"San Antonio Rose"/"New San Antonio Rose" was the signature song of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. "San Antonio Rose" was an instrumental song written by Bob Wills, who first recorded it with the Playboys in 1938. Band members added lyrics and it was retitled "New San Antonio Rose". The song opens with the refrain:

Deep within my heart, lies a melody,

A song of old San Antone.

The song is written in the first person with the Rose of San Antone being the gentleman's lost love.

"New San Antonio Rose" was the first national hit by Bob Wills and His Playboys, propelling them from their Southwestern fame to national notice.

The song, both the music and lyrics, reflects the Mexican influence Bob Wills found growing up in the Southwest. Wills developed the melody of the original "San Antonio Rose" itself from a traditional tune, "Spanish Two Step", by the playing the bridge in reverse.

"New San Antonio Rose" ruffled the feathers of Southern country music moguls when Wills and the Playboys performed it with horns and a drum at the Grand Ole Opry on December 30, 1944.

The song has been recorded by many artists in several genres. The pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 Jericho wrote the Swedish

Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

 lyrics. A Swedish version was recorded by Ingalill Rossvald and Harry Brandelius

Harry Brandelius

Harry Torbjörn Brandelius was a Swedish singer of schlager music. He made his debut as a gramophone singer in 1932 with Midt i natten accompanied by Folke Andersson's orchestra , and was one of the most popular of his generation. Many of his songs had sailor's themes...

 with Thorsten Sjögren's orch. in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

 on February 7, 1952. It was released on the 78 rpm record His Master's Voice X 7795.

It lends its name to San Antonio Rose Palace

San Antonio Rose Palace

The San Antonio Rose Palace is a 4,500-seat multi-purpose arena in the Leon Springs area of San Antonio, Texas. It hosts locals sporting events and concerts. Starting in 2007 the Rose Palace will host the San Antonio Steers of the National Indoor Football League.-External links:* Official website...

 in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...