Red Dresses and Sad Songs

RED IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVE'S DRESS
~ ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS ~

Nivôse by Martha Romme
from her Calendar Series ~ Les Douze Mois de l’Année, 1919

Sometimes mistakenly translated as "Level"
but, in fact, that would be niveau;
this is Nivôse, an old French term for Winter:
"In Nivôse earth is sealed and usually covered with snow.
At this time earth is resting . . . "

Some years Valentine's Day is snowy,
and you need a red coat
to throw on over your red dress.

Marching On by Sebastian Bauer

For Valentine's Day, I have been saving up a few red - dress paintings and searching for poetry to match. Many songs and poems feature a red dress (as posted previously). However, nothing that I came across) felt quite right for today, so I settled on one of my favorite sad cowboy songs. After all, the word red is in the title. Furthermore, there are those who experience Valentine's Day as a doleful occasion, so perhaps the connection is fittingly forlorn:

Red River Valley

From this valley they say you are going
I will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile
For they say you are taking the sunshine
That has brightened our pathway awhile . . .

Come and sit by my side if you love me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
But remember the Red River Valley
And the one who has loved you so true

Sung by Marty Robbins (1925 -1982)

I am also thinking that Henry David Thoreau's observation about the number of chairs in his house is equally appropriate to these three paintings:

". . . one for solitude [plus cats!]

Seen on The Cat Café
[still searching for title and artist]

. . . two for friendship

Young Girls Reading (aka The Two Sisters), 1889
by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

. . . three for society."

The Three_Sisters, 1896
by Léon-Henri-Marie Frédéric (1856 – 1940) ♥♥♥ Happy Valentine's Day!

May it be filled with cats and sisters, books and fruit,
red coats and dresses, and a selection of sad songs!

Two recent favorites:
Wishing you A Perfect Day with No Hard Feelings

. . . and this old favorite that I always seem
to find myself humming around this time of year.
Next Fortnightly Post
Friday, February 28th
Between now and then, read

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