to part?
Standing on the jetty as the steamer moves away,
Flower of Malaya, I cannot stay.
Rose, Rose I love you, I cannot stay.

Homage to Westerns - by Hénock Gugsa

By now, I suspect you all know me enough to surmise that I'm kind of partial to anything American, I mean real American. Ever since I was a little boy, I've been exposed to nuggets of American culture (music, film, and literature) through various media and also at school. I sometimes wonder how it was that a foreign culture from thousands and thousands of miles away could practically overtake my own.

And now, in my old age, it is safe to say that I am as American as anybody. This is especially true because I understand and appreciate America. In short, America has adopted me, and I have adopted America in like measure.

When it comes to movies, my special affinity has always been towards westerns. I've always liked the deceptive simplicity of this genre. I believe that the grade "A" westerns always had layers of richness (moving, heroic stories tinged with morality, humor, visual grandeur, and rousing theme music.)

This is my homage to westerns ....