Oh Shenandoah. Part 01. Covers on harmonica, guitar and piano by paulhal...

A beautiful old American folk song and sea shanty, said to have originated in Shenandoah Valley area where parts for covered wagons were made and assembled in Pennsylvania and river ways provided pioneers with transport for the first leg of the journey west from the Shenandoah River to the Missouri River.  Of course, it was Native American lingo for "daughter of stars" in some areas whereas in one case it was the Native American name for chief Forrest Deer (Iroquois).



The song developed and because it was often performed on the water ways, it made its way all the way down the Mississippi to New Orleans where it rapidly became popular with American sailors aboard the then state-of-the-art "clipper" ships, the ultimate sailing vessel, as it were, which plied the seven seas to all destinations of trade thence.



I did this series of covers of the song in Alaska, mostly at the White Pass but also the piano solo was done live at the bar aboard an Alaskan Ferry Boat traveling the long distance between Ketichikan and Skagway on the Inside Passage waterway in the early spring of 2010.