"Oh Shenandoah"(also called"Shenandoah","Across the Wide Missouri","Rolling River","Oh, My Rolling River","World of Misery") is a traditionalfolk song,sung in the Americas, of uncertain origin, dating to the early 19th century.
The song "Shenandoah" appears to have originated with American and Canadianvoyageursor fur traders traveling down theMissouri Riverin canoes and has developed several different sets of lyrics. Some lyrics refer to theOneidachiefShenandoahand a canoe-going trader who wants to marry his daughter. By the mid 1800s versions of the song had become asea shantyheard or sung by sailors in various parts of the world. The song is number 324 in theRoud Folk Song Index.
Other variations (due to the influence of its oral dispersion among different regions) include the Caribbean (St. Vincent) version, "World of Misery", referring not to an "Indian princess" but to "the white mullata".[1][2]
History
editUntil the 19th century, only adventurers who sought their fortunes as trappers and traders of beaver fur ventured into the lands of the indigenous peoples as far west as theMissouri River.Most of these French colonial "voyageurs"in thefur trade erawere loners who became friendly with, and sometimes married,Native Americans.Some lyrics of this song heard by and before 1860 tell the story of a trader who fell in love with the daughter of theOneidaIroquoischiefShenandoah(1710–1816) who lived in the central New York state town ofOneida Castle.He was a co-founder of the Oneida Academy which becameHamilton CollegeinClinton, New York,and is buried on the campus grounds.
[ "Shenandoah" ] probably came from the American or Canadianvoyageurs,who were great singers.... In the early days of America, rivers and canals were the chief trade and passenger routes, and boatmen were an important class. Shenandoah was a celebrated Indian chief in American history, and several towns in the States are named after him. Besides being sung at sea, this song figured in old public school collections.
— W.B. Whall (1910)[3]
Thecanoe-going fur-tradingvoyageurswere great singers, and songs were an important part of their culture.[3]In the early 19th centuryflatboatmenwho plied the Missouri River were known for theirshanties,including "Oh Shenandoah". Sailors heading down theMississippi Riverpicked up the song and made it acapstanshantythat they sang while hauling in the anchor.[4]This boatmen's song found its way down the Mississippi River to Americanclipper ships—and thus around the world.[5]
The song had become popular as asea shantywith seafaring sailors by the mid 1800s.[6]A version of the song called "Shanadore" was printed in Capt. Robert Chamblet Adams' article "Sailors' Songs" in the April 1876 issue ofThe New Dominion Monthly.[7]He also included it in his 1879 bookOn Board the "Rocket".[8]"Shanadore" was later printed as part ofWilliam L. Alden's article "Sailor Songs" in the July 1882 issue ofHarper's New Monthly Magazine,[9][10][11]and in the 1892 bookSongs that Never Die.[12]Alfred Mason Williams' 1895Studies in Folk-song and Popular Poetrycalled it a "good specimen of abowlinechant ".[13]
Percy Graingerrecorded Charles Rosher of London England singingShenandoahin 1906 and the recording is available online via theBritish Library Sound Archive.[14]A recording sung by former shantyman Stanley Slade of Bristol, England, in 1943 is also publicly available.[15]
In a 1930 letter to the UK newspaperThe Timesa former sailor who had worked aboard clipper ships that carried wool between Australia and Great Britain in the 1880s said that he believed the song had originated as an African American spiritual which developed into a work song.[a]
One of the first popular singers to record it wasPaul Robeson,who released several versions from the 1930s onwards.[17]
Lyrics
editSince "Shenandoah" was a riverman's and then sailor's song and went through numerous changes and versions over the years and centuries, there are no set lyrics. Modern variations may include[citation needed]lyrics such as the following:
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Earlier versions
edit
Lyrics from prior to 1860, given by Whall (1910)[3]were reported as follows:
- Missouri, she's a mighty river.
- Away you rolling river.
- The redskins' camp, lies on its borders.
- Ah-ha, I'm bound away, 'Cross the wide Missouri.
- The white man loved the Indian maiden,
- Away you rolling river
- With notions[b]his canoe was laden.
- Ah-ha, I'm bound away, 'Cross the wide Missouri.
- "O, Shenandoah, I love your daughter,
- Away you rolling river.
- I'll take her 'cross yon rolling water. "
- Ah-ha, I'm bound away, 'Cross the wide Missouri.
- The chief disdained the trader's dollars:
- Away you rolling river.
- "My daughter never you shall follow."
- Ah-ha, I'm bound away, 'Cross the wide Missouri.
- At last there came a Yankee skipper.
- Away you rolling river.
- He winked his eye, and he tipped his flipper.
- Ah-ha, I'm bound away, 'Cross the wide Missouri.
- He sold the chief that fire-water,
- Away you rolling river.
- And 'cross the river he stole his daughter.
- Ah-ha, I'm bound away, 'Cross the wide Missouri.
- "O, Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
- Away you rolling river.
- Across that wide and rolling river. "
- Ah-ha, I'm bound away, 'Cross the wide Missouri.
J.E. Laidlaw of San Francisco reported hearing a version sung by a blackBarbadiansailor aboard the Glasgow shipHarlandin 1894:[18]
- Oh, Shenandoah! I hear you calling!
- Away, you rolling river!
- Yes, far away I hear you calling,
- Ha, Ha! I'm bound away across the wide Missouri.
- My girl, she's gone far from the river,
- Away, you rolling river!
- An' I ain't goin' to see her never.
- Ha, Ha! I'm bound away, (&c.)[c]
Lyrics to "Oh Shenandoah" as sung byTennessee Ernie Ford(1959):
- Oh Shenandoah, I hear you calling,
- Hi-o, you rolling river.
- Oh Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
- Hi-o, I'm bound away.
- 'Cross the wide, Mis-sou-ri.
- Mis-sou-ri, She's a mighty river,
- Hi-o, you rolling river.
- When she rolls down, her topsails shiver,
- Hi-o, I'm bound away,
- 'Cross the wide, Mis-sou-ri.
- Farewell my dearest, I'm bound to leave you,
- Hi-o, you rolling river.
- Oh Shenandoah, I'll not deceive you,
- Hi-o, I'm bound away.
- 'Cross the wide Mis-sou-ri.
Modern usage
editThe song is popular in local organizations such asShenandoah University,Southern Virginia University,Washington and Lee University,Virginia Techand theVirginia Military Institute.
"Shenandoah" was proposed as the "interim state song" forVirginiain 2006 with updated lyrics.[19]The proposal was contentious because the standard folksong refers to the Missouri River and in most versions of the song the name "Shenandoah" refers to an Indian chief, not theShenandoah ValleyorShenandoah River,both of which lie almost entirely in Virginia.[19][20]
"Our Great Virginia"which uses the melody of" Shenandoah "was designated by the Virginia Legislature as the official traditional state song of Virginia in 2015.
In the movies it is featured in the soundtrack of the 1965 movieShenandoah,starring Jimmy Stewart. It is also heard repeatedly in 1947'sMourning Becomes Electra,and as part of a medley in the 1962 filmHow the West Was Won.As a sea chanty, it is heard inJava Head(1934). Choral arrangements of the song have been used in the filmsThe Good ShepherdandNixon.
Members of theWestern Writers of Americachose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[21]
Various arrangements byPercy Graingerhave been recorded byJohn Shirley-Quirkand other classically trained singers. "A song of the waters: variations on the folksong Shenandoah" is a classical composition byJames Cohn.At least one version was arranged byLeslie Woodgate.[22]
The song is featured in theFalloutseries, being played on Appalachia Radio in the gameFallout 76.
Selected notable recordings
edit- Paul RobesononShenandoah(Gramophone, 1936)[23]
- Jo StaffordonAmerican Folk Songs(Corinthian, 1950)[24]
- Paul ClaytononWhaling and Sailing Songs from the Days of Moby Dick(Allmusic, 1956)[25]
- Pete SeegeronAmerican Favorite Ballads, Volume 1(Smithsonian Folkways,1958)[25]
- Bob DylanonDown in the Groove(1988)[25]
- Keith JarrettonThe Melody at Night, with You(1998)[26]
- Cowboy NationonA Journey out of Time(2000)[27][28]
- Jerry GarciaandDavid GrismanonNot For Kids Only(1993)[25]
- Bruce Springsteenand the Seeger Sessions Band onWe Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions(Columbia, 2006)[25]
- Tom WaitswithKeith RichardsonSon of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys(Anti-, 2013).[25]
- Trampled By TurtlesonDuluth(Banjodad Records, 2008).[29]
See also
editFootnotes
edit- ^This chantey is obviously of American origin.... 'Shenandoah' was more a wool and cotton chantey than a capstan chantey. I have many times heard it sung down the hold on the wool screws by the Sydney waterside workers... and many were full-blood negroes, who undoubtedly brought these chanteys off the cotton ships.... With regard to the words, these vary according to the taste of the chantey man in the first and third line of each verse, there being no effort called for on these two lines, but the second and fourth lines were always the same, these being the rhythm lines on which the weight was used. When I was in the wool trade in the eighties, in bothThe TweedandCutty Sarkthis chantey was daily used on the woolscrews. — R.L. Andrews (1930)[16]
- ^Old “notions” = modern “knick-knacks”.
- ^Brookington added his informant Laidlaw had later heard it sung "almost word for word as the sailor of Harland sang it" in 1926 atMonterey Presidioby a captain of the 9th U.S. Cavalry, and that this regiment, though officered by whites, was made up largely of black troopers. Brookington speculated, therefore, the song was originally a negro spiritual.[18]
References
edit- ^Version sung by The Chicago based folk duo of Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso
- ^[1]Archived2022-01-17 at theWayback MachineCalifornia State University, Fresno, Folklore Department]
- ^abcWhall, W.B., ed. (1913) [1910].Ships, Sea Songs, and Shanties.collected by W.B. Whall, Master Mariner (First 1910, Third 1913 ed.). Glasgow – via Archive.org.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^"Shenandoah".BalladofAmerica.com.Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^In a 1931 book on sea and river shanties, David Bone wrote that the song originated as a riverchantyor shanty, then became popular with seagoing crews in the early 19th century. (David W. Bone (1931).Capstan Bars.Edinburgh: The Porpoise Press.OCLC896299.)
- ^The Times.September 12, 1930. p. 8, column B.
- ^Capt. R. C. Adams (April 1876)."Sailors' Songs".The New Dominion Monthly.Montreal: John Dougall & Son: 262.RetrievedMarch 27,2014.
- ^Robert Chamblet Adams (1879).On Board the "Rocket".D. Lothrop. p.317.RetrievedMarch 27,2014.
- ^"About" Shenandoah "".Song of America Project.Library of Congress.Retrieved2010-03-06.
- ^"Sailor Songs",Harper's New Monthly Magazine,vol. 65, no. 386, p. 283, July 1882
- ^"Harpers New Monthly Magazine from 1882".ebooks.library.cornell.edu.RetrievedSeptember 29,2012.
- ^Buck, Dudley.Songs that Never Die.B. F. Johnson, 1892. p. 36.
- ^Alfred Mason Williams (1895).Studies in Folk-song and Popular Poetry.London: Elliot Stock. pp.5–7.ISBN9780848228811.,as reprinted inAlfred Mason Williams (2005).Studies in Folk-song and Popular Poetry.BiblioBazaar.ISBN978-0-559-78728-7.
- ^"Shenandoah - Percy Grainger ethnographic wax cylinders - World and traditional music | British Library - Sounds".sounds.bl.uk.Retrieved2023-06-23.
- ^"Stanley Slade, Bristol (Kennedy 1950 and BBC 1943) - Peter Kennedy Collection - World and traditional music | British Library - Sounds".sounds.bl.uk.Retrieved2020-08-24.
- ^Andrews, R.L. (19 September 1930). "Shenandoah".The Times(letter). London, UK. p. 6.
- ^Cheal, David (9 October 2017)."Shenandoah — a song steeped in history and mystery".Financial Times.Retrieved2023-01-03.
- ^abBrookington, A.A. (12 September 1930). "A letter from A.A. Brookington of Liverpool".The Times(letter). No. 45616. relaying a report by J.E. Laidlaw, of San Francisco. p. 8. col B.
- ^abSluss, Michael (March 2, 2006)."Proposed state song doesn't bring down the House".The Roanoke Times.Archived fromthe originalon September 11, 2012.
- ^"Virginia Searches For A New State Song".NPR.org.Retrieved2016-10-23.
- ^Western Writers of America(2010)."The Top 100 Western Songs".American Cowboy. Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2010.Retrieved9 August2014.
- ^British Library (1 January 1987).The Catalogue of Printed Music in the British Library to 1980.Saur.ISBN978-0-86291-359-5.
- ^"Paul Robeson - Shenandoah".lost.fm.Retrieved2023-05-11.
- ^Friedwald, Will (2017).The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums.Pantheon. p. 306.ISBN9780307379078.
- ^abcdefMargotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2020).Bruce Springsteen: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track.Octopus. p. 660.ISBN9781784727253.
- ^Elphland, John (December 1999).""Keith Jarrett: The Melody At Night, With You"".Down Beat.Retrieved23 August2024.
- ^Caligiuri, Jim (July 28, 2000)."Cowboy Nation: A Journey Out Of Time".Austin Chronicle.Retrieved2023-01-26.
- ^"Cowpunk Survivors".OC Weekly.January 18, 2001.Retrieved2023-01-26.
- ^"Duluth - Trampled by Turtles".AllMusic.Retrieved2024-07-24.