Story Behind the Song
The word "Shenandoah" comes to us from the Iroquois Indians and is the name that they gave to the mountains of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia . "Shenandoah" means "the land of the big mountains'."
In some versions of the song, Shenandoah is an Iroquois Indian chief and the words tell the story of a white trader who was in love with the chief's daughter. The trader tried to "buy" the daughter with trade goods but the chief angrily turned him down. The daughter was stolen, however, when the skipper of a Yankee ship showed up, sold the chief some liquor and got him drunk. The lyrics to that version are included on the lyrics page of this site.
Lyrics
Shenandoah
(traditional)
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
Away you rolling river.
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
Away, I'm bound away,
'Cross the wide Missouri.
Oh, Shenandoah, I'm bound to leave you,
Away you rolling river.
Oh, Shenandoah, I'll not deceive you.
Away, I'm bound away,
'Cross the wide Missouri.
Oh Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
Away you rolling river.
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you.
Away, I'm bound away.
'Cross the wide Missouri.
Alternate version:
The white man loved the Indian maiden,
Away you rolling river.
With notions his canoe was laiden,
Away, we're bound away,
'Cross the Wide Missouri
The chief he made an awful holler,
He turned away the trader's dollars.
Along there came a Yankee skipper,
He winked at her and tipped his flipper.
He sold the chief some firewater,
He got him drunk and stole his daughter.
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Fiddle & Piano by Conrad & Burgess
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