Shenandoah

Shenandoah began as a river song on the Missouri in the early 1800s, became a sea shanty, and is now one of the best-known American folk songs. It has no single "correct" text, so the verses below are the most common traditional ones.

Traditional lyrics

Singers have always swapped verses in and out. Sailors added lines about ships and ports, and some versions are about leaving home rather than a chief's daughter. The refrain lines ("Away, you rolling river" and "'cross the wide Missouri") are the parts almost every version shares.

What the song is about

The oldest versions tell of a trader who falls in love with the daughter of Shenandoah, an Oneida chief, and has to leave on the river. The historical Chief Shenandoah (Skenandoa, 1710–1816) was an Oneida leader in central New York, so the name probably travelled west with the people who sang it.

Over time the story faded and the feeling stayed: longing for a place or a person on the far side of a wide river. That is why many listeners now hear it as a song about the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, even though the words mention the Missouri.

History

The song is usually traced to American and Canadian voyageurs and boatmen working the Missouri River in the early 1800s. By the middle of the century sailors had picked it up, and it became a capstan shanty, sung while heaving the anchor. Clipper ships carried it around the world.

Because it spread by ear, there are many local variants, including a Caribbean version known as "World of Misery." The song appeared in print in 1882, and collectors and choirs kept it alive into the 20th century, when it moved from work song to concert and folk-revival standard.

Chords in D

A simple accompaniment for guitar, mandolin or dulcimer. Play it slowly, in 4/4, letting each chord ring.

D                G       D
Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you,
     G        D     Bm
Away, you rolling river.
G              D          Bm     A
Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you,
D          G       D        Bm        A   D
Away, I'm bound away, 'cross the wide Missouri.

Want a lower key for singing? Move every chord down a tone: C, F, C, Am, G. On a capo, play the C shapes at fret 2 to get back to D.

Recordings worth hearing

• Paul Robeson recorded it from the 1930s on; his deep, slow reading shaped how many people still sing it.
• Pete Seeger helped carry it into the folk revival.
• Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen both recorded versions decades apart.

Looking for more songs like this? Browse our traditional folk songs, or read about another river-and-road song, Man of Constant Sorrow.