River songs

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 15 Oct 09 - 06:45 PM

few at a time..probably mentioned somewhere at some time..

Rose of Mooncoin
Banks of Bann
Banks of Claudy?
..tears that made the Clyde
Roll Willamette Roll by Becky Bernstein??
Meg of the Cowlitz by me..
one about horse seining on COlumbia by Hobe Kytr
Sands boys the sands about Columbia shipwreck by Ray Rahila
Nelly was a lady..Mississippi

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Nicholas Waller
Date: 15 Oct 09 - 03:26 PM

There's The River from Gentle Giant on their Octopus album - not very folky, mind.

More relevant is The River by Draycott-based Dragonsfly, written by the band's Maya Preece.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 15 Oct 09 - 01:01 PM

Posting previously offered information is not disruptive to me personally, and other posters can of course speak for themselves. It is like coming in late to a conversation..sometimes people don't have the time to reread stuff and have read most of it but might miss some newer posts. Many people suffer from extreme time shortage and do what they can. I will think of more river songs shortly. mg

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 15 Oct 09 - 07:24 AM

Recently we had a thread about waltzes with words, and somebody posted an abc for the Tombigbee Waltz. The Tombigbee is a beautiful river in Alabama.

I was fooling around with the Tombigbee Waltz at the piano, and my husband exclaimed, "That's gorgeous!" So I kept working on it and added it to the collection of songs I can actually play.

When I converted the abc to MIDI, the title came out 'The Tom Bigbee Waltz.' I expect to read on the Net soon that Tom Bigbee was an Alabama fiddler who sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads and then...

Subject: RE: River songs
From: PSzymeczek
Date: 14 Oct 09 - 11:58 PM

"Where the Fraser River Flows". It was on U. Utah Phillips album "We Have Fed You All a Thousand Years."

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Ron Davies
Date: 14 Oct 09 - 11:42 PM

I've been through this thread a few times, and I don't think I missed it: we definitely need to include "Living on the River" by Mudcat's own Jerry Rasmussen--for my money one of the best river songs ever. And Jerry, if you see this, we still need you at Getaway to sing it--and so many of your other songs.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: David C. Carter
Date: 13 Oct 09 - 01:51 PM

There's Merle Haggard's "Kern River".

Emmylou Harris put it on a recent CD.

David

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Oct 09 - 03:22 AM

Then there's Big River written by Johnny Cash – "She loves you big river more than me" - covered by lots of people including the Grateful Dead. And how about the Grateful Dead's Broke-Down Palace(Hunter/Garcia) – "Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul"
- Phil

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Art Thieme
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 10:47 PM

Thanks for that, Joe! Just reading it conjurs up so much.

Art

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 09:53 PM

Sandy Paton read the entire Rivers of America series. The series had a songbook, and it was a darn good collection of river songs.
I indexed it here (click).

-Joe-

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST,Blueuke08
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 08:14 PM

At risk of repeating anything in this list:
River (Take Me Along) Staines from If I Were a Word I'd Be a Song
Allegheny (same book)
So Sang The River (same book)
Jubilee (OK NOT technically, but it's about the river boats) (same)
Deep River (spiritual)
Red River Valley (OK also not technically--and News flash, the other Red River Valley is a place I could not WAIT to leave!)
Itasca (Come to a Place of Beginnings)
Mary Gibbs (She let the water in, she let the lake down low, Mary Gibbs let the Mississippi go...)
The Waters In Between (Buffalo Gals live at the Laughing Waters Bluegrass festival 2005?)
fun, fun.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 03:41 PM

... and perhaps I haven't read the thread thru carefully enuff, but I can't recall mention of Red River Valley...

Subject: RE: River songs
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 12:15 PM

Can't believe no-one has mentioned Blackwaterside.

Edith Piaf used to sing a very beautiful song called La Seine.

On the Banks of the Wabash Far Away — written by Paul Dresser, 1857-1906, who happened to be elder brother of Theodore Dreiser, one of most distinguished of US novelists [An American Tragedy, Sister Carrie, &c] - gifted family!

And NB in 1st verse of the Great Eric Bogle's The Band Played Waltzing Matilda: 'From the Murray's green basin to the dusty Outback...'

And what happened to The Old Folks at Home [Stephen C Foster}: 'Way down upon The Swanee River': or the Gershwins' Swanee, sung by the great Al Jolson?

Subject: RE: River songs
From: olddude
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 10:33 AM

Art Thieme's CD "On the River" is a wonderful collection of River songs. I play it quite often

Subject: RE: River songs
From: mrmoe
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 09:30 AM

I had occasion to write 2 "river songs" for the Connecticut River Watershed Council.... "Connecticut" and "Living on the River"....they're here: http://www.myspace.com/michaelorlen

Subject: RE: River songs
From: quokka
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 08:20 AM

EVANGELINE
(written by Robbie Robertson)

Eb
She stands on the banks of the mighty Mississippi
                   Bb
Alone in the pale moonlight
Bb
Waitin' for a man, a riverboat gambler
                      Eb
Said that he'd return tonight

They used to waltz on the banks of the mighty Mississippi
                        Bb
Lovin' the whole night through
Bb
He was a riverboat gambler off to make a killin'
                         Eb
And bring it on back to you
Ab         Eb
Evangeline Evangeline
Bb                     Eb
Curses the soul of the Mississippi Queen
      Bb             Eb
That pulled her man away

SOLO

Eb
Bayou Sam from South Louisian'
                     Bb
Had gamblin' in his veins

Evangeline from the maritime
                  Eb
Was slowly goin' insane

High on the top of a Hickory Hill
                                  Bb
She stands in the lightning and thunder

Down on the river the boat was a sinkin'
                           Eb
She watched that Queen go under
Ab         Eb
Evangeline Evangeline
Bb                     Eb
Curses the soul of the Mississippi Queen
      Bb             Eb
That pulled her man away
Ab         Eb
Evangeline Evangeline
Bb                     Eb
Curses the soul of the Mississippi Queen
      Bb             Eb
That pulled her man away
   
    Copyright Medicine Hat Music(ASCAP)
    Warner Brothers Records 1981
    From The Emmylou Harris "Evangeline" LP

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST,hapless lover
Date: 07 Aug 06 - 05:31 AM

The Ballad of the Easy Rider - The Byrds
The River Song - Donovan

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Metchosin
Date: 06 Aug 06 - 01:58 PM

Well there you go. I rest my case.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 06 Aug 06 - 01:38 PM

Posting previously provided information unnecessarily as a result of failure to read the thread is disruptive and irritating to other posters as well as constituting bandwidth abuse.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Metchosin
Date: 06 Aug 06 - 12:11 PM

countess richard, well aren't you just the essence of sweetness and light! LOL! Of course it's in the DT, it is by Seeger after all.

As Susan of DT aptly pointed out, without any snippy editorial comment, there are over 500 river songs and if one does a forum search, one will also find previous threads about river songs too, dating back to at least 1998, which could, in some minds, make this whole thread pointless too.   

But that wouldn't be any fun would it? and it certainly wouldn't allow for the opportunity to demonstrate just how incredibly rude some can be. But never fear, despite that, I'm sure I will continue to post and occasionaly make errors and slips allowing you the opportunity to demonstrate your acumen.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: jaze
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 07:16 PM

I seem to remember a song on an old Linda Ronstadt lp called "Up To My Neck In High Muddy Water"

Subject: RE: River songs
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 03:06 PM

Surprised no one has yet mentioned Seeger's Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

I did. Three days ago. #8. It's in the DT anyway so posting the lyrics yet again is pointless.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Metchosin
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 02:51 PM

Suprised no one has yet mentioned Seeger's

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

It was back in nineteen forty-two,
I was a member of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna,
One night by the light of the moon.
The captain told us to ford a river,
That's how it all begun.
We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy,
But the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure,
This is the best way back to the base?"
"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
'Bout a mile above this place.
It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging.
We'll soon be on dry ground."
We were -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment
No man will be able to swim."
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The Captain said to him.
"All we need is a little determination;
Men, follow me, I'll lead on."
We were -- neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over,
We heard a gurgling cry.
A few seconds later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
I'm in charge from now on."
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper
Than the place he'd once before been.
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!

Words and music by Pete Seeger (1967)
TRO (c) 1967 Melody Trails, Inc. New York, NY

Oh look! look! there's an elephant in the room.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: MissouriMud
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 02:33 PM

Monongahela Sal - chorus is about the river, story is around it.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST,what?
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 01:47 PM

YELLOW RIVER by Jeff Christie(1972) MOODY RIVER by Pat Boone and many others(1961?) PROUD MARY BY Creedence Clearwater Revival(1969?) also re-recorded by Tina Turner. ROOOOOOlling in the river.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Scrump
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 10:01 AM

Wot abaht "Messing About on the River"? Another obviosu one I forgot earlier.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 08:11 AM

Sweet Thames!

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Scrump
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 07:15 AM

A few more (getting more difficult to think of 'em now):

Moody River
Rivers of Babylon
Lord of the Reedy River
Someone's Pinched Me Winkles (ref. to Thames)
Down by the Riverside
Michael Row The Boat Ashore (ref. to Jordan)
River Stay Away From My Door
Cry Me A River

(apologies if any are repeats)

Subject: RE: River songs
From: jaze
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 06:54 AM

Blue River-Eric Andersen

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Cruiser
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 01:01 AM

Reprise:

I forgot to give due credit to Ms. Monroe. Her rendition of 'River of No Return" charted on 7/10/54 for 1 week at #30 on the Pop charts.

Source: Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 The History of American Popular Music.

Tennessee Ernie Ford's hit was on the Country Charts

Source: Joel Whitburn's Top Country Singles 1944-1993 Billboard.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Cruiser
Date: 04 Aug 06 - 12:38 AM

"River of No Return"

From the 1954 movie of the same name. That is the first movie I really remember seeing.

Tennessee Ernie Ford had a #9 hit of the song in 1954.

Robert Mitchum performed the song during the opening credits of the movie with beautiful scenery in the background.

Marilyn Monroe sang it in the movie while reclining on a piano in a bar. That was the first time I fell in love at about 5 or 6 years old.

Marilyn also sang a full version of the song and I have it on one of her CDs "The Very Best of Marilyn Monroe". She had a fine, sultry voice.

Cruiser

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Scoville
Date: 03 Aug 06 - 01:45 PM

. . . most of John Hartford's repertoire, I would think.


Are creeks close enough?

Fiddle & banjo tunes:
"Cripple Creek", "Shooting Creek", "The Creek's All Muddy and the Pond's Gone Dry", "Crow Creek", "Widow's Creek", "Salt Creek"/"Salt River", "Falls of Richmond" ("Falls" with an "s"), "McCraw's Ford", "West Fork Girls" (must have been a river there at some point), "Boatin' Up Sandy", and all those religious songs about the Jordan.

"Rivers of Texas" was collected in, I think, the 1920's, but I don't have my music stuff with me right now. I've never seen a composer listed but it sounds "wrote" (as we say) to me, so I don't know what to say about it all.

The fiddle tune "Big Scioty" is named for the Scioto River (Ohio?).

And someone I knew once misspoke and called "Bonaparte Crossing the Alps", "Washington Crossing the Brazos" when we were at a play at Washington-on-the-Brazos. I've had trouble keeping the title straight ever since.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: GUEST,Joe_F
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 09:23 PM

Moonlight on the Wabash (both of 'em)

Tennessee

--- Joe Fineman    [e-mail]

||: No bar too far to drink to you. :||

Subject: RE: River songs
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 04:45 PM

It should - 20 Kyrie Eleisons to me for forgetting it!

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 04:08 PM

El Greko -read my 11.21 post. It's not a Ron, River Days is by Barrie Temple!

I was going to suggest Big River, but you got in first.

Does Mike Sparks' "Where the river meets the sea" count?

Kitty

Subject: RE: River songs
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 03:09 PM

"River Days" - by Ron xxxxxxxx (Kitty, help!)

Subject: RE: River songs
From: mississippi john
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 02:49 PM

River song

( mississippi river blues ) sung by thomas fraser of the Shetland Isles scotland taken from the treasure untold CD, great song but a shade to short

1st recorded i beleive by the one and only Jimmy Rodgers

regards

m/j

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 02:43 PM

I don't think the Eton Boating Song has had a mention yet? or Messing about on the River?

Kitty

Subject: RE: River songs
From: open mike
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 02:13 PM

http://www.pbs.org/riverofsong/

Subject: RE: River songs
From: C. Ham
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 01:43 PM

Loudon Wainwright III's Swimming Song instead as it doesn't actually give a location and might be in a river.

Sorry, but no.

Loudon mentions swimming in an ocean, a swimming pool and a reservoir. Nothing about a river.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 12:50 PM

Well, Kitty, I certainly think the Panama Canal should be excluded as it put a stop to lots of Rounding The Horn which is a jolly good song, but the Kennett & Avon is much prettier as canals go so I'd argue for Rob Harbron's tune to stay as it's so good and also because his Swimming Tune would have to be disqualified as it's actually set off The Lizard but we could have Loudon Wainwright III's Swimming Song instead as it doesn't actually give a location and might be in a river. I haven't actually counted but since most US states have a river of the same name, This Land Is My Land has possibly the most river mentions.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: alanabit
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 12:33 PM

And my favourite river song is "Roll on River", which some of you may know by Wizz Jones. I think somebody else recorded it, possibly Bill Caddick. One can always count upon Mudcatters to check a suspect memory!

Subject: RE: River songs
From: alanabit
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 12:31 PM

It sure is a great song George. Thanks for the correction Countess.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: ard mhacha
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 12:26 PM

My Lagan love,- Lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle,- Where the river Shannon flows, - On the banks of my own lovely Lee.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 12:21 PM

No, canals shouldn't count because they were manufactured (opens up scope for an awful lot more songs though!) Otherwise we'll progress to shipping channels and be rounding the Horn........

Kitty

Subject: RE: River songs
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 12:00 PM

alanabit,
I don't know if Mark Knopfler produced "Big river", I certainly haven't heard it sung by him. My favourite recording of it is by Bob Fox. In any case, it's a cracking song.

Subject: RE: River songs
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 11:29 AM

Do canals count?
If so, Rob Harbron's Afloat In December

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 11:21 AM

Barrie Temple's River Days
Flow gently sweet Afton

Kitty

Subject: RE: River songs
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 11:03 AM

All my English ones have gone.

Banks of the Ohio.
Rolling And Flowing (Cairo Town)

Subject: RE: River songs
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 02 Aug 06 - 10:26 AM

. . . that was a reply to alanabit about Jimmy Nail but Scrump got in the way . . .