Oh Shenandoah facts for kids

"Oh Shenandoah" is a very old and famous American folk song. It's also known as "Shenandoah" or "Across the Wide Missouri". People think it started way back in the early 1800s.

The song likely began with American and Canadian voyageurs or fur traders. These adventurers traveled by canoe down the Missouri River. Over time, the song changed and many different versions of its words appeared. Some lyrics talk about an Oneida chief named Shenandoah and a trader who wants to marry his daughter. By the mid-1800s, sailors around the world were singing versions of this song as a sea shanty.

Song Lyrics: A Journey Through Time

Since "Shenandoah" was a song sung by rivermen and sailors, its words changed a lot over the years. There isn't just one official version! Modern lyrics are usually similar to these:

How the Lyrics Changed

Charles Deas' The Trapper and his Family (1845) shows a voyageur and his Native American wife and children.

Older versions of the song, from before 1860, sometimes told a story. For example, one version collected in 1910 included these lines:

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 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.

Another version was heard in 1894 by a sailor from Barbados:

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.)

Even famous singers like Tennessee Ernie Ford sang their own versions, like this one from 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.

Shenandoah in Modern Times

This classic song is still very popular today! You can hear it at places like Shenandoah University and Southern Virginia University.

In 2006, people suggested "Shenandoah" become the official "interim state song" for Virginia. However, this idea caused some debate. That's because the original folk song talks about the Missouri River. Also, in most versions, "Shenandoah" refers to an Indian chief, not the Shenandoah Valley or Shenandoah River in Virginia. In 2015, Virginia chose a different song, "Our Great Virginia", as its official traditional state song. It uses the melody of "Shenandoah".

You might have heard "Shenandoah" in movies! It's in the 1965 film Shenandoah, starring Jimmy Stewart. It's also heard in Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) and How the West Was Won (1962). Choirs have also used the song in films like The Good Shepherd (film) and Nixon (film).

The Western Writers of America group even picked "Shenandoah" as one of the Top 100 Western songs ever!

Many musicians have recorded their own versions of "Shenandoah". Famous classical singers like John Shirley-Quirk have performed arrangements by Percy Grainger. There's even a classical piece called "A song of the waters: variations on the folksong Shenandoah" by James Cohn.

The song has also appeared on TV shows. It was featured in the HBO series The Newsroom (season 3, episode 5). The main characters in the Netflix series House of Cards also performed it in season 1, chapter 8.

Famous Recordings of Shenandoah

Many artists have recorded their own versions of "Shenandoah" over the years. Here are just a few:

• Harry Belafonte on Belafonte at Carnegie Hall (1959)
• Glen Campbell on The Artistry of Glen Campbell (1972)
• Celtic Woman on Celtic Woman: A New Journey (2007)
• Bing Crosby on How the West Was Won (1959)
• Bob Dylan on Down in the Groove (1988)
• Tennessee Ernie Ford on Shenandoah (1959)
• Jerry Garcia and David Grisman on Not For Kids Only (1993)
• Judy Garland on That Old Feeling - Classic Ballads from the Judy Garland Show (2005)
• Keith Jarrett on The Melody at Night, with You (1999)
• The Kingston Trio as "Across the Wide Missouri" on Here We Go Again! (1959)
• Sissel Kyrkjebø on In Symphony (2001)
• The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square on many recordings
• Van Morrison with The Chieftains on The Irish in America: Long Journey Home (1998)
• Paul Robeson on multiple recordings since 1936
• Pete Seeger on American Favorite Ballads, Volume 1 (2002)
• Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)
• Hayley Westenra on Celtic Treasure (2007)
• Tom Waits with Keith Richards on Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys (2013)