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“Open sesame,” the famous phrase from the Arabian Nights, reflects the distinguishing feature of the sesame seed pod, which bursts open when it reaches maturity. WHFoods: Sesame seeds http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=84

The term “open sesame” first appeared in the Arabian book “The Thousand and One Nights.” “Open Sesame” was the magical password that opened the entrance to the cave in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. The phrase refers to the seeds’ ability to pop, at the slightest touch, when ripe. http://www.kingtutshop.com/Egyptian-Herb/sesame.htm

“Oh My Darling, Clementine” is an American western folk ballad usually credited to Percy Montrose (1884) though sometimes to Barker Bradford. The song is believed to have been based on another called “Down by the River Liv’d a Maiden” by H. S. Thompson (1863).

The words are those of a bereaved lover singing about his darling, the daughter of a “49er” (a miner in the 1849 California Gold Rush). He loses her in a drowning accident – though he consoles himself towards the end of the song with Clementine’s “little sister”. Read the rest of this entry »