DARCY FARROW
The heart-tugging saga of Darcy Farrow has inspired some creative legends about its
beginnings. The most common is that songwriters Steve Gillette and Tom Campbell
wrote the song for a class while students at UCLA, attempting to mimic an old Celtic folk
song. Some folklorists have called it a 19th-century “gold-rush era” song. The real roots
of the tune, however, are even better than the myths.
“The song is based on something that happened to my little sister, whose name is Darcy,”
says Gillette. “At 12 years old she was running behind her horse, chasing it into the
corral, when she was kicked. She broke her cheekbone but had no other lasting effects;
there was a three-day period where she was in the hospital, and we were all concerned
she might have a concussion.
“During that time,” Gillette continues, “my friend, Tom Campbell, my co-writer on the
song, took a melody I had written and came up with a story about the two young lovers
and the tragic fall. I was a little horrified about the idea since it was so dark and involved
my sister’s name, but as we worked with it and took it in the direction of the old cowboy
songs; I was much more comfortable with it. Many of the old cowboy songs take their
melodies from Scottish-Irish musical traditions.”
Where the walker runs down to the Carson Valley Plain
There lived a maiden, Darcy Farrow was her name
The daughter of old Dundee and a fair one was she
The sweetest flower that bloomed oer the range
Her voice was as sweet as the sugar candy
Her touch was as soft as a bed of goose down
Her eyes shone bright like the pretty lights
That shone in the night out of Yerrington town
She was courted by Young Vandamere
A fine lad was he as I am to hear
He gave her silver rings and lacy things
And she promised to wed before the snows came that year
But her pony did stumble and she did fall
Her dying touched the hearts of us one and all
Young Vandy in his pain put a bullet through his brain
And we buried them together as the snows began to fall
They sing of Darcy Farrow where the Truckee runs through
They sing of her beauty in Virginia City too
