“Shenandoah”

February 15, 2021 • 2:00 pm

This song, also known as “Oh Shenandoah”, is perhaps my favorite traditional American folk song. According to Wikipedia, it originated in the early 19th century from “American and Canadian voyageurs or fur traders traveling down the Missouri River in canoes.”

The tune is ineffably beautiful, though the lyrics are ambiguous. In fact, as Wikipedia notes, there are several sets of lyrics, which can be interpreted as meaning anything from a white man about to elope with a Native American woman, the daughter of Shenandoah, to someone who’s heading west but longs to return to the Shenandoah River in Virginia.

I’ll put up three versions, all very different; the lyrics differ as well.

The first is perhaps my favorite, by Van Morrison and the Chieftains. There’s something about the combination of Morrison and the Chieftains singing an American folk song that gives it extra oomph. I always love Morrison’s phrasing. Of course cultural appropriation is going on in all three versions here, but who cares?

Wikipedia adds this: “In a 1930 letter to the UK newspaper The Times, a former sailor who had worked aboard clipper ships that carried wool between Great Britain and Australia in the 1880s said that he believed the song had originated as an African American spiritual which developed into a work song.”  And if anyone can sing it in a spiritual form, it’s the inimitable Paul Robeson.  His voice always makes my epidermis vibrate.

(For maximal vibration, listen to his bass notes on “Deep River“, a spiritual that, in this version, I deeply love. Don’t miss it!) 

I discovered this version yesterday; it’s by someone I didn’t know: Sissel Kyrkjebø, a Norwegian singer. This is the most beautifully voiced version I know; the date says 2001, when Kyrkjebø was 31. Note the tin whistle, as in Morrison’s version; I believe it’s played by the Chieftains’ Paddy Moloney. (She has another version here.)

42 thoughts on ““Shenandoah””

    1. Brave, bravi, MSU singers a cappella! I treasure the fond memories I have of singing various arrangements of this moving song in a number of vocal groups that I belonged to, most especially the Oriana Singers based in Chicago.

      1. Enjoyed all of these, even Waits and Keef! It always surprises me, being such an opera nut, that I also love Waits’s and Leonard’s and Dylan’s voices.
        I heard a beautiful rendition of Shenandoah about 25 years ago by a Bulgarian choir in a church in Toronto. Some kind of choral festival (I was on a blind date; the guy was a creep but the music was superb). Hard to imagine how the Bulgarians came up with Shenandoah! The Norwegian woman certainly nailed it!

  2. Ooh Sissel is famous! I heard her sing in the London Norwegian Church in the 90s for the 17th of May… I love her voice…

    1. She’s got a very lovely voice. Although packing out “the London Norwegian Church” on Constitution Day is probably a little way off of being famous…?

    2. You beat me to it! I love this version. Gravelly or not, Waits’ voice is timeless, and well-suited to such songs.

      Other great Waits collaborations with Keith Richards include “That Feel” and “Last Leaf.” Great lyrics, too, such as:

      “I cross my wooden leg, and I swear on my glass eye” (“That Feel”)

      and

      “I’ve been here since Eisenhower, and I’ve outlived even he” (“Last Leaf”)

  4. My mother used to sing this song to us when we needed help going to sleep. I don’t think I can listen to any other versions right now, because she died pretty recently, but it’s a beautiful song.

    1. So sorry to hear that, Robert – it is a beautiful song, and will be a lovely memory when your feelings are less raw.

  6. It is so confusing to read a post sometimes – especially about musicians making music that really expresses something – and really that’s the whole point of the post! Expressive music by expressive people with important things to express! It is the point! Refreshing! Hooray! <– This is not criticism or sarcasm – I hope the meaning is clear without going into a long thing to explain it…. ok maybe a little : In a pleasant post like this, I'm sometimes waiting to hear what some people on Tw1773r are destroying this time.

    1. ^^^ I mean of course, I need and want to hear about that, and I think it is important – but it is depressing, nonetheless.

      so – not a website or writing criticism.

  8. I’m not a big fan of Van Morrison, but I”ve loved his recording of this with the Chieftains ever since it came out, what, 25 years or more ago? I am a big fan of the Chieftains — and the Dubliners. Real Irish music, not that silly dreamy stuff with lots of harps and flutes. Must be me Irish blood showing up.

  9. Beautiful afternoon interlude for me here in Virginia, a couple of hundred miles east of the lovely Shenandoah River valley. Thank you. I loved Sissel’s rendition, the fiddle and tin whistle lending a real Shenandoah Mountains feel to it…and her voice is just lovely. I am really taken by the river, mountains, and valley and have hiked the Appalachian Trail its full length in Virginia in my earlier years. My children and grandchildren kayak and camp on the Shenandoah River several weeks every summer. Many areas are still unspoiled and one can believe he is back in the 18th century when in many parts of the valley. For readers who have not been to the valley, the picture collage in the background of van morrison’s rendition gives a very true visual representation, including the aerial view of the winding north and south shenandoah rivers near Woodstock, VA (with the single exception of the picture of what appears to be granite peaks and evergreens in the Sierras). Thanks again…just beautiful.

  12. Jerry Garcia and David Grisman put out an album Not For Kids Only.in 1993. Traditional American folk music directed to a young audience. One of the songs is A Shenandoah Lullaby, a combination of “Oh Shenandoah” and an instrumental version of Brahms’ Lullaby.

    1. Thanks George. This work is really nice with the perfect lullaby ending. I may use it to help me get to sleep by losing myself in the music.

  13. I get an onslaught of emotion with this song. I love Van Morrison’s version the most. He seems to roll his voice like the rolling river he describes.
    It’s a real tear jerker for me. My dad used to sing this and lots of other Irish folk songs, so they hold a strong memory.
    But all versions are so moving. I can listen over and over. Just gorgeous.

  14. Also my favorite, although none of these versions live up to my memory of first hearing it (60+ years ago, no idea who performed).

  15. Paul Robeson, Rutgers class of 1919 -Valedictorian, Phi Beta Kappa, and football All American

  16. This was my maternal grandmother’s favorite song! I used to play it for her on guitar.
    Have to admit though, playing it a lot made it not one of my favorite songs.

  21. All lovely. My favorite version of Shenandoah was recorded for the album “Round-Up” by Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (with a very effective chorus!). You can find it at the 50:29 mark here (for better sound, please get the CD, it’s a terrific):

    https://youtu.be/wL5fYNdwFPo?t=3029

    1. I may as well add my own take on Shenandoah (one of the most beautiful songs I know). This is for cello & orchestra. The tune comes in at the end.

  22. I had not heard of Sissel Kyrkjebø until Dr. Coyne shared her rendition of Shenandoah. Certainly one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. If Angels existed (which they don’t) this is how they would sound.

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