Heroes, Heroines, and History: The Love Song That Inspired History

By Kimberly Grist

Shenandoah - A Love Song

As pioneers spent long hours along trails making their way west, numerous songs and poems were written and sung to pass the time. While the author is unknown, many versions exist, and some have stood the test of time.

Charles Deas' The Trapper and his Family (1845) depicts a voyageur, his Native American wife, Centuryhildren.

In the 18th Century, most adventurers who ventured as far west as the Missouri River were trappers and traders of beaver fur and became friendly with and sometimes married Native Americans. One such tale is of a canoe-traveling trader who fell in love with the daughter of an Indian Chief and inspired the folk venturing to the early 19th Century.

Lyrics:
(from Ships, Sea Songs and Shanties Collected by W.B. Whall, Master Mariner)

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.

Legend has it that the original lyrics refer to John Skenandoa, the chief of the native Oneida Iroquois tribe, and the heartbreak of a fur trapper and trader in love with his daughter. his enchanting song seems to have originCentury the early nineteenth Century as a land ballad in the areas of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, with a story of a trader who fell in love with the daughter of the Indian chief Shenandoah.

John Skenandoa, Skandogh, the old Oneida chief
Born c. 1706 Died March 11, 1816 (aged 109–110)

Oneida County, New York, U.S. Nationality Susquehannock Oneida
Occupation Chief, military leader

A Motivational Song

Later, sailors sang the lyrics while heading down the Missouri and Mississippi. The tune matched the timing of rope pulling as they hauled sails and anchors. Because of this, the music became so popular that sailors on clipper ships worldwide adopted the song. The refrain, “Away, away, you rolling river,” was heard on sailing ships for centuries.

Sea Shanty - Wikipedia by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

Wheels of Change

Parts like wheels and seats for wagons were made in the Shenandoah area in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and were assembled in the Conestoga Township. Undoubtedly, settlers setting out in their Conestoga wagons down the Ohio River, on the Mississippi, and west up the Missouri River added their versions to the song as they said goodbye to their homes and headed west.

Oh Shenandoah,I long to see you,

Away, you rolling river.

Oh Shenandoah,I long to see you,

Way, we're bound awayAcross the wide Missouri.

By Kevin Burkett from Philadelphia, Pa., USA - FlickrUploaded by SunOfErat, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30602578.

Numerous Versions of the Song
While the origins of one of America's most recognizable folk tunes may be impossible tCenturymine, by the end of the 19th Century, "Shenandoah" had achieved widespread popularity on land and sea.

Version by Stephen White

Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you,
Away, you rolling river
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you,
Away, I’m bound away, across the wide Missouri.

Oh, Shenandoah, I love your daughter
Away, you rolling river
Oh, Shenandoah, I love your daughter
Away, I’m bound away, across the wide Missouri.

Oh, Shenandoah, I'm bound to leave you,
Away, you rolling river
Oh, Shenandoah, I’m bound to leave you,

Away, I’m bound away, across the wide Missouri.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenandoah_%28film%29

"Shenandoah" again gained popularity more recently when it was featured in How the West was Won (1962) and Shenandoah (1965). Western Writers of America members chose it as one of the Top Western Songs of All Time. Perhaps its appeal is not simply one of unrequited love but a reminder, a tapping into the pioneer spirit of the courage it took to leave the familiar behind and summon the courage to go west.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WCFF6T5

Orphaned as a young girl, Ella longs for a life she’s only read about in books. To escape a desperate situation, she heads west as a mail-order bride to a man searching for a marriage of convenience. His marriage will provide the inheritance to finance the family’s business venture in Oklahoma. Newspapers claim the unchartered territory is a land where streams flow with milk and the heavens rain down a supply of honey. Will her road lead to the Promised Land?

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Fans of historical romance set in the late 19th -century will enjoy stories combining, History, Humor, and Romance, emphasizing Faith, Friends, and Good, Clean Fun.