SHENENDOAH
“Oh Shenandoah” (also called simply “Shenandoah”) is an American folk song, dating to
the early 19th century. The lyrics may tell the story of a roving trader in love with the
daughter of an Indian chief; in this interpretation, the rover tells the chief of his intent to
take the girl with him far to the west, across the Missouri River. Other interpretations tell
of a pioneer’s nostalgia for the Shenandoah River Valley in Virginia, and a young woman
who is its daughter; or of a Union soldier in the Civil War, dreaming of his country home
to the west of the Missouri river, in Shenandoah, Iowa. For a time in early 2006, it
appeared that “Shenandoah” would become the “interim state song” for Virginia. While
the authorizing legislation passed the Senate of Virginia, the measure died in committee
on the Virginia House of Delegates side. It was a problematic choice because the song
never specifically mentions Virginia and, in many versions of the song, the name
“Shenandoah” refers to just the Indian chief, not the Shenandoah Valley or Shenandoah
River.
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you
Look away, you rollin’ river
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear
Look away, we’re bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
Now the Missouri is a mighty river
Look away, you rollin’ river
Indians camp a long her border
Look away, we’re bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
Well, a white man loved an Indian maiden
Look away, you rollin’ river
With notions his canoe was laden
Look away, we’re bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
Shenandoah, I love your daughter
Look away, you rollin’ river
It was for her I’d cross the water
Look away, we’re bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
For seven long years I courted Sally
Look away, you rollin’ river
Seven more years I longed to have her
Look away, we’re bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
One thought on “SHENENDOAH”
Suzy Bogguss…….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D38WOzizk98