Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Oh Shenandoah

Until the nineteenth century only adventurers who sought their fortunes as trappers and traders of beaver fur ventured as far west as the Missouri River. Most of these men were loners who became friendly with, and sometimes married, Native Americans.


Shenandoah is said to have originated with French voyageurs traveling down the Missouri River. The lyrics tell the story of a trader who fell in love with the daughter of an  Oneida chief, Skenandoa. American sailors heading down the Mississippi River picked up the song and made it a capstan shanty that they sang while hauling in the anchor. 

 Click on link lower right "Harp Demo" to watch youtube video of Oh Shenandoah.

There is a beautiful 2 harp arrangement of "Oh Shenandoah" by Beth Kolle in The Harp Ensemble Book: Duets and Trios for Lever Harp



Lyrics to Oh Shenandoah
O Shenandoah, I long to hear you 
Away, you rolling river
O Shenandoah, I long to hear you 
Away, I'm bound away 'Cross the wide Missouri

Missouri, she's a mighty river 
Away, you rolling river 
The Indians camp along her borders
 Away, I'm bound away 'Cross the wide Missouri

The white man loved an Indian maiden 
Away, you rolling river 
With notions his canoe was laden Away,
 I'm bound away 'Cross the wide Missouri

O Shenandoah, I love your daughter 
Away, you rolling river 
For her I've crossed the rolling water 
Away, I'm bound away 'Cross the wide Missouri


Seven long years I courted Sally 
Away, you rolling river 
Seven more I longed to have her 
Away, I'm bound away 'Cross the wide Missouri


Thursday, March 2, 2017

The Water Kelpie  Click on link lower right "Harp Demo" to watch youtube video of the Harplanders performing the song.

A water kelpie is, as everyone knows, a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland. In J.K. Rowling's book Fantastic Beasts and Where to find Them, Kelpies are described as shape-shifters native to the British Isles whose favorite form is a horse with bulrushes for a mane.  Rowling also mentions that the Loch Ness monster is a gigantic kelpie whose favorite form is a sea serpent.

The Kelpies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kelpies in Falkirk.
The Kelpies are 30-metre-high horse-head sculptures, standing next to a new extension to the Forth and Clyde Canal, and near River Carron, in The Helix, a new parkland project built to connect 16 communities in the Falkirk Council Area, Scotland.
 The sculptures were designed by sculptor Andy Scott and were completed in October 2013.
 The sculptures form a gateway at the eastern entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal, and the new canal extension built as part of The Helix land transformation project. The Kelpies are a monument to horse powered heritage across Scotland.

The sculptures opened to the public in April 2014. As part of the project, they will have their own visitor centre, and sit beside a newly developed canal turning pool and extension. This canal extension reconnects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the River Forth, and improves navigation between the East and West of Scotland.