Shenandoah - The Irish Tenors

[@glendaisaacs7298]

I'm from the midwestern part of the USA and it makes me sad to see how much the USA has changed since this song was written. this is one of my favorite songs and my favorite version. I'm writing this May 25, 2020. Things have certainly changed dramaticaly in the last few weeks haven't they. Wish it could be more like the way I grew up.

[@1943maryellen]

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, I always play Irish music & cry, so many memories of my Irish Family. We were Sheehan’s, Kelly’s, Healion’s, Tiernan’s, Fitzpatrick’s , a wonderful family of 9 all good Catholic’s of course. What wonderful times we all had on Sunday’s at my Nana’s home in Brooklyn. Of course my father was a NYC Policeman & his brother a NYC Fireman. My mother’s 6 sister’s and 2 brothers are all gone now. My father was one of 8, they too are all gone. I miss those days at my Beloved Grandmother’s, she was the only one I knew and if there is a Heaven she is there.

[@qingyangzhang887]

I'm Chinese and I'm a teenager now, five years ago in China we did this song in primary school, this was one of the first songs we did in choir, and I clearly remember the tune even if I was like 9. Now I've been in London for 3 years and I've not been back in China for 1 and a half years. On Tuesday I went to a king's singers concert and heard a live performance after like 5 years. I cried, it is quite tough to be a 10 hours plane journey away from my homeland and I miss it soo much especially my primary.

[@yogibeer9319]

I am an old welder. I left my home in in eastern Kentucky as a boy and wandered west to the deserts and south to the swamps. I had wanderlust as a young man. I have bittersweet memories of family that are dead and gone home and the dogs I loved as a boy. I remember the green hills and the rivers I swam and fished in as a boy. I was happy then and when I hear this song it floods my soul with a profound sadness. I want it played at my funeral with photos of home.

[@xtusvincit5230]

@Mohan Sandal A lot of Chinese defect then send industry secrets back to China. Chinese in tech are generally spies.

[@xmuta]

Do you worship the white man? Do you?

[@topcat1255]

Can we just agree that this is the most beautiful folk song regardless of its origins. And this is the finest version I've ever heard. Respect the song and the artists.

[@johnoconnor4623]

There is something, mysterious in ways that I love about this song. It always tugs at my heart.

[@johnoconnor4623]

There are so many versions of this lovely song. I just like the song, does not matter who sings it. Sometimes I just get this feeling of 1960s and 70s big screens of lovely America, blue skies and mountains. Let us just keep it like that.

[@alexsimms5193]

Ok people seriously. Would you just let it go and listen to the beautiful music that these amazing Irish tenors are singing.

[@shonasmith4975]

I think this is the best version of this song I have ever heard. Absolutely beautiful.

[@joannedarling9682]

oh know my my mother was half Irish and Italian God rest her soul in peace I miss my mom she was a good person with a heart iluv you mom Joanne darling

[@robertagnew7933]

Well, I'm Scottish I came to Canada forty years ago when I was thirty, I love Scottish and Irish music and absolutely love Shenandoah, the song is one that I remember learning as a boy growing up in Scotland I have been to forty three states and I'm sure not too many Americans can claim to have done the same, the USA is a beautiful and diverse country with people from every part of the globe, don't go knocking peoples heritage because you don't have one.

[@scotnick59]

My mom is from Edinburgh. I too have visted like 45 states and agree with your above statement: I too love my Celtic heritage in music. After all, who do you think the above song was about? The Scots-Irish in America.

[@carpetp22]

***** We don't miss you.

[@masonplum4235]

Just to let you know I live in the Shenandoah valley in the town of Shenandoah that sits on the Shenandoah river . My point is I'm wondering if this song as any connection to where I live

[@masonplum4235]

O and our town mascot "daughter of the skies" is named after an Indian Chiefs daughter

[@kmeccat]

+Mason Plum
"Oskanondoha" (Skenandoah also called Shenandoah) was the Indian chief of the Oneida Indians in Upstate NY in the 1700s.
6'5" and lived to be 110 yrs old.
This song was originally a sailors song about wanting to steal away and marry one of Shenandoah's daughters.
He was a larger than life man and French and Indian and Revolutionary war hero...and many things were named after him, including the Shenandoah River and Valley.

[@TheChaosDragoness]

I remember I sang this in my elementary school chorus. So many years have passed and I still love this song as much as I did when I first heard it ^^

[@gerryking4407]

I love this song, and I love the Tenors singing this song!

[@dear_totheheart]

Ah how lovely, what a gorgeous version and I'm so grateful to have stumbled upon this fantastic trio!

[@tomdewar5484]

+livinghappyisachoice aye lass

[@nicolemoolchan8576]

Indeed I just heard this version for the first time. Amazingly beautiful 💕

[@yukonnahanni]

of course !!! Dear Neighbour & Friend !!!
I & my family knew this song , sung by our great grandmother , in Canada , she loved the song dearly ,we all grew up knowing it & yes , it was an old Irish tune, but , not the words ,, as she said , it belonged to the people of the Shenandoah Valley !!!
It still remains a favourite to all !!! Music is & will always be part of every Nation !!!

[@genestone4430]

Have always loved this song----John does a great job as he does on all his music---thanks for the opporunity to enjoy this classic.

[@BANJOSAM9999]

I have been singing this song since 1958....and I have never heard a better version...Thanks, Guys

[@amiddles001]

I sang this song in high school for a concert, wow I wish you tube would have been around then I would have listened to this a million times before the competition!!!! Wow I LOVE this song!!!!!!!

[@peggytanchengsim3341]

Beautiful song

[@lesigmo]

Beautiful, beautiful song - a favorite

[@raphaelbenavraham9753]

I'm a Virginian and traveled the south east when a was a diamond salesman. I always sang this song when crossing the Shenandoah.

[@celticjh]

OMG, John you make all the songs that you sing just come alive.. so much raw emotion and feeling, etc.!!

[@usmarine1944]

My great grandma was an immigrant, I still remember5 her talkin when I was but a wee pup. She had the brog and it was beautiful.

[@phyllisramsey9531]

Beautifully sung--very nostalgic. A true folk song.

[@genestone4430]

Love this song---truly great version.

[@Viatriste]

It's a wonderfully beautiful song. It's a 100% American song in origin. By the time this song was composed, lyrically and musically,from 1600 onward, we absorbed millions from more than a score of European nations, the African continent, and with those whom crossed the Bering Straight. Our national identity has long been solidified, but less in our perception it seems, than in the perception of countries and places from whense our ancestors came .

[@johnoconnor4623]

I love this song, just beautiful.

[@tombillsborough3774]

Great clarity in the singing of one of my favorite songs
Tom Billsborough

[@johnoconnor4623]

When I listen to song like this, I love to know the words too, so here they are:
Oh Shenandoah,
I long to see you,
Away you rolling river.
Oh Shenandoah,
I long to see you,
Away, I'm bound away
'Cross the wide Missouri.
Oh Shenandoah,
I love your daughter,
Away, you rolling river.
For her I'd cross
Your roaming waters,
Away, I'm bound away
'Cross the wide Missouri.
'Tis seven years
since last I've seen you,
Away, you rolling river.
'Tis seven years
since last I've seen you,
Away, we're 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, we're bound away
'Cross the wide Missour

[@bobthe5574]

+John O'Connor It's actually "Shenendo'", not "Shenendoah". The "ah" is a separate syllable commonly omitted to fit the meter better. Anyone referring to the Shenendoah River or Valley will say Shen-en-do-ah, not Shen-en-do.

[@johnoconnor4623]

thanks, language has subtleties. And as well local variations.

[@teller121]

Unless you were using the set of lyrics where the French fur trader falls in love with Chief Shenandoah's daughter (and the rest of these lyrics clearly are not that version), I'm not sure who the daughter you refer to here is.

[@Newfiemom4]

First of all.....Thank you so much, John O’ Connor, for the words to the song. I love to sing along when I’m listening to music and it’s nice to have the words handy. I usually wait until no one is home and belt it out. (I don’t really have a good singing voice )😄
I was born in the Shenandoah Valley and moved to Canada 30 years ago, but those rolling mountains, green pastures and beautiful forests still live in my heart. I have a ‘coffee table’ book about the Shenandoah Valley and it has “Daughter of the Stars” as a subtitle.

[@kerrim2715]

Newfiemom4 The song has nothing to do with the Shenandoah Valley. It takes place on the Missouri River!!!

[@BernieBriocon]

Don't mess with this version pure gold

[@rutharrowhead7756]

Absolutely beautiful.

[@jessicabray7591]

I'm playing this song in high school band. I play trumpet, 3rd part. We're playing Tichelli's arrangement. I'm glad I can hear the actual words. I daresay it will help me play it better.

[@dannyboi328]

Toph Beifong I know exactly what you mean. I'm kinda in the same spot.

[@tenorschofield]

I love this song!!!,The Three Irish tenors sing a splendid version!!!,BRAVO!!!(also like very much the
"a capella"version of Peter Hollens!!!)

[@ShyMoonheart]

This is actually John McDermott singing with his own band, not the Irish Tenors. Lovely, rich voice and beautiful annunciation.

[@tenorschofield]

+ShyMoonheart Thanks for your tip (thougth it migth be a "solo" of the trio...anyway it is a great version of this song).BRAVO!!!

[@barryrappaport67]

Pure class

[@ShyMoonheart]

Didn't think this was an Irish Tenors song. John McDermott sings this in his solo act. This is the version recorded with full orchestra for his Remembrance CD some years ago. Lovely voice and great song.

[@donnagilligan2905]

Beautiful!!

[@jerrydoubleday8619]

The song Shenandoah is a early folk song of uncertain origin. Back when this song was written there were many emigrants that were coming to America. Many Scotch /Irish settled this country .I'd say that the Irish had a big influence in many early american tunes. One has only to listen to Irish folk music, to see where Bluegrass came from.

[@olivierpothin7008]

Shenandoah is said to have originated with French voyageurs traveling down the Missouri River ( Wikipedia)

[@loralie59741]

I understand this song was written for Shenandoah the Indian by his son-in-law, as a tribute. It is a beautiful song isn't it?

[@olivierpothin7008]

of course it is !! ♥

[@teller121]

almost all of our mid-18th century military music was of Irish origins, and some Brit and Scotts. It lasted as cadences and marches up through Vietnam. There was even one I could identify as an Irish song when I went though basic training in 1981!

[@caswallonandflur692]

I think van Morrison does a version of two of this song . One with the Irish band the chieftains.

[@wilde4445]

it soes NOT get any better than this THANK YOU LADY

[@ralaws100]

Beautiful,

[@mimixownzall]

Chanticleer does the best version of this song yet. So awesome.

[@johnfoconnor]

So true Beth, same as listening to any great song; brings to mind another American song, "Red River Valley", so lovely to listen to it and enjoy it. Sadly, when you get good songs you also tend to get people who only appear just to try to upset us by insults and bad language.
I love the phrase you used "while he watches the sun go down on another precious day". Just love that too, when we don't have clouds in Ireland. What is the sun??
Now off to search for John Denver "Poems Prayers Promises"

[@matthewburt4548]

This song just melts my heart, I have to audition for district x chorus with this song I'm so excited

[@marybethpierce5635]

Yes, there a a ton of Gaelic surnames in Appalachia. There are also a ton of German, English, Hispanic, French, etc., as that area today has grown to be nearly as diverse as the rest of the US. In the late 19th Century, when this song was written, in the Shenandoah, there were mostly Germans, however there were some other European groups as well who were not just English or not just Scotch Irish. Especially since this time period directly follows the potato famine. Irish were settling everywhere

[@dougthomas8954]

Great version thanks

[@Lumotaku]

Beautiful!!!!

[@pakalolosweet87]

To be a Virginian, either by birth, marriage, adoption, or even on one's mother's side, is an introduction to any state in the union, a passport to any foreign country, and a benediction from the Almighty God.

[@danicarodriguez7770]

I love this music

[@johnoconnor4623]

+Danica Rodriguez There are so many versions of this lovely song. I just like the song,
does not matter who sings it. Sometimes I just get this feeling of 1960s
and 70s big screens of lovely America, blue skies and mountains. Let us
just keep it like that.

[@johnfoconnor]

Just another reply about this song and how it is interpreted here. I think that the solo singer (John McDermott) got it right and so did the orchestra. The calm-flowing wide Missouri river is captured and it is also captured when in flood by the singer and orchestra. I think that the songwriter would be happy with this interpretation.

[@georgelegal8369]

bring a tear to a glass eye

[@omega14j1]

I can't believe people are arguing that this isn't an American original. Listen to the damn lyrics! I am unaware of another Missouri River in the world.

[@MultiJimbone1]

A classic and probably Scots-Irish or Irish tune with lyrics that are obviously American.
Such a beautiful song and arrangement as performed by The Irish Tenors. Simply enjoy!

[@231spikey]

Actually the Star Spangled Banner was a poem written on an english prison ship by a prisoner while he watched the bombing on an American fort.

[@Eaglewarr7]

I love this its great!!!

[@lot777ful]

Inspirational !

[@maragretdowns698]

Beautiful xx

[@bettytoh9088]

Thank you for this beautiful rendition of the song.

[@johntaylor5605]

As part of the plantation scheme, English customs were introduced to the young people. English dancing, music and language began to supplant the old Gaelic ways and customs. Ireland now became an indoor society

[@anniebethmcnamara4468]

Oh, yes I do as well. . .

[@annmar202]

I think the title is mislabeled: this is NOT the irish Tenors, it is one member only (John McDermott) and he is not longer a part of that group. Lovely voice and beautiful song........

[@marybethpierce5635]

South Carolina is just ONE state that runs through Appalachia. Another state that the Appalachian Chain runs through is West Virginia, which is slightly larger than Ireland, which leads me to my next point. Those who settled in Appalachia in Newfoundland, Vermont, or New York most likely will not have the same origin of those who settled in West Virginia or Virginia, which is the area to which I was referring to.

[@johnfoconnor]

Yes. Thanks for putting some sense in here now.
Just listen to the music, make a good comment and that is it.
Love to listen to music,not to argue endlessly with "the back of the class fools"
Good music wins always.

[@whynotanyting]

This is the tempo/tone I remember when I first heard it.

[@diutsfuller446]

I how I love the melody as well as lyrics too love this every night when i'm in bed

[@ElocTheComrade]

yeah the words were written by Francis Scott Key but the music is an irish drinking song

[@jj1111fg33]

Therefore, we are all immigrants from Africa. Humans evolved in Africa, anyways, stop caring and listen, the song is quite nice.

[@johntaylor5605]

Scotch-Irish (or Scots-Irish) Americans are the descendants of Presbyterian and other Protestant dissenters from the Irish province of Ulster who migrated to North America during the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the Scotch-Irish were descended from Scottish and English families who colonized Ireland during the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century

[@johntaylor5605]

An estimated 90% of Appalachia's earliest European settlers originated from the Anglo-Scottish border country- namely the English counties of Cumberland, Westmoreland, Northumberland, Durham, Lancashire, and Yorkshire, and the Lowland Scottish counties of Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire, Roxburghshire, Berwickshire, and Wigtownshire. Most of these were from families who had been resettled in the Ulster Plantation in northern Ireland in the 17th century

[@marybethpierce5635]

When did I ever say that my surname wasn't English? I am a mutt, but the man whose last name was Pierce in my family was my great grandfather, from Liverpool and he was a quarter English, half Irish, and a quarter Welsh. The other surnames in my family are Irish.

[@WitchOfTheNorthFLWoods]

I second that notion!!!!!

[@maggymay7827]

It is impossible to determine exactly when the song was composed.Probably later than the Civil War.

[@TheDustysix]

This Country could never have been settled from West to East the way that it was from the East. The river system and geography was far more advantageous.

[@MrGaelms]

@1970Tswan Actually, the Star Spangled Banner was poem written by a man during the war od 1812 who had been captured by the English and he related a battle. Then it became an American drinking song.

[@libbyclark1360]

Tune of the Star Spangled Banner was an English drinking song.

[@MagdalenaJT37]

Also, Danny Boy wasn't originally an Irish song.

[@johntaylor5605]

he Kingsmill massacre took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Kingsmill in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped eleven Protestant workmen travelling on a minibus, lined them up beside it and shot them. A Catholic workman was unharmed. One of the shot men survived, despite having been shot 18 times

[@marybethpierce5635]

My argument that it is POSSIBLE, not IS that the melody of the tune is of Irish or Scottish influence, given the knowledge that Scotts-Irish settled near where the song was written. That being said, you speak of Appalachia like it’s as small as Scottish Highlands. The Appalachian Chain runs from Canada to Georgia and Alabama. My English neighbor said “I knew that the US was rather large, but in the time it took me to drive through South Carolina, I could have driven through the UK twice”.

[@Dollydri]

Where did you find the irish tenors doing this song and the battle hymn of the republic? I searched the album cover shown at amazon but it doesn't show either of those songs. Please reply this is the best I have ever heard
Thank you.

[@ShyMoonheart]

Not the Irish Tenors. This is John McDermott with his own band performing this beautiful song. Search his CDs on Amazon and you will find it.

[@marybethpierce5635]

It was an English song written for a gentleman's club, if I remember correctly.

[@plasticbucket]

Irish tenors known and hated the world over . B

[@marybethpierce5635]

Either way, it is ridiculous to say that 90% of the Appalachian Chain is of ONE European group, when in fact a variety of several different European groups settled throughout the Chain.

[@marybethpierce5635]

I never said they were Irish. I was just talking about how a lot of American folk music is influenced by Scottish and Irish music. I've probably heard just about everything about where this song comes from, which leads me to believe that no one really knows. I was replying to someone saying that this is the American version of "Danny Boy", which is kind of ridiculous, seeing as how it sounds nothing like "Danny Boy", but it could have been INFLUENCED by Irish or Scottish music.

[@johntaylor5605]

The border origin of the Scotch-Irish is supported by study of the traditional music and folklore of the Appalachian Mountains, settled primarily by the Scotch-Irish in the 18th century. Musicologist Cecil Sharp collected hundreds of folk songs in the region, and observed that the musical tradition of the people "seems to point to the North of England

[@johntaylor5605]

The dance has origins in England. In the fifteenth century the all-wooden clog was replaced by a leather-topped shoe with a one-piece wooden bottom. By the 16th century a more conventional leather shoe with separate wooden pieces on the heel and toe called "flats" became popular, from where the terms "heel and toe" and "flatfooting" derive.

[@radar4100]

I would like to see some proof of what you claim. This has been an American song for long enough to be Virginia's state song. It has been years since researched this wonderful song, but I never saw anything to lead me to believe that it was anything but what numerous people claimed. So what is your proof?

[@KKuurus]

There is more in common between the US and Australia than most people know.

[@susancuzzort917]

Most of the immigrant to the Shenandoah Valley were of Irish and Scottish descent. Forced to leave their native homes by the British.

[@ronaldcammarata3422]

While that might be true, it has absolutely nothing to do with this song. First, the name Shenandoah is about an Indian Chief, not the valley of the same name. Secondly. the song is a shanty thought to have originated from French voyageurs in North America. So, nothing to do with the Shenandoh Valley, and nothing to do with the Irish.

[@marybethpierce5635]

debatable. No one knows for certain. Again, I never said that the Scotch Irish were Irish. I said that they could have been influenced by Irish culture and music because they were in Ireland. I don't know why I'm repeating myself.

[@marybethpierce5635]

Generally, Germans settled in Shenandoah (search Shenandoah Historical Society, UA-cam will not let me paste the web adress). However, there was an overlap of Scotch-Irish settlers from farther West. This is why I made the argument that this song is POSSIBLY influenced by Scottish and/or Irish music. I don't understand why you are being more arrogant than the American stereotype.

[@clintoncudworth7308]

And Europeans came from Africa, as did the Asians who went on to move into north America, the difference is that the native Americans made their homes here first only to be uprooted by Europeans. sincerely - Native American

[@marybethpierce5635]

Okay, Irish American would mean that I came from Ireland and that now I am an American citizen, which is not the case. I was born in America, therefore, I am American. Yes I have Irish blood, and yes I did grow up listening to the music and reading the literature because my grandmother insisted that I know about my heritage, but I am American. Secondly, that Wikipedia page that you copy and pasted from was written by Americans. Thirdly, whether or not Celts settled in the British Isles is

[@tereax]

The Danny Boy of America.

[@marybethpierce5635]

There we go! Great job capitalizing your proper nouns!

[@marybethpierce5635]

And yes. My family is Catholic. Even my great grandfather from England was Catholic, which is weird, but as much when you think about it because he was only a quarter English.

[@RB-tq4uu]

Lots of English people were and are Catholic.

[@boc234]

Best version: Tennessee Ernie Ford. Honorable mentions: 97th Regimental String Band and Peter Hollens.

[@lauras5853]

Peter Hollens is the best I've ever heard. I cry from his voice alone.

[@cqsallie]

Few people know that this "American Folk Song" is actually an Irish "Longing Song."
It is a song of indentured servants from Ireland. It might break some hearts to learn this, but it's true....

[@hultonclint]

This song was mentioned many many times, in the 19th century, as a chanty of sailors. It wasn't mentioned in any other way... Several writers remarked that it was definitely, to their mind, an Afro-American song. This is again ppl writing in the 19th century...white people of both Britain and USA saying this. Early 20th century, some classical singers tried performing the song as theyd gotten it from chanty books. All other stories are myths w/o any historical evidence.

[@marybethpierce5635]

First of all, you basically copy and pasted Wikipedia, which is not a reliable source in the US. Secondly, you made my point. Even if those who fall under “Sotch - Irish” are not very Irish or Scottish, they still had some Irish and Scottish influence, coming from Ulster. It doesn’t matter that their culture may have been different than those of Irish or Scottish origin, there’s always a backwash of influence from all cultures involved in blending nationalities.

[@CheerfulCurmudgeon]

To MsAmericaRules,
What does your pitiful comment have to do with this beautiful music? Just what is wrong with you?

[@johntaylor5605]

tin whistle/british .. irish flute/british .. uilleann pipes/british .. kilts/two drone bagpipes/war pipes/ british

[@radar4100]

I work with an Irish woman who knew this song and while she knew nothing of it's history, her comments lend credence to what cqsallie says. Still I would love to see some of your research. So many of our best loved folk music is centuries old. Many of our Civil War songs have Irish roots.

[@bernard1422]

Yes, ours

[@johntaylor5605]

or to the Lowlands, rather than the Highlands, of Scotland, as the country from which they originally migrated. For the Appalachian tunes...have far more affinity with the normal English folk-tune than with that of the Gaelic-speaking Highlander.