Josephine

Marie-Josèphe Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie (1763 - 1814) aka Joséphine de Beauharnais was known as Rose before she met Napoléon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821) – to whom she was married from 1796 – 1810. The iconic French leader favoured calling her Joséphine.

By any name, she was passionate about her namesake plant – authors Douglas Brenner and Stephen Scanniello, in a recent book on its lore and deep-rooted history, label Joséphine the "Godmother of modern rosomaniacs". (Hybridization of roses through artificial, controlled, pollination began with her horticulturalist Andre Dupont.)

Josephine from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

Tori Amos’ allusions to the mythology of this historic couple bloom in the song covered here by Allison Crowe – “Josephine”.

The music grafts with stems from “Maniac Chase” - a 1904 film short created by pioneering American director/producer team of film-maker Edwin S. Porter (1870 - 1941) and inventor Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931).

#12 of 16 Songs