“Wildwood Flower Blues” was written by Harley Allen, the bluegrass and country singer and songwriter who was the son of the bluegrass performer Red Allen. He recorded it for his 1983 solo album.
The song echoes the imagery of the old standard “Wildwood Flower” — the cast-aside flower, the woman scorned — and turns it into a blues of heartbreak. The wildwood flower stands for a love left to wither, and the lyric carries the ache of being forgotten.
Harley Allen went on to write songs recorded across bluegrass and country. The version heard here is by Harley Allen.
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